What's ailing my tomatoes?

[Azryael]

I recently picked up a Hybrid Big Boy tomato plant, that I've left growing in the pot for now until I can come up with a more permanent solution (HoA is very picky about yards, so I can't do a greenhouse until I move out of this place).

Three pieces of fruit reached about 70% pink-to-green, so I harvested them to ripen them off the vine. However, it seems they're afflicted by both stink bug damage, and what look to be bacterial cankers.

I've got three more pieces of fruit that are still green and show no signs of any disease/damage. I make sure to keep the soil moist without overwatering and risking rot, and I avoid splashing any water from the soil onto the fruit to avoid any contaminates that may be in the soil when watering. I cut one of the pieces of fruit open and it looked healthy and smelled normal, but I I didn't dare taste test given the condition of the exterior of the fruit. What am I dealing with here?

Thanks!

 

[DirtMechanic]

I recently picked up a Hybrid Big Boy tomato plant, that I've left growing in the pot for now until I can come up with a more permanent solution (HoA is very picky about yards, so I can't do a greenhouse until I move out of this place).

Three pieces of fruit reached about 70% pink-to-green, so I harvested them to ripen them off the vine. However, it seems they're afflicted by both stink bug damage, and what look to be bacterial cankers.

I've got three more pieces of fruit that are still green and show no signs of any disease/damage. I make sure to keep the soil moist without overwatering and risking rot, and I avoid splashing any water from the soil onto the fruit to avoid any contaminates that may be in the soil when watering. I cut one of the pieces of fruit open and it looked healthy and smelled normal, but I I didn't dare taste test given the condition of the exterior of the fruit. What am I dealing with here?

Thanks!

Carry on, as it is all superficial damage so cut out what you do not like. Eating the diseased bits is like eating a cheese or other fermented food.

The phytohormonal changes in the fruit related to ripening are from a hormone called ethylene. Once the blushing starts, you may pick the fruit, as the process of abscission has begun and further growth or the mysterious "adding of sugars" has ceased. The plus is also that you can beat some bugs and diseases to the goodies.

A program of spraying appropriately for what attacks fruit in your environment is almost a given for tomato because they are extremely sensitive to their environment and everything seems to like eating them.

 

[Azryael]

Excellent, I figured as much, but wasn't sure. The tomatoes I remember growing as a kid when I lived in Germany never seemed to have these kinds of splotches.

Once I get to an area where I no longer have neighbors looking into my backyard, I will be able to better prevent critters and such from getting to my crops. I'm mainly getting a headstart on all of this before I move out to some nice acreage.

The goal is to have an eventual year-round supply of fresh fruit and vegetables, which should be more than doable given that winter here in the Hill Country will never be as extreme as say when I lived overseas, or in Colorado.