Problems on Tomatoes: How to Identify, Treat, and Prevent Issues on Fruit

My tomato flowers are dying 
I have never watched my tomatoes so much as this year. I have put my plant in a pot. Even put it in the sun room and it has grown beautifully although …

Little eaten spots on tomato 
Q. I have a large Brandywine tomato plant. Most of the fruits have big spots in them that look like an animal ate them. Could this be mice, or would it …

Green seeds in my tomatoes 
Q. My tomato plant and the fruit look fine. But the seeds are green. What does this mean? A. A tomato seed is green because it contains chlorophyll, …

Why are the tomato fruit small, not deep red in color?  
Q. My tomatoes are small, not a deep red, but rather when ripe, the color is more orange. For many years, I lived in southeast Texas. Growing tomatoes …

Hmmm, No Tomatoes ... or Are They Just Tiny? 
Q. I have 2 "Park's Whoppers" planted in a bucket on my patio. The plants are healthy and have two tomatoes about the size of baseballs (still green). …

Why are my tomatoes developing large white spots? Is it the heat? 
Q. Tomatoes have developed large white spots. What could be causing them? A. There are at least 2 possible causes to consider. Stink bugs . …

Why do my ripe tomatoes have yellow color? 
Q. All my tomato plants are full of green tomatoes, and the bushes look OK. The fruit doesn't seem to be ripening all the way to red. Instead, the fruit …

My tomatoes are mottled 
Q. I am having trouble with my cherry tomatoes. Their exteriors are mottling. Can you help? A. There are at least 3 conditions to check for when your …

Tomato Fruit Drop 
Q. I have grown my tomato plants in the greenhouse, planting them during good weather. Then, temperatures dropped to 43 F for more then a month until heating …

Why yellow shoulders & cracked stem end? 
Q. It's the summer of 2011, the place central Indiana. I've got 600 plants (12 varieties). The season started too wet, then too dry, then too hot (100 …

Why do the tops of my tomatoes have raised bumps? 
Q. My tomatoes have bumps on the top that grow into each other. The bumps even form smiley faces. Some fruit has growths that look like small horns protruding …

My tomatoes are wrinkly, and they aren't getting bigger?? 
Q. Why are some of my tomatoes turning all wrinkly? They were fine a couple days ago. Also, the are beef tomatoes, but they aren't getting any bigger. …

My tomatoes have hard, whitish core 
Q. My tomatoes stay green for a long time and are very hard. When they finally ripen and I cut them open, the core is almost all white with little or no …

Why are my romas perfect on the outside, but have a dark rot in the middle? 
Q. Why are my Romas perfect on the outside, but when cut into the seed core is black with rot? A. There's at least two possible reasons your tomatoes …

What causes cracks in the tops of the tomatoes? 
Q. My tomatoes have cracks on the top where the stems are. Does a calcium deficiency cause this problem? A. Tomato cracks (sometimes called “growth …

Why is the bottom of my tomato ? Not rated yet
Q. Why is the bottom of my tomato rotting while the fruit is on the vine? Tomato Dirt responds ... A. There are several possible scenarios that …

Tomatoes Too Slow In Ripening Not rated yet
Q. My tomato plant looks healthy and strong, but the tomatoes stay green and not turning red. They are in a very sunny spot and are on a drip system. Could …

Why are my tomatoes getting black marks? Not rated yet
Q. Not sure of the tomato variety. I have picked a few tomatoes off the plant earlier and they were fine, but yesterday I went to pick and the tomatoes …

Tumbler tomato fruit splits at the blossom end, a new tomato grows out of the opening Not rated yet
Q. I have a red Tumbler Tomato in a pot by itself. It is located in a small plant shed with a plastic cover. Temperature change during the day is wide …

Only tomato bottoms turn red, tops turn yellowish orange Not rated yet
Q. Only the bottoms of my tomatoes are turning red. The tops turn a yellowish orange. Can you tell me what's happening? A. Your tomatoes are facing …

My tomatoes have white seeds and cracks Not rated yet
Q. I want to know why I have white seeds in my tomatoes this year. Are they safe to eat? The tomatoes also have cracks around the top but I'm not as worried …

Why are my tomatoes starting to ripen with a pinkish-cranberry color instead of the usual orange to red? Not rated yet
Q. We have several tomatoes that are ripening, but they all look pink/cranberry. Typically the varieties we plant turn orange at first, then red. We live …

Why are some (not all) of my tomato forming black ulcers?  Not rated yet
Q. I was very successful last year: 210 lbs of bright red, edible fruit in a patch only 5 feet by 14 foot behind my apartment. This year I have staked …

Yellow shoulders: what do I do? Not rated yet
Q. My tomatoes won't ripen up around the shoulder area. I have all that waste when I am canning. What can I do to prevent yellow shoulders or green shoulders …

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Why won't my tomatoes ripen on the stem end? Not rated yet
Q. My tomatoes won't ripen on the stem end. Why? A. There's at least two reasons your tomatoes may suffer from yellow shoulders or green shoulders. …

Cracks and mold on the top of my tomatos Not rated yet
A. I'm writing about the tomatoes we grew in a small garden in the Indianapolis, IN area this season. They were "Better Boy" tomatoes. When they first …

Why is my tomato plant not bearing fruit? Not rated yet
Q. I have had a tomato plant for about 6 months, and it's growing so big and green. Currently, it's filled with flowers, but they just dry up and fall …

Mealy tomatoes instead of juicy ones Not rated yet
Q. What makes tomatoes have a mealy texture? A. Often, the first tomatoes of the season or tomatoes grown in containers may have a mealy texture. …

Brown Spots on Brandywine Tomatoes Not rated yet
Q. My Brandywine tomatoes have brown spots which have sink holes in some of them. What can this be? A. There are several possible reasons why your …

Tomato started to rot as it ripened Not rated yet
Q. The first tomato in my crop to ripen was rotted. When I picked it, half was gooey and brown. There were two or three tiny white larvae-looking creatures …

Holes in our tomatoes: what is causing this? Not rated yet
Q. We live in Western Arkansas and are growing a variety of tomatoes. We have noticed that a good portion of the fruit have a hole here or there. We've …

Open split on my tomato Not rated yet
Dear Tomato Dirt, I picked my first red tomato off the vine. It has a split from stem to middle of tomato. The split if about a quarter inch wide …

Blossom ends got soft Not rated yet
Q. Seems like overnight the blossom ends of most tomatoes on one plant got soft, not discolored though. We've been having crazy weather last week was …