skip to main content

Growing Tomatoes

A real tomato plant mystery

15 years ago

I have two identical parks whopper tomato plants planted 42" apart. The plants were purchased from the same store at the same time and were planted at the same time. Both have been watered and fertilized the same. I'll call them east and west.

Early in the season about 95% of the tomatoes on the west plant had blossom end rot - the east plant had none.

Now none of them have blossom end rot, but about 50% of the tomatoes on the west plant have severe splitting and about half are misshapen - the east plant has none of these problems.

Tomatoes on the west plant get no bigger than a tennis ball. The east plant produces about twice as many and they are mostly the size of a grapefruit.

Both plants are about the same height and both look healthy. The leaves are a healthy looking green and there are no problems with the stems. There are no problems with insects or disease on either plant. I can't tell any difference in the taste of the tomatoes and they seem to have about the same ratio of flesh to liquid.

I just can't come up any good explanation for all the differences in the two. Any ideas?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

bigdaddyj
15 years ago
I bet both weren't Whooper's. Bet the tags got switched at the retailer.
stev32k
Original Author
15 years ago
Hmm. Hadn't thought of that, but its a possibilty.
Related Discussions
My first real plant mystery
Q
Comments (4)
Hiya Tomato and all, Thanks for the links and candidate ID's! Sorry it took a couple of days to reply--it's been a hellacious week at work. I'm really looking forward to spending some time in the garden this weekend (despite the chill in the air). Anyway, I think you're correct about the Shamel ash ID, thanks. I thought it looked like an ash, but didn't realize that Shamels were evergreen in the low desert. This plant certainly has been evergreen. My old work had some nice ash trees nearby but they were (are) deciduous and always dropped their leaves. I guess my little mystery plant is a self sown Shamel ash, thanks again. I'd better relocate it ASAP then as it's right on the edge of the patio Thanks again, tomato, gardeners are so generous with information, I'm always learning something every time I log in here. Happy gardening! Grant Here is a link that might be useful: Pics from my garden, Feb 2013
...See More
mysterious holes in tomato plants
Q
Comments (5)
Hi Jessica - most of that damage is just wind tears damage and a bit of sunburn. But you do have aphids too - I can see a few of them in the pictures when I blow them up - tiny individual green peach aphids. You can hose them off with the kitchen sink sprayer and then let the plants dry well before exposing them to direct light to avoid more sunburn - any droplets on the leaves act like a magnifying glass and it kills the cell tissue under it. The aphids are also what are attracting the ants - they milk them like cows for their honeydew. If the problem persists after you hose them off, then mix up a soapy water solution of 1 tsp dish soap in 1 gallon of water (weaker than the normal recipe since they are seedlings) and lightly mist the leaves and soil top. Again - no exposure to light or sun until very well dried. Hope this helps. Dave
...See More
Mystery tomato
Q
Comments (28)
The Cuor di Bue is an oxheart tomato. Oxhearts are generally known for being wispy looking plants. Many people make the mistake of overwatering and overfeeding them or even pulling them thinking there's something wrong with them. However, many oxhearts have excellent production on those wispy vines. I haven't tried the Franchi Cuor di Bue oxheart, though. Many Italian varieties called cuor(e) di bue are piriform/large pears and not oxhearts, however. I agree that the Franchi red pear is an excellent variety which looks similar to riley's tomatoes. Very good taste and very productive. However, it's impossible to say for sure what variety riley's are. The best that can be done, if riley really wants a named variety, is to do a growout of different piriform type varieties from trusted seed sources, select the one that most closely resembles what has grown this year, and grow that seed from now on. Of course, if riley's not interested in having a definitive name, which is obviously not necessary to enjoy eating a nice tomato, he or she can continue to grow seed from this variety and, if it's not a hybrid, continue to enjoy it as a no-name home garden lucky find indefinitely. And while hybrid piriforms exist in Italy, I think they're mostly OP varieties here. I would expect that a piriform plant bought from a garden center here would be OP.
...See More
A REAL mystery---is this unknown a hosta and if so, which one?
Q
Comments (1)
Resembles a Veratrum - maybe it is Epipactis helleborine.
...See More
hercules
15 years ago
I must agree with bigdaddy. Susceptibility to both BER and splitting (as well as shape) varies all over the map with different varieties. IMHO, you've got 2 varieties, not both Whoppers.

On the plus side, consider yourself lucky if both turn out to be useable for you. My brother-in-law purchased 12 plants from a retailer he's been dealing with for several years...counting on them being Jet Star, his usual crop. HA! 4 of the 12 turned out to be a cherry tomato of unknown variety. Bummer, but too late now! (ever try to utilize all the production from 4 cherry-type plants? ~grin~)

Hal in PA
larryw
15 years ago
Sure, there are all kinds of possibilities regarding a mix up in varieties. But just put that aside for a moment and consider the following:

1)In a litter of puppies there are usually 2 or 3 of the bunch that look about the same. But then we have all the variations in the rest!

2) Consider brother(s) or sister(s). Are they all duplicates or is there some considerable differences?

3) Try a whole row of the same variety, maybe 6 or more plants, planted somewhere where you know the soil is consistant. There will always be differences in performance, but they normally will not extend to the major difference you saw.

4)Surely you have heard the expression "He's (or she's) a bad seed." Yup. That may be what you have!

Over the years I've had more of those "bad seeds" than I'd like to think about! And, by the way, they came with about the same frequency from those expensive little packages of
hybrid seeds as from the seeds I carefully saved.

Related Stories

EDIBLE GARDENS Summer Crops: How to Grow Tomatoes

By Marianne Lipanovich

Plant tomato seedlings in spring for one of the best tastes of summer, fresh from your backyard

LANDSCAPE DESIGN Get the Mystery of a Gothic Garden for Yourself

Create an enchanting and tranquil scene with the stonework and wayward plantings of Gothic garden design

LIFE Kitchen Traditions: Tomato Season Meets a Family Legacy

By Tiffany Carboni

Somewhere a Sicilian great-great-grandmother is smiling at a bowl of American-made sauce

ARCHITECTURE Houzz Tour: Fresh Ideas in a Former Tomato Packing Shed

A formerly metal-clad structure is now a beautiful wood home designed to capture the light and preserve open space

HOME TECH Here Come the Home Robots — for Real

This is the droid you're looking for. Humanoid servants are poised to finally be of service around the home

HOUSEPLANTS 8 Essentials for Healthy Indoor Plants

Houseplants add so much to our homes — and can thrive when grown in the right conditions. Keep these tips in mind

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Athyrium Filix-Femina

By Jay Sifford Garden Design

If you need a well-mannered plant that shines in the shade, lady fern is for you

EDIBLE GARDENS Great Design Plant: Roselle Tantalizes With Beauty and Flavor

By Steve Asbell

Call it a fruit or a flower or a sweet vegetable. This hibiscus is so lovely, all that matters is calling it forth in your garden

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING The 3 Ingredients of a Magical Night Garden

Conjure an enchanting scene with luminous plants and lighting that evokes just the right level of landscape mystery

GARDENING GUIDES Great Garden Combo: 3 Wonderful Plants for a Deer-Resistant Screen

Protect your privacy and keep deer at bay with a planting trio that turns a problem garden area into a highlight

Sponsored

Landscape Management Group

29 Reviews

High Quality Landscaping Services in Columbus

More Discussions

Has anyone heard of a storage tomato? Looking at Giallorosso di Crispi

4

"Purple" tomatoes?

4

What tools and materials for planting tomato

0