Sadly my "shotgun approach" (growing several dozen plants of various varieties and hoping for the best) wasn't up to the challenge presented by the more scientific horticulturalists, here. Nonetheless, I'll show my best effort - a "measly" 0.9 pounder.

This one was my pride and joy all season. It even came from my first plant to germinate and my best looking seedling when I hand picked the three plants to be my giant growers. It got blossom rot almost immediately after fruiting and as you can see by the second picture, I never got it under control. And I think my giving it a heavy drink two to three times a day the last few days may have caused it to split. Still, I'm happy with it being my first try. I'll make the podium, if only briefly. I have others also showing promise...we'll see.

Leaderboard update

Paul entered the fray with his nice 1.642# Big Zac, jumping into 2nd place. Let's keep those tomatoes coming!

Today I paid Aaron the $32 winner-takes-all prize for guessing the weight of the winning tomato. Based on scouting reports, I didn't see the point in hanging on to the money any longer. I hope that proves to be a premature decision!

 

When to pick your giant

People have been asking me if I picked my tomato too early. I honestly don't know. On one hand, raccoons have been tearing up my garden, so I'm relieved to not have to worry about my tomato any longer. On the other hand, I think I might have been able to eke out a couple more ounces if I waited.

Read the following excerpt from Dale Thurber's blog at https://delectationoftomatoes.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/predicting-and-estimating-tomato-weights/

Many growers have noted a slight shrinkage of tomatoes as they ripen, so they recommend picking “at first blush”.  I’ve also measured this shrinkage several times, but have found that it is compensated for, at least, by higher fruit density.  So I suggest picking tomatoes when they appear to be at least 25% ripe.  In my experience, measurable shrinkage rarely occurs until tomatoes are at least 80% ripe.

So if you want your prize tomato to be as heavy as possible, harvest it when its approximately 75% ripe in the early morning after a heavy rain or watering.

New Record

It's official, my big tomato was certified as the new state record:

http://www.bigpumpkins.com/DisplayPhoto.asp?pid=7536&gid=-32842

If I'm still in the top 3 in the state by the end of the year, I'll get my name on a plaque, and if it's still the top tomato, I'll get to hold the plaque for a year. Kind of like the Stanley Cup of tomatoes.

Decent Tomato

'Nuff said.

New Life for the Giant Tomato Contest

Just when I thought a podium sweep was possible, Travis threw a wrench into my plans for world tomato domination. He pointed out this rule on Fred's tomato contest poster:

So the leaderboard was all wrong, and contest is once again wide open. Ted pounced on the opportunity with a gnarly looking Porterhouse, and is now sitting in second place.