It’s now approximately Week 8, and the first plot of tomato plants at the Lewis Ginter Community Kitchen Garden are loaded with ripening tomatoes. With the help of soaker hoses; fertilizer – including Bloom Booster; absolute full day sunshine and a diligent army of honey bees the tomato production is ramping up. So fast, in fact, that’s it’s been a race for the garden volunteers to keep up with tying the vines on the stakes as they grow.

To help with judging the size/scale in this photo, the stake is 1.5 inches wide. Even accounting for a little perspective effect, these tomatoes are getting huge! The main vines are as thick as fire hoses! (Well, maybe not that thick – yet.)