If you are talking about the small cages you purchase at the local walmart then you have a problem. These plants will overgrow these quite quickly and receive no support. These small commercial cages are a waist of money as they do little good. For these plants, the best cages are made from 4"x4" square field fence or better yet stake these. We grow several hundred heirloom tomato plants each year and cages are not an option. We use 6' wooden stakes. Good luck and enjoy the flavor of your heirloom beefsteak tomatoes. Blueflint

Sorry. Legume style nodules are wishful thinking when it comes to tomatoes. Those tomatoes have a serious case of root knot nematodes. And that's true in spite of any good harvests you may have had. More clues that they're not legume nodules. -- Legume nodules are all about same size; then when cut, are pink inside. -- Nematode lumps are irregular and much larger. Sorry.

Are German Johnson and German Pink the same variety? **** No, they are two different varieties. For starters German Johnson should be RL although there's some PL being distributed, while German Pink is PL ( potato leaf) German Pink, Jerry's, is a version of GP that was first listed by Jere Gettle of Baker Creek in the 03 SSE Yearbook. It's ind and RL instead of being PL as the original German Pink is. I didn't check to see if he's listing it at his website/catalog, but I presume so. Carolyn

Mike, I'm in Newport News. Growing 2 German Johnson, 2 Black from Tula, 1 German Giant, 1 Virginia Sweets, 1 Eva's Purple Ball, and 2 Black Cherry. All plants went into raised beds appx. April 21. They are all about 4 feet tall. All plants except for German Johnson are covered in tomatoes and blooms. Most tomatoes on the plants are about the size of a golf ball or racquetball. Many plants have 5-10 tomatoes and probably 4 times as many blooms. My German Johnsons are a different story. They are equally healthy and receive the same conditions (soil, sunlight, water, fertilizer) as the others, but lack the number of blooms and tomatoes. One has 3 tomatoes and about 5 open blooms, the other has 2 tomatoes and about 5 open blooms. I am seeing other flower sets forming all over both plants, which is a good indicator that they will soon be producing more tomatoes. I grew German Johnsons in Williamsburg for 3 years and had a similar experience each year. But they ultimately catch up and keep producing well in hot weather when others drop blooms. Very productive, reliable, and tastes great. Hang in there and give it another 2-3 weeks before you decided whether to keep them or dig them up. Also, I've had far more success with Black from Tula than Black Krim. I no longer grow Krim as a black, instead focusing on Tula. Krim tended to split like crazy after late afternoon summer downpours! Tula only rarely split in the same conditions. And I think the flavor is equally outstanding. Good luck, look forwarding to hearing an update in a few weeks. Dave