BER....or is it?

Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

This has me baffled a bit. If it is BER, I've never seen characteristics like this. The BER I've had in the past had a leathery, soft brown patch on the bottom that would rot rather fast. This has nothing like that. This has a dark fibrous bottom that I can pick away. Underneath the fibrous bottom is ugly and lumpy but a fresh green tomato. Even the dark spots/streaks on the side are firm as the rest of the tomato. It has also been this way from when it started to grow. I'm just noticing it more since it's getting big. It looks like BER but from the characteristics could it be just a freaky malformed tomato? It sure is ugly :)


The pics aren't the best. It's in a very hard place to get at. I had to hang over the balcony and take the pic with one hand. I wonder what my neighbors thought? lol

Thumbnail by Ray_Der_Phan
Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

Here's another....

The one behind it also has brown streaks and a fibrous bottom. But not near as ugly.



This message was edited May 27, 2009 8:24 PM

Thumbnail by Ray_Der_Phan
Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

I picked away about half of the stuff off.

Thumbnail by Ray_Der_Phan
Evansville, IN(Zone 6b)

Is there some reason why you continue to maintain that tomato on that vine. I mean, yeah, there is some bizarre artistic value to it in a sorta photo-journalistic way I guess. But even art has its limits. That thing comes real close to pornography by definition :::smile:::

Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

LOL! Ya, people are telling me to get rid of that creepy thing. But as long as there's no disease(still not sure), the curiosity of what it could turn out to be is killing me. Hey, I might be able to win an ugly tomato contest when it's all said and done :)

Long Beach, CA

LOL pennyrile! I was quietly gawking in horror going down this page--then your droll common sense came into view.

Ray-Der-Phan, maybe it's marcwilson disease? Just kidding! No idea what it is (besides nasty), but pennyrile has a point--get rid of all the infected stuff...quarantine in a plastic bag and throw into the trash! Don't even compost it. I'm no expert, but don't touch your other plants after sticking your fingers in those.

Now I'm curious to see what the experts have to say...

Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

LMAO kurantkat! I was thinking marcwilson disease crossed with jayschroeder fungus. Not a lot of people catch on to my name :)

I think it looks worse than it is. At least I'm hoping. I just did a google search for "Ugly Tomatoes" and found some similar looking ones. I haven't ever seen one quite this freaky though.


This message was edited May 27, 2009 10:49 PM

Long Beach, CA

Between your questionable taste in football teams and your murderous ways with hornworms, your tomatoes (at least these two) seem to be getting the brunt of karma.

I guess it didn't register in my head that the lesions aren't...goopy. I just saw the pics and the word 'festering' blared in my head in big fiery red colors. Hm. "Curiouser and curiouser."




Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

Quoting:
Between your questionable taste in football teams and your murderous ways with hornworms, your tomatoes (at least these two) seem to be getting the brunt of karma.

I guess it didn't register in my head that the lesions aren't...goopy. I just saw the pics and the word 'festering' blared in my head in big fiery red colors. Hm. "Curiouser and curiouser."


With my team being so miserable for the past 6 years and the amount of hormworms I get(they should be here in a month or 2), you would think the Karma gods would be smiling down on me. Not sure what looks worse these days, that tomato or Al Davis :)

Ya, the lesions are dry, tough and fibrous. Not goopy nor having any soft spots. Check on it this morning and it had more green tomato popping through the weirdness. I'm really starting to wonder if it's just an ugly, malformed tomato and not diseased. Baffled! At very least, it might make a nice hat.

This message was edited May 28, 2009 6:41 AM

Fredericksburg, VA(Zone 7a)

Looks like the bottom of it could have been beaten against the wire cage. As the wind moves it around it might have rubbed back and forth over that support wire right beneath it. I have quite a few leaves (thankfully no fruit) that are damaged that way.

Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

Quoting:
Looks like the bottom of it could have been beaten against the wire cage. As the wind moves it around it might have rubbed back and forth over that support wire right beneath it. I have quite a few leaves (thankfully no fruit) that are damaged that way.


Hmm, anything is possible I guess. But I'm now leaning towards a severe case of "Catfacing". I've had minor cases in the past so this one had/has me kinda stumped.

http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/DiagnosticKeys/TomFrt/Cat_Tom.htm

http://wihort.uwex.edu/fruitveggies/TomatoDisorders.htm

"Catfacing describes the presence of deep indentations in the blossom end of the fruit. In some cases, the fruit itself is misshapen, becoming kidney-shaped or otherwise distorted. This damage occurs when temperatures drop below 50 degrees F during flowering and fruit set, resulting in poor pollination. In some cases, excess heat, 2,4-D injury, and erratic soil moisture can lead to catfacing. High nitrogen has also been shown to aggravate this disorder. Catfacing is cultivar specific and appears more frequently on older cultivars. Large-fruited cultivars are most susceptible.

Long Beach, CA

Wowie! I was actually going to say catfacing, but none of the catfacing pics I've seen ravaged the fruit so much. That's like catfacing after a Looney Tunes explosion.

Carmel, NY(Zone 6b)

I'm thinking it's catfacing AND BER. I've had it like that before and it really does make one want to pull the entire plant out and hide it, but it doesn't effect other fruit on the same plant, so it's not a big deal. (You may see future fruit with just the catfacing alone, but that's not nearly so scary-looking!)

Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

Shoot, that tomato looks more like "Lionfacing". The catfacing I saw in previous years was very mild by comparison. Definitely, keeping an eye out for any rot, none so far.

Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

It must be the year for freaky tomatoes for me. This one is growing a nose.

Thumbnail by Ray_Der_Phan
Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

So I decided to have a little fun with photoshop :)

Thumbnail by Ray_Der_Phan
Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

.

Thumbnail by Ray_Der_Phan
Moss Point, MS(Zone 8b)

Lol! Those are so cute. Is the nose a result of a fused bloom? I really admire the fluted varieties. Which one is it?

Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

Nope, not a fused blossom.

All of my crazy maters are coming off of Hillbilly toms. I'm growing 5 this year. I guess they don't like it in SoCal lol

They are all catfacing and acting weird in my area. Their fruits are getting HUGE though. I might have one getting close to 2 pounds. That one, with the weird bottom was a mega-bloom.

This message was edited May 30, 2009 11:24 PM

Long Beach, CA

I am surprised you didn't go here.

How could a green tomato be so rotten?? j/k

Thumbnail by kurantkat
Oceanside, CA(Zone 10a)

Ha ha! You know I thought about doing just that. I even thought about giving him an eyepatch ;)

Merritt Island, FL

i had to find you in a gardening club............reach i have been trying to find you for a while
tomubl64@gmail.com

This message was edited May 24, 2020 7:31 AM

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