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#1
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Tomato Ripening Problem
All our plum tomatoes are in one garden and the rest in a completely different area. The rest of our tomatoes appear to be ripening normally but the plums (Romas and San Marzanos) are very weird. They look totally ripe on the outside but when you cut them, they still have a lot of whitish green on the inside. And if you leave the San Marzanos to further ripen, they start to mottle and get bad spots! The Romas seem much less affected but are still problematic. I have never seen anything like this before. Does this anomaly sound familiar to anyone? We also have Opalkas (in the same plot) but they have not ripened at all yet. Might this be a nutritional problem? Missouri Z 5b |
#2
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Tomato Ripening Problem
The only thing I know of that may apply is b'lotchy ripening' which is:
"a fruit disorder that is associated with specific environmental factors and possibly bacteria. The cause is not clearly understood. Graywall is promoted by low light intensity (a condition prevalent among dense vines), low temperature levels, excessive soil moisture, high nitrogen levelss, and low potassium levels." (Quote from _Identifying Diseases of Vegetables_ by Penn. State University College of Agriculture.) And... I found this page of pictures of mineral deficiencies in tomatoes, just now: http://www.luminet.net/~wenonah/min-def/tomatoes.htm Phaedrine Stonebridge said: All our plum tomatoes are in one garden and the rest in a completely different area. The rest of our tomatoes appear to be ripening normally but the plums (Romas and San Marzanos) are very weird. They look totally ripe on the outside but when you cut them, they still have a lot of whitish green on the inside. And if you leave the San Marzanos to further ripen, they start to mottle and get bad spots! The Romas seem much less affected but are still problematic. I have never seen anything like this before. Does this anomaly sound familiar to anyone? We also have Opalkas (in the same plot) but they have not ripened at all yet. Might this be a nutritional problem? Missouri Z 5b -- Pat in Plymouth MI Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced. (attributed to Don Marti) |
#3
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Tomato Ripening Problem
Our paste tomatoes grow white insides if they are not watered heavily during
drought and don't have a good limng in the fall with micros added. Our sandy soil requires that you add everything. Don't know where you are soil-wise, but Missouri soils should have everything you need. The heavy rains may have leeched what the soils need to produce. Gary "Phaedrine Stonebridge" wrote in message news All our plum tomatoes are in one garden and the rest in a completely different area. The rest of our tomatoes appear to be ripening normally but the plums (Romas and San Marzanos) are very weird. They look totally ripe on the outside but when you cut them, they still have a lot of whitish green on the inside. And if you leave the San Marzanos to further ripen, they start to mottle and get bad spots! The Romas seem much less affected but are still problematic. I have never seen anything like this before. Does this anomaly sound familiar to anyone? We also have Opalkas (in the same plot) but they have not ripened at all yet. Might this be a nutritional problem? Missouri Z 5b |
#4
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Tomato Ripening Problem
Besides diseasesbeing the cause, tomatoes can sometimes turn red without
ripeness when the fruit is on a blighted plant, in the presence of gases (like the hothouse tomatoes in supermarkets) or in the case of excessive heat. Are the tomatoes smaller than you'd expect for mature fruit? Do they taste unripe? Perfectly ripe Romas can sometimes have a lot of green in the central vein of the fruit, too. -=epm=- In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same. - Albert Einstein |
#6
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Tomato Ripening Problem
In article ,
"V_coerulea" wrote: "Phaedrine Stonebridge" wrote in message news All our plum tomatoes are in one garden and the rest in a completely different area. The rest of our tomatoes appear to be ripening normally but the plums (Romas and San Marzanos) are very weird. They look totally ripe on the outside but when you cut them, they still have a lot of whitish green on the inside. And if you leave the San Marzanos to further ripen, they start to mottle and get bad spots! The Romas seem much less affected but are still problematic. I have never seen anything like this before. Does this anomaly sound familiar to anyone? We also have Opalkas (in the same plot) but they have not ripened at all yet. Might this be a nutritional problem? Missouri Z 5b Our paste tomatoes grow white insides if they are not watered heavily during drought and don't have a good limng in the fall with micros added. Our sandy soil requires that you add everything. Don't know where you are soil-wise, but Missouri soils should have everything you need. The heavy rains may have leeched what the soils need to produce. Gary Thanks for responding. We will reconsider our watering routines then. Our soil is on the clay side but not too bad AFAIK. I think a soil test is definitely in order--- especially since our other plot of non-paste tomatoes on the other side of the house does so well. The paste tomato plot has been a lawn for like 15 years and before that allegedly pasture for cows. The ground was not too difficult to til the first time so the clay is not too bad. But I have not tested the PH so we will have that and other tests run. Thaniks! |
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Tomato Ripening Problem
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#8
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Tomato Ripening Problem
Phaedrine Stonebridge wrote:
