Let's examine these rules. 1) and 2) seem a little extreme to me. I mean, who really cares if your tomato has blossom-end rot, or is split and leaking fluids? This contest is about the biggest, not the prettiest, tomato. For 3), certified scales aren't necessary if we're all using the same scale or have the ability to compare scales later in case of a near tie. For 4) most kitchen scales that I've seen give the best precision when measuring in grams, so please measure in grams, and I'll convert to pounds. Number 5) makes sense. We're weighing tomatoes, not the vine that it grew on. 6) green fruits are actually heavier, I think, than when they're fully ripe. 7) seems redundant. 8) Ok. I don't think freezing a tomato changes its weight, so who cares? 9) This is key - fused tomatoes must be actually fused, not just close neighbors.
Having said all that, here are the rules that I would propose. If there's any disagreement, then our fearless leader Fred should make the final call.
1) Trim the stem to <= 1/2 inch
2) Weigh it on a kitchen scale. Ted volunteered to let us use his.
3) Have the weigh-in witnessed by at least one other competitor.
4) Send me a picture of the tomato on the scale, with the weight in grams
5) In case there's doubt about the fruit being connected, slice it open and prove that it's one tomato!
I agree with these rules. If we didn't allow blossom rot, my main contender would be disqualified despite using a good calcium enriched fertilizer. It is the multi-lobe tomato that came from a megabloom. Another megabloom that set fruit has since succumbed to end-rot. The other two plants of the same variety and in the same planter have normal round tomatoes with no rot. I am thinking the megablooms are more susceptible.
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