With so much rain, the paper mulch under the dwarf tomatoes was deteriorating. I think it's needed because they don't have modern hybrid fungal resistance built in. Much tomato fungal disease comes from splashing spores from soil to leaves during rain and watering. The paper mulch prevents that.
So, I made a cardboard mulch from Amazon boxes. The cardboard mulch should last the summer. If the rains stop and I need to turn on the drip irrigation, that's no problem. The drip emitters are under the mulch.
After growing season is over, the cardboard can be composted. Easy.
I also used the opportunity to give the tomatoes a dose of tomato fertilizer. They actually look nice and deep green, so I think most are doing well. There are a couple of stragglers, notably Brandyfred. That is different from last year.
Extreme Dwarf.
New Big Dwarf.
Dwarf CC McGee.
Dwarf Champion Improved.
Golden Dwarf Champion
Livingston Dwarf Stone.
Reisentraube. I don't know that this is a dwarf variety, but it's not putting on much height so far.
One nice thing about the cardboard mulch is I can use a sharpie to label the plants. I don't know if the ink will last the summer - it's fading on some plants I mulched with kraft paper.
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