Emma, Since the plants are fairly small and beefsteak tomatoes are so big, I do think I'd remove those first couple of blossoms. I'd be concerned that the development of the fruit this early on such a small plant might keep the plant too small for a long time. Since May is expected to remain cooler than average, I feel like your beefsteaks would have adequate time to bloom and set more fruit before the heat arrives. If you want to give in to temptation and leave the blossoms on the plants, just put a stake in the ground next to the plant and attach the plant to the stake. The stake will hold the plant upright and should prevent the main stem from snapping as the fruit enlarges. I often grow Red Beefsteak as a winter tomato in pots and usually they don't flower until the plant is 12-15" tall. Even at that size, once the energy of the plant is going into fruit production, you can tell the plant remains smaller than other Red Beefsteak plants that haven't set fruit yet. In that sense, the trade off is obvious: if you want earlier fruit, you're giving up some plant size. Generally, though, once the temperatures are consistently warm, the plant that set fruit first will begin catching up in size with bigger plants that set fruit later. Dawn

digdirt - I meant to ask, what's the reason for keeping determinates grouped with determinates, and indeterminates with indeterminates? I was considering mixing things up a bit, but I won't, if there's a good reason not to. One way I thought it could help is by planting a determinate between 2 indeterminates. Then pulling the determinate when it was done, so the other 2 would have more space later in the season. Sounds good in theory doesn't it? But it doesn't work in real life unless you aggressively prune to only the main stem. As you can tell from the pics aggressive pruning isn't something many of us do. As already mentioned the indeterminates will quickly smother the determinates, block the sun exposure to them, and suck up all the soil nutrients. Plus if you tried to pull them you'd be ripping up roots of the indeterminates too. You don't include your zone or location in your posts (BIG help if you would) but in much of the country determinates will give you a second crop later in the season as the weather cools so they don't get ripped out all that early either. These rows several years back were planted on 4' spacing so you can see the problems you'd have with only using 2 1/2'. I have since gone to 5'. See the wooden staked determinate on the right side? Imagine it in between 2 of the 8' tall indeterminates. ;) I'm planning to use a variation of dcarch's trellising system (google dcarch+tomato if you're interested), where plants are supported on 2 sides by a series of horizontal strings. Similar to a clothesline, but with multiple levels. Yeah that method is named "Florida weave" and you'll find a great deal of info and reviews on it here and on the web if you use that label. But it is your garden so try it your way if you wish. Hands-on experience is the best teacher. ;) Dave

Ha! 2023 now, and i wish idI’d found this page earlier. planted 2 of these just to appease my BLT craving husband. i got 2 large starts at Costco’s. its been a mixed up summer with cool periods interspersed with 100+° temps. These 2 plants in well ammended soil have produced amazingly and been free of disease. Great, but why do we grow tomatoes? Its for the flavour. These would be decent store bought tomatoes, but there’s nothing outstanding, no depth, no zing. To me they are tomatoes in name only. I grow Dwarf Tomato Project plants, usually from saved seeds. I’m always a bit late, so its well into August when we get any, but they are quite wonderful and redolent in their flavors. This year. I’m growing Fred’s Tie Die, Sweet Scarlet, and, as usual, good old Rosella Purple. The 1st 2 are producing well, despite the hot spells, Rosella Purple, not so much. its always a good idea to plant several varieties, as you never know what summer may bring. If you are interested in these 3-4’ varieties that grow like stout little trees (and do need support), look them up. seeds are available for a bewildering number with new varieties added every year. You can usually find started plants for sale online online. I’m happy with the threesome that Im growing, but like to tryout a new one or 2 occaisionally. Well worth seeking out for space stressed gardens like my own.

Matthew Siebert, I removed two raised beds when I moved into my house on the north shore of Boston 17 years ago. I just took a shovel and did it. Everything surrounding the beds was weeds. I shoveled the weeds up and piled them into a compost pile somewhere out of sight. Then spread the dirt that I removed from the raised beds into the just created mess. There was no mulch to deal with. I seeded the area. Things went wrong, so I seeded again. More things went wrong and again I seeded. It took years to figure out what was needed. I now have good grass in most areas. Deciduous trees that drop leaves do damage, both from shade and from rotting leaves that don't get raked up in a timely manner. Good looking grass is hard to grow if you have trees. I am speaking from experience. It can also be difficult in full sun if you are a picky person and want PERFECT grass. I know someone like that, and have followed his progress on his yard. We should talk grass. In New England, the turf grass that will grow is "cool season" grass. That's because it grows in the two cool seasons, spring and fall. You can seed cool season grass right now, or in the fall, or both if you like. I just seeded two sections of my yard, and will overseed another in a few days. This grass seed will grow until it gets hot, then stop, then start again in the fall. But you can't put down weed killer at the same time as you put grass seed; it will kill the seedlings. Do you want to kill weeds now and wait all summer to seed the grass? Cool season grass won't grow in the heat. You can eliminate the weeds now with weed killer, wait 6 weeks for the poison to wear off, then seed with an annual grass that will grow in the heat. It will not come up next year because it's annual, but it will look good this summer. Contractors often do this.. Then in the fall you can seed with your permanent choice of cool season grass. OR... You can shovel up the weeds now (no poison) and seed as soon as you're done with a cool season grass that will be there forever. That will work. It's still cold, so you have time to get rid of weeds if you have them. You can safely seed up till Memorial day. What's your weed situation right now? That will have an impact on whether you seed just the spot where the raised beds are or everywhere. There are a number of types of cool-season turf grass that will grow here. The big differences between them have to do with three things: sun needs, traffic tolerance, and growth habit. Some grow in deep shade (sort of, with a lot of TLC), some flourish in full sun (4-6 undiluted hours), others are in between. Some are willing to be walked on repeatedly without complaining; others aren't. And some spread, which is good if you want fast results, but horrid if you don't want the grass reaching into beds of annuals or perennials. You'll need to constantly cut the runners out. Clump grass does not spread. Let's talk sun first. What's your sun situation? How many trees are there on and immediately around your property? Are they deciduous or evergreen? Then growth habit and your plans for your yard. Do you anticipate having sections of your yard where you want grass to stop abruptly, on its own, without a significant retaining wall stopping it? Are you willing to put in such retaining structures to stop it from spreading? Traffic last. Will your family be walking on this grass, playing frisbee or football on it? Or the expensive and quick solution is remove the raised beds and put in sod where they were. Water every day. Don't buy it from a big box store that sells it cheap. Buy it from a local garden center on the day it's delivered to them. The manager can give you a call. Pay for it over the phone and have it delivered. This way you will know that you are getting live grass, not sod that's been allowed to sit out in the heat unwatered for days. Read up ahead of time on how to keep sod alive; it's tricky, but delivers immediate gratification.