Attack of the killer tomatoes!

Alright, so not really attack of the killer tomatoes, more like attack of the 10 feet tall tomato plants. It is crazy how tall our tomato plants are this year.

Case in point:

Oh! By the way, that is my neighbors vehicle in the background. Granted we have a raised garden, but still...it is crazy.

Take a look at the size of the stakes we are using to support the plants.


Besides the ridiculous size, I am happy to report that my tomatoes are finally beginning to ripen up! I was starting to get paranoid.

I am glad the tomatoes are finally changing colors - I have a ton of peppers that are just waiting to be diced up into salsa.

I am by far no gardening expert, this is only the 3rd year we have had a garden at our house, so I curious as to what is the deal with some of my Early Girl tomatoes.
Check out the black spots.

What are those? What causes them? And how can I prevent this in the future??