I’ve tried to grow tomatoes in our backyard in the past but there simply hasn’t been enough sun getting through all the mature trees back there. This year I decided to try to grow them in containers in the front yard. There are still some trees restricting the amount of sun, but I was betting there was enough for a decent tomato crop.

I started with 5 plants – heirloom tomato seedlings given to me by my friend Jennifer, who grows about the best tomatoes in the land.

So far so good…

The plants are well over my head at this point. I’ve got them well secured with a structure made from branches I’ve pruned from various shrubs and trees. They’re full of tomatoes…

….and still loaded with blossoms. These plants are indeterminate, meaning they will continue to grow and produce blossoms and fruit right up until frost. It looks like we’re going to have plenty of tomatoes for us, lots for freezing, and still lots more to make friends with.

We had a wicked rainstorm this morning, and I’m very happy my structure held up just fine.

Why am I so excited about growing a bunch of tomatoes? Here’s the late Guy Clark to explain: