Gardeners Struggle with Tomato Oddities
22 posts across 2 communities in the last 30 days; 96% from r/gardening.
“Once you see the little hand reaching out, you can't unsee him,,, such a cute little hidden surprise.”
“I have this same issue every year. How do I remedy this?”
“I have grown multiple types for multiple years and nothing seems to be consistent. My brandy boys did terrible two years ago but amazing this year. My Japanese long tomatoes were amazing for two years before this year where they barely produced. Even hybrids are not consistent…”
Several posts express amusement and curiosity regarding unusual tomato shapes and appearances, alongside general gardening discussions. Some users share photos and seek advice on plant health.
SOURCES (60)
“Onlooker - "What kind of plant you growing there?" Tomato.... "What kind of medium are you growing in?" Tomato. [re: Tomato sprouting?!]”
“This is the only tomato that looks this way. Is it a pest? Or unlucky submitted by /u/rhysman_1228 [link] [comments]”
“hello! all of my tomato plants have been becoming more infected by this weird spotting into fall. i have been removing leaves but its starting to affect all of the leaves!!! ur has yet to spread to any other plants sharing the garden bed, and all of my actual tomatoes seem okay for now. anyone know what this is?? submitted by /u/International_Bid816 [link] [comments]”
“Yo, so I thought I'd post these here because I'm a bit confused and was hoping someone could help me: See these are supposed to be Champion's. But instead of being round and red, the ones on the vine are all more oblong/San Marzano shaped, and the first one to ripen came off easily at an orange-y hue. Now I'm no farmer but I think it could be two things, either or neither: Cross-pollination (1) or mislabelled mishap (2)? (1) I grew these next to my Pineapple tomatoes and Purple C”
“Can folks explain how early viable tomato seeds be saved in the fruits development. Majority of us use ripe tomatoes but I have many green ones that haven't ripen yet. My guess is full sized have the best chance but like to hear those more knowledgeable. Also can green seeds be saved directly or are there benefits to letting them ripen as much as possible after picking. submitted by /u/arturo-zong [link] [comments]”
“My plants are huge. But ALL of the tomatoes are being devoured. submitted by /u/Chillax_Aaight [link] [comments]”
“That’s a regular tomato not a cherry tomato. I think you’ve been picking them way before they’re done growing if they are normally the size of the little green one. If it was a real cherry tomato plant it would have produced more than 5 cherry tomatoes. This kind of mix up between starts happens all the time. The seeds are difficult to tell apart, as are the starts, until they at least have flowers on them and you can see the cherry or regular flower growth pattern. ETA: tomatoes won’t produce c”
I like the comparison to “kiwi” rather than “regular sized tomato” lol
“Once you see the little hand reaching out, you can't unsee him,,, such a cute little hidden surprise.”
“And they’re still green and growing! They are in a planter filled with bagged MiracleGro-brand potting soil. Would the MiracleGro alone explain this enormous size?? Was our seed packet mislabeled? submitted by /u/Lonely_String7923 [link] [comments]”
“Now I’m curious if they’re secretly using two different tomato varieties and just letting everyone argue about it Nature really loves keeping us guessing with plants like this”
“Cross pollination does not affect how current tomato will grow. It only affects the ones you will grow from cross pollinated seeds. How was the weather in last few weeks? Did you have very hot weather when you did not completely kept up with water? Meaning that you let tomatoes dry out too much and then caught up by watering them a lot? This can be a reason. It can also be caused by severe lack of potash fertilizer in soil. Tomatoes need high amount of it and even more in high heat.”
“Sooo if they can cross pollinate that mixed breed tomato would show up from the seeds inside that tomato, so you'd have to plant the seeds for next year. I grew 2 different kinda sauce tomato and they look like yours so I wouldn't say they are odd/bad or anything either”
“What caused a whole bunch of my tomatoes to have this damage? It's a single hole near the top (on most, it's towards the bottom on the one on the left). submitted by /u/skeptical_egg [link] [comments]”
“Definitely do not keep seeds from virus infected plants! Not all viruses are seed born, meaning the virus itself “overwinters” within the seed coat, but most viruses will coat the outside of the seed so they can infect the new seedling once they emerge. Nurseries and large greenhouse growing operations will sterilize the outside of the seeds with 10% bleach solution to denature virus virions (the “seed” of the virus) so they are no longer infectious.”
“Any of you experts have an idea of what might be causing my tomatoes to look like this? All fruit on this one plant look like this. The leaves don't look awesome either but the plant is still growing and bearing fruit. Nearby tomato plants are fine. The closest explanation I can find online is tomato spotted wilt virus but I don't see circles. The insides of them look/smell fine. I'm going with safe to eat unless clear objections are raised lol. submitted by /u/1kan36a [l”
“Doesn’t matter for tomatoes. When you repot them bury them to the bottom of the first true leaves. They will root from anywhere on the stem. Definitely recommend filling the pots up all the way though as the lip will shade out seedlings.”
