Tomato patch update

All my giant tomato plants now have 2 to 3 megablooms per plant with fruit set on them. The varieties that I'm growing (Domingo and Big Zac) are megabloom popping machines! I have lots of greenies like these. 12-14 sepals per bloom, and a stem like the base of a giant sequioa. Which do I keep?

In some cases, the megablooms with fruit are right at the top of the stakes, which will make it interesting trying to support them. I've got a plan. We'll see if it works!

All other things being equal, I would have thought that more sepals = more size, but some of the highest sepal counts have produced funky tomatoes, like this one, which I think had 18 sepals. The ones that look like this, where the skin splits and the guts start spilling out, haven't done that well for me in the past. This one looks like a green pregnant woman is trying to escape.

Back about a month ago, I posted this picture of the biggest megabloom I had ever seen (22 sepals).

I coated the stigma with a thick layer of pollen, and I thought I got it to take. Well, 1 month later, it's finally starting to grow! This one is just a mess of fused scar tissue, sepals, and lobes. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

This tomato, on the same plant as the previous one, looks more like what I want to see. 5 big, fat lobes, all growing very well. (Domingo, from last year's champ.)

Here's a Big Zac in a container. It's starting to show some color, so its days are numbered. It should go about 1.5 lbs. 18 sepals and only 1.5 lbs. I don't think I have the watering and feeding discipline to grow giants in containers.

Here's another Big Zac, that should be over 2 lbs.

The Hrenchir Big Zac is finally getting into the swing of things, with a nice 14-sepal 3-lobed 'mater.

The biggest tomato in my patch has suffered a huge setback. The plant has contracted some kind of disease, and it's dying. I cut the top 1/4 of the plant off, to get rid of leaves with black, mold-like leaves, and stems with necrotic tissue. The rest of the plant is wilting, even in the cool early morning hours. I don't think it's going to reach its full potential, but I think it will still be over 3 lbs. I've got triple layers of protection, to keep it safe from Ted's critters.

That's all for now. Hopefully, you've got your table set, because fruit set this week will ripen in late September, when cool nights and the threat of frost will make things more difficult.

Sling Shot

Before putting this baby in its stork bundle I made some measurements - 16.75" circumference. According to last year's curve fit, it should be at 1.8 lbs now. I suspect it's a little lighter than that, because it's a Domingo, which run light, and it has some gaps. But still, I'm glad it didn't peel itself off the vine before I got it in a hammock! I didn't keep good records of when I pollinated it, but I think it has ~3 weeks to go, so I expect it will be well over 2 lbs before it's done.

Somehow, the sling picture showed up in Chrome but not IE, so here's a repost.

Baby Pictures

Still just babies, but starting to put on some weight...

 Big Zac in  a container

Another Big Zac

Domingo from last year's 3.69#

Pollinated MB

I know you guys don't need any proof that my pollinating methods work, but here is some anyway.

The megabloom is the left-most tomato in this picture, but all the other blossoms have tomatoes set as well. I did the full pollination method on the megabloom, but the electric toothbrush on the others was enough to get them to set. Pretty much every megabloom in my garden now has a tomato started, which was not the case last year when I let nature take its course. The only one that hasn't set fruit is the Hrenchir Big Zac, which somehow couldn't finish the job. All of the plants from Johnston-grown tomatoes have large offspring on the way. Heh. Heh.