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.