Tomatoes

[Holly Moore]

This time of the year, here in Philadelphia, the majority of the local tomatoes I purchase, other than heirloom, have white pulp on the stem end, sometimes running through most of the tomato. This pulp is tough and tasteless. It is their even if, otherwise, the tomato seems nice and ripe.

My guess is that these are young tomatoes that have been pushed to appear ripe, picked prematurely and they have not developed completely inside.

Anyone have any idea if I'm correct or if their is another reason for this? Does it have to do with variety?

[sparrowgrass]

Can be stress during growth, but may also be related to variety. Beefsteak tomatoes don't have much of a core at all.

[heidih]

I got a few from my dad's patch like that. They were questionable as to ripe. Have not experienced it since then, so from my perspective it was a growing condition/picking stage thing.

[Holly Moore]

This is what I'm talking about. Lower right is the stem area cut out. Then the tomato was halved.

[ray goud]

I get those at my farmers' market also, at least here in CT. In VT, the farmers usually have better tomatoes, without the white parts. (Overall, I see that Vermont food producers are much more caring about the quality of their goods than those in CT.) I believe the worse ones are varieties specifically chosen for durability in handling, similar to the (winter available) ones grown to be picked while green and then ripened during shipping. Some of the farmers at the markets pick the tomatoes before they are fully ripe because they withstand handling better, then they "ripen" in the stands. If I buy the ugly "heirloom" varieties, they are much less prone to have the white sections. But the heirloom ones have much lower yield because of their awful shapes, etc.

We need a farmer to "come clean" about what varieties they are planting. Perhaps some feedback during one's next market trip would also help.

Ray

[annecros]

In talking with growers from about the Midatlantic all the way up to Canada on the east coast, they are all complaining about less than ideal growing conditions this year. It was a very cool, wet spring for them - so growth was delayed. Then, there was a stretch of unseasonably hot weather for about two weeks at the end of May, early part of June when most of the fruit set usually occurs. It was too hot to set at the time, so everyone's tomatoes are late because they set on the second flush of bloom.

That corky, white flesh could be anything from climate to pests to disease to early picking to a varietal tendency. It won't hurt you, but it is disappointing.

I would expect your season to really open up within the next week or two. Late varieties are coming in later than expected, and those are usually the best.

Of course, everyone is also hoping for a late frost. But, who knows.

[Shelby]

In talking with growers from about the Midatlantic all the way up to Canada on the east coast, they are all complaining about less than ideal growing conditions this year. It was a very cool, wet spring for them - so growth was delayed. Then, there was a stretch of unseasonably hot weather for about two weeks at the end of May, early part of June when most of the fruit set usually occurs. It was too hot to set at the time, so everyone's tomatoes are late because they set on the second flush of bloom.

That corky, white flesh could be anything from climate to pests to disease to early picking to a varietal tendency. It won't hurt you, but it is disappointing.

I would expect your season to really open up within the next week or two. Late varieties are coming in later than expected, and those are usually the best.

Of course, everyone is also hoping for a late frost. But, who knows.

←

I live in Kansas and it's been a horrible summer for my tomatoes. It was VERY unseasonably cool all spring with LOTS of heavy storms that had very high winds and a lot of rainfall. Next, it went straight from cool to 100 degrees. It seems like if there is not a happy medium in temps during May and June that the flowers on the tomatoes just don't set on.

On top of all of that, the deer munched the tops off of all 36 of my plants. Never ever had them come into the garden like this before. So, *sigh* I'm hoping they rebound enough to give us at least enough to can a few jars for winter.

Regarding the hard white stuff, it seems like some of mine do that and some don't. I've never figured out the pattern.