the good, the bad, and the ugly

 

the cherry tomatoes have been ripening consistently each day now.  i've been eagerly awaiting the chance to harvest some of the bigger tomatoes.  a few days ago, the anticipation rose as i spotted a red roma tomato that looked like it was nearing ripeness.  how disappointed i was though when i bent down to take a closer look at it.  looks like at least some of my plants are afflicted with blossom end rot.  it's a condition i had heard of but never experienced.  it is primarily caused by not having enough calcium in the soil.  i usually throw in a handful of lime to for each tomato plant, but alas this year i didn't.  also each year i tell myself i need to send some soil samples to a soils lab to get an analysis done to see what kind of amendments it may need.  of course though no matter how many times i think of it, i never manage to get to it before it's time to put the plants in the ground.  guess i learned my lesson.  so far it looks like it is just a couple plants that have the problem.  maybe the romas are more susceptible to it.  this is the first year i've grown them and the first time i've had this problem.  hopefully the other tomatoes will provide.  meanwhile though, my basil is going strong.  i harvested a big bunch of it today to keep it from going to seed.  looks like i'll be making lots of pesto!