In article , (EvelynMcH) wrote: Besides diseasesbeing the cause, tomatoes can sometimes turn red without ripeness ... in the case of excessive heat. After an exceptionally cool spring for this area (Missouri Z 5b), we have had some really blazingly hot weather in the upper 90s over July. I thought the foliage looked a bit chlorotic and we were just exploring how to get trace elements to them when this happened. The previous owners did appear to have used a lot of chemicals on the lawn; they had a contract with one of those places. ... ... The fruit is quite large--- MUCH larger than I would expect. .... They do not taste ripe at all either. Pardon the snipage.I wanted to quote without being excessive. I'm in the same zone as you and having the exact same issues with tomatoes this summer (bland, white spots inside), under similar conditions (heat, lawn chemicals). I'm thinking the heat has more to do with it than anything. All the grass and smaller plants on our property are starting to look a bit overdone from the sun, but it's not nearly as bad yet as it was a couple years back when our 30-year-old maples started to *wilt*. I'm hoping the weather breaks before I lose the plants completely, I'd like to have tomatoes this fall. Dawn |
#9
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Tomato Ripening Problem
In article ,
Dawn wrote: Phaedrine Stonebridge wrote: In article , (EvelynMcH) wrote: Besides diseasesbeing the cause, tomatoes can sometimes turn red without ripeness ... in the case of excessive heat. After an exceptionally cool spring for this area (Missouri Z 5b), we have had some really blazingly hot weather in the upper 90s over July. I thought the foliage looked a bit chlorotic and we were just exploring how to get trace elements to them when this happened. The previous owners did appear to have used a lot of chemicals on the lawn; they had a contract with one of those places. ... ... The fruit is quite large--- MUCH larger than I would expect. ... They do not taste ripe at all either. Pardon the snipage.I wanted to quote without being excessive. I'm in the same zone as you and having the exact same issues with tomatoes this summer (bland, white spots inside), under similar conditions (heat, lawn chemicals). Wow..... I am sorry to hear you are having similar problems. The difference is that we have two plots of tomatoes maybe a couple hundred yards apart. One is doing great and the other is not. I'm thinking the heat has more to do with it than anything. All the grass and smaller plants on our property are starting to look a bit overdone from the sun, but it's not nearly as bad yet as it was a couple years back when our 30-year-old maples started to *wilt*. Gosh I hope your luck imporves soon! |
#10
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Tomato Ripening Problem
Phaedrine Stonebridge wrote in message ...
Our paste tomatoes grow white insides if they are not watered heavily during drought and don't have a good limng in the fall with micros added. Our sandy soil requires that you add everything. Don't know where you are soil-wise, but Missouri soils should have everything you need. The heavy rains may have leeched what the soils need to produce. Gary Thanks for responding. We will reconsider our watering routines then. Our soil is on the clay side but not too bad AFAIK. I think a soil test is definitely in order--- especially since our other plot of non-paste tomatoes on the other side of the house does so well. The paste tomato plot has been a lawn for like 15 years and before that allegedly pasture for cows. The ground was not too difficult to til the first time so the clay is not too bad. But I have not tested the PH so we will have that and other tests run. Thaniks! Sandy and clay are two different beasts. As Pat said, excessive moisture may have more to do with your problem - also tomatoes are fairly tolerant of pH. See if the problems goes away as your soil dries up (like, the August tomatoes are going to be better). If they don't improve, I'd try some combination of foliar feeding for this year, and micro-rich organics for next year (some wood ash, and kitchen scraps). |
#11
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Tomato Ripening Problem
Phaedrine Stonebridge said:
snip I thought the foliage looked a bit chlorotic and we were just exploring how to get trace elements to them when this happened. The previous owners did appear to have used a lot of chemicals on the lawn; they had a contract with one of those places. Both sprays and pellets were used according to receipts in the house book. Given that we are not having this problem in the other garden (which did not used to be lawn), perhaps that is also part of the problem? If the lawn clippings were carted off and replaced mainly with high nitrogen lawn fertilizers, it is very possible that you have an area that's been depleted of some critical micornutrient or even a macronutrient (like potassium). Lots of people 'strip-mine' their soil by sending off the fallen leaves and grass clippings, and don't replace much more than the nitrogen. (Trees recover most of the nutrients from their leaves before they drop, but not all of them.) -- Pat in Plymouth MI Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced. (attributed to Don Marti) |
#12
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Tomato Ripening Problem
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#13
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Tomato Ripening Problem
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#14
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Tomato Ripening Problem
Phaedrine Stonebridge said:
The Early Girls are a disappointment. They seem to like to split and aren't all that pleasant tasting. One thing about Early Girls as they turn red several days before they are *really* ripe. So if you pick them when they *look* ready, they will dissapoint. That having been said, I replaced the 'Early Girls' with '4th of July' in my garden. I had tried 'Stupice' which are also nice and early and tastely, but they tend to green shoulders and give up producing later in the summer while '4th of July' keeps going. -- Pat in Plymouth MI Any technology distinguishable from magic is insufficiently advanced. (attributed to Don Marti) |
#15
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Tomato Ripening Problem
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