Not in the Midwest, but similar. I picked 2 4th of July before the holiday (they had fruit b4 I transplanted from a 3-gal pot in late June). That's it. Have a couple green ones, also have baby tomatoes on the Speckled Romans, cherries, Brandywine and some that my cousin gave me I think are romas b/c they're oblong (still too tiny to tell). Glaciers are coming along nicely (transplanted June 13) but none ripe. Every month this spring we got an inch above average rain (often an inch at a time, once a week!), now we've had barely an inch of rain since June 23, only scattered showers forecast for the next 10 days. July is supposed to be our rainiest month (though last year wasn't). The way things are looking we might be lucky to get 2" instead of our "normal" 5 this month. 95 today - climate change at work! I'm starting to despair of getting any good juicy blackberries (raspberries are doing well though) unless we get some decent rain next week, the blueberries aren't too productive (I think the spring rains caused problems with pollination), and who knows about the indeterminate tomatoes planted 4 weeks ago, the cucumbers and the squash I planted 3 weeks ago? At least I may get some hot peppers since I'm seeing blossoms.

Susan, The first ripe tomato was from a Grape tomato. I had thought the first ripe cherry would be from one of the Husky Red Cherry tomato plants I have in countainers, because they set fruit before Grape, but Grape ripened first. Grape may have ripened first because the tomatoes are smaller than Husky Red Cherry. In containers, planted in March (I think), I have Husky Red Cherry, Grape and Better Bush. One of the Better Bush plants has two tomatoes and the other has three. All five of those tomatoes should ripen within the next 3 to 10 days, and we'll be eating the first BLT sandwiches of spring soon. About half of my container plants have fruit and the other half don't. In the ground I have a lot of small, bite-sized tomatoes that fall in one of the three following categories: cherry, grape, or currant. The plants' names and fruit colors are: Black Cherry(black), SunGold (golden-orange), Coyote(pale yellow), Orange Santa (bright orange), Rosalita (pink), Husky Red Cherry (red), Husky Gold Cherry (gold), Snow White (ivory-yellow), Dr.Carolyn (ivory-yellow), Ildi (bright yellow), Tess' Land Race Currant (red), and Sweet Million (red). There may be other bite-sized tomatoes, but that is all I can think of at this point. Of those, I think that Sweet Million, Orange Santa, Rosalita, Husky Red Cherry and Husky Gold Cherry are hybrids. The rest, I believe, are open-pollinated, and some are heirlooms and some are from the modern era. There's nothing prettier than a salad with six or seven different kinds of bite-sized tomatoes. It looks almost like a rainbow. I don't know about being the Tomato Lady....I think that title should go to Lisa Merrell as she carries on her dad's work. Y'all can call me the Tomato Nut or the Tomato Maniac. By the way, I am on the verge of hysterics. Something horrible is eating my willow trees....just stripping them bare. I thought it was probably going to be caterpillars, and you know that wouldn't bother me at all. But it is some sort of little black and white thing that looks exactly like ladybug larvae, except the ladybugs are grey and orangey-red, and these are black with white spots. I am pretty sure, therefore, that they are the larvae of some other beetle, and I need to do some research to figure out if they are beneficial or not. I have a sinking feeling that they are not beneficials--and there's hundreds, if not thousands of them, on that tree which is 5' away from my garden. Whatever they are, if they are harmful, I hope I have enough beneficials to take care of them. The willow tree will be stripped bare by this time tomorrow. Dawn

Look here: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/vegetable/tomato-problem-solver/ripe-fruit/spotted-wilt/ Could be thrip or stink bug damage.

bggarric- Welcome to tomato growing! Your orange one will be ripening soon! You said you trimmed plant - some fruit can get sunscald if removed leaves reveal them to too much sunlight. You could create some light shade for it until it grows new leaves to cover fruit. Perhaps, a lightweight curtain (fabric shower curtains work great), rope, clothespins, etc. Don't touch the plant itself though. Might look a bit funky, but in your climate should grow quickly. You asked what to do budget friendly - just keep watering, lightly fertilizing, and watch for insects that might be crawling & chewing. I prefer to tie stems even in cages like yours to keep plant supported and spread a bit to fill the cage. Also helps as it grows taller than cage and flops over to keep growing. If tied doesn't crack stems. Use what you have to make strips of soft material (old tshirts, nylon pantyhose). ~~Enjoy your 1st season of tomato growing~~