Giant tomatoes

[Jessi]

I was going through some pictures and I ran across this one from last year. That's my hand that's holding it:

Here's what it looked like after it was peeled and sliced, too:

That's a regular sized dinner plate so it takes up a pretty good chunk of it, even after removing all the outside bits. Surprisingly, it actually tasted good, too. Usually when fruits or veggies get too big, they don't taste the greatest.

 

[Jessi]

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering if something was wrong with the garden, we got lots of "normal" tomatoes, too:

So good. Those are the kind that I can just eat and wash without having to slice, dice, put them in something, or even salt, it seems. <3

 

[lovinglife]

AHHHHH YUMMM! Those are awesome looking tomatoes!

 

[Jed]

Did the tomato taste good? I love tomatoes and give it a go every year. I almost gave up this year.Yesterday I planted some plants outdoors and for me to do so is almost wishful thinking outside the hothouse. Frosts are always a threat.
One year I grew a potato that weighed 1 kg/2.2lbs. Generally the largest are half that weight.

 

[iluvmario]

Whoa! That is the largest home grown tomato I have seen in a long time. I can never seem to get my tomatoes to grow very large. Never larger that my fist, it is so disappointing. This year I got a lot of tomatoes but they were all pretty small. What is your secret?

 

[Jessi]

Jed, yes, they were absolutely delicious!

And iluvmario, I actually didn't intentionally get them that large. I prefer them on the medium size instead. Large ones are usually kind of stalky and don't taste as good. This one was delicious, but it surprised me because that's not how it usually goes.

 

[claudine]

I've never seen a tomato this big! It's giant! I want tomato like this too, please share some tips . I love tomatoes, I never get enough of them, I eat them every day. A tomato sandwich is so delicious! A giant tomato sandwich would be even better . I grow tomatoes too but they're always rather small.

 

[jubbly]

That tomato looks like 2 fused together.

 

[maddie]

Yes, they do look like two fused together.
I have seen huge tomatoes in the horticultural shows here, but never such huge home grown ones. Do you use chemical fertilizers for your veggies? I usually get medium sized tomatoes with wormy compost and mulch. I get about one kilogram to 1.5 kg of tomatoes from each plant if take good care and support them well. Share your secret with us. Please, please...

 

[Victor Leigh]

So, if I understand you correctly, Jessi, that giant tomato was just a fluke. You are sure you didn't, by any chance, give that particular plant any preferential treatment? Like maybe an extra squirt of fertilizer. Or maybe an extra kind word.

I am not sure if it works the same way with tomatoes but I know, from personal experience, that my rose bushes will produce bigger blooms when I spend time talking nicely to them.

 

[Jessi]

Nope, no special treatment, Victor, lol.

In fact, other tomatoes from the same plant came out normal size. This one just decided it wanted to be a monster tomato!

 

[Jed]

That tomato looks like 2 fused together.

I was intrigued by what you said Jubbly and thought to investigate. Here's what I found.You can go on to become a giant tomato grower by looking out for abnormalities. You first remove the petal-like anthers from tomato flowers revealing the pistil.
A regular tomato has just one [pistil-- the organ whose base swells to become the actual tomato]. Beefsteak varieties sometimes have two. When you see three, four or more fused pistils, you know you have hit pay dirt in the world of giant tomatoes. Such a flower may produce a tomato for every pistil, all of them morphing into one big, ugly lobed fruit that in weight and appearance resembles a small pumpkin.

 

[maddie]

Jed that sounds interesting. I will have to experiment some... lol But I don't know if I can do this.. but would be worth a try.

 

[Jed]

Jed that sounds interesting. I will have to experiment some... lol But I don't know if I can do this.. but would be worth a try.

I thought the same and will now take a closer look inside the flowers.

 

[dhrynio]

Holy big tomato!!

Were there many flowers on that plant? Many other tomatoes? That is a seriously big tomato!!

I talk to my plants too Jed! I swear they grow better because of it.