“I consider myself lucky. I’m surrounded by squirrels and they took samples of my tomatoes once or twice then never touched them again. The only thing they do is kill my plants by unrooting them but the tomatoes they leave them alone.”
“I wouldn't be surprised they are hybrids between beefsteaks and roma, the former make large tomatoes and the latter tend to have more flesh and less water.”
Cheeks are red and juicy submitted by /u/Dalostbear [link] [comments]
“I grew tomatoes from seeds in an Amazon Fresh tomato last summer. It was exactly like the Amazon tomato. Looked perfect and had NO taste whatsoever.”
“The hybrid situation was my very first thought. I had to scroll way too far to find a comment addressing this.”
“I live in Southern California if that helps at all submitted by /u/CantaloupeKlutzy74 [link] [comments]”
“Before you yell at me, I know Big Macs don’t have tomatoes…it was a pregnancy craving. Anyways, they made really tasty Roma tomatoes. Fun little side quest. submitted by /u/bevensutler [link] [comments]”
“If you are talking about the whitish bumps on the stems, those are roots starting. Tomatoes are vines that naturally grow on the ground. This happens when there is not enough airflow or light and high humidity is trapped around the stems. If due to passing weather you can leave alone and they will dry up once humidity decreases. If due to crowding of branches and foilage prune to allow more airflow. In any case you want to provide airflow near ground to prevent Fungus growth.”
“My dad grabbed some random tomatoes and they did really well so we want to grow them again. They’re about the size of a ping pong ball so bigger than your average cherry tomatoes. Extra question: what are the brown bumps on the stem in the second picture? Before it fully broke off, it almost looks like it was trying to root from the top? Just thought it was weird. submitted by /u/Riksie [link] [comments]”
“I worked a farm for a while and we had anthracnose on our tomatoes pretty badly one year. I spent a lot of time inspecting tomatoes all through market days and pulling maybe half the tomatoes each day.”
“I think it's getting infected a lot of my plant dying. What to do submitted by /u/KChewSilver [link] [comments]”
“Mmmm I’ve had an issue with leaf footed bugs this year… and they do that to them too”
“My tomatoes stay green at the top. They have been like this for several years, regardless of the variety I grow. They have an irrigation system and are watered every night. submitted by /u/b0gfra [link] [comments]”
“3 categories of tomatoes Determinate which are small bushes. semi-determinate, large bushes. indeterminate, which often don't branch, unless forced to branch. if you remove the very small tip or the vine it grows vine branches where the leaves are at. at the base of the leaf stem, a new vine branch happens. you will need to remove its vine tip too to force branches. again & again for each vine tip to shape your plant.”
“My coworker thought they looked like jack o lanterns, but to me they look like happy stoned little guys submitted by /u/anasilenna [link] [comments]”
“Every single one of my tomatoes is doing this. I'm a first time gardener and was pretty excited that my tomato plants took off. But now that they are all finally ripening and turning red they are all doing this. Any advice? Thank you! submitted by /u/Kn1gHtHaVVk [link] [comments]”
“the big guy I found next to a bunch of half eaten tomatoes. So he really went to town. I found four of them. So I just put them onto one plant and move the pot further away from the rest, hope that helps both them and me. submitted by /u/Wrong_Class8040 [link] [comments]”
“Sorry, I guess I am not familiar with whatever breed that is. It does not look like anything I have seen before. That or the picture is not very good. I can tell you that you have no flowers and that is why it is not producing any fruit. What breed is that? The leaf nodes are completely different from anything I have seen in the midwest. I see the additional pic down below.”
“It might be easier if you look up the type of tomato you planted. You said you buried half a tomato? Do you know what kind it was? If it is a paste tomato it is likely that it is a determinate but that is not true 100% of the time.”
“Hello! Just wondering if I can ever expect my tomato plant to flower or if this is just what it’s gonna look like? I’ve kinda given up hope but I’ll keep watering it of course. Does anyone know? Thanks!! submitted by /u/Lawbreaker13 [link] [comments]”
“Is there a reason for the need to clear the whole plant like this than just let them die”
“I only save heirloom tomato seeds. My melons, squash, cukes and peppers can all cross pollinate with other varieties so there’s no guarantee I’ll get the same plant next year.”
“My wife thinks its a tomato horn worm with parasitic wasp eggs? Is this correct? Should it be removed? First one we have seen. submitted by /u/PM_me_your_dawgs [link] [comments]”