Beginner Gardening: Slow Grow Tomato, 1 by JessJess

JessJess wrote:
I have a Big Beef tomato (http://bonnieplants.com/product/big-beef-tomato/) that I planted on Memorial Day (May 25) and it just isn't thriving.

The ground it's in is... well, frankly crappy (very sandy soil that was previously home to a remarkable abundance of weeds). So before I planting, I dug in compost, manure, and some garden soil to soften things up a bit and give it some nutrients. It's possible given the state of the ground that I just didn't do ENOUGH with that particular patch, but it's a little too late now.

I've tried watering with a mild, nitrogen-rich fertilizer (5-1-1), and lightly digging in some bonemeal around the soil to give this little guy an excuse to grow a strong root system, but his progress just isn't very exciting (at least not compared to the tomato I container-planted for my balcony which is the exact same species, was the same size, and was planted on the same day). I've attached two pictures - one was taken on 6/11/15, the other was taken this afternoon 6/18/15.

The tomato HAS tried to bud, but I nipped those off to encourage better plant growth. It's just... not a very supple plant, and doesn't seem like it could be doing as well as it could/should.

Granted, the tomato in the ground is far more exposed to the elements than my little balcony plant - it's been hit with some pretty heavy rain (and hail before I managed to throw a hard hat over it), wind, unusually cool weather, and - at times - relentless sun (sometimes all on the same day). Maybe I should just thank my lucky stars that it's still alive and let it do it's thing, but that... lacks ambition. I would prefer if it thrived.

I guess my question is... does this plant LOOK healthy? Am I too concerned about it? And how can I make it more comfortable?