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  • Results 1 to 16 of 16

    Thread: Why are my tomatoes so sour???

    1. #1
      DesertPonder's Avatar
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      Why are my tomatoes so sour???

      I planted a full vegetable garden this year, the first in about 4 years.
      Everything is doing well but I don't know what to do for my tomatoes.
      I have several Sweet 100 cherry tomato plants that are just now producing ripe tomatoes. They are sooooooooo tart and sour that they will give any lemon a run for its money. LOL! Sweet 100's shouldn't be this way, they are always very sweet when I've grown them in pots.
      Is there something I can do that would help them sweeten up like they should be??? I'm guessing I need to add something to the soil but what do they need??
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    2. #2
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      I mulch around my tomatoes with grass clippings, which makes my tomatoes VERY sweet.
      I put the grass clippings on about 3-4" thick, careful not to get it too deep within 6" of the trunk of the plants.
      It decomposes down to a thin straw colored mulch.
      I replenish about once a month. Also is a GREAT weed barrier.
      I also give the plants 4 tablespoons (each) of osmocote around the base of each plant when I plant in May.
      I also do this around cantelopes and other melons...makes them unbelievably sweet.
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    3. #3
      Cowiche Ponder's Avatar
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      rabbit poop I've never had a problem with sour cherry tomatos..but then I don't grow sweet 100's as I think Favorita is better as a red cherry and Sun Gold and Sun Sugar beats both of them

    4. #4
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      Thanks guys. I have some osmocote so I'll use some on them and I'll try mulching them too.
      Rabbit poop......hmmmm.....not sure where I would come up with that.
      I wonder if horse poop would work.

      I've grown the sweet 100's in big pots for the last several years and they have always been very sweet. I have some yellow cherry plants too but they haven't started to produce yet.
      For some reason we don't see many varieties of cherry tomatoes around here. Sweet 100s and the variety of yellow I bought are about it.
      Shanna
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    5. #5
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      you probably need to lime your soil before you plant tomatoes, check your soil ph or go to your county extension agent to get an idea of the particular soil conditions in your area

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      BillJ is offline Senior Member
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      There may be a clue. Did you fill your pots with soil from your garden or bags from a store? If you want really sweet tomatoes,next year try planting some grape tomatoes.

      Bill

      Quote Originally Posted by DesertPonder View Post
      Thanks guys. I have some osmocote so I'll use some on them and I'll try mulching them too.
      Rabbit poop......hmmmm.....not sure where I would come up with that.
      I wonder if horse poop would work.

      I've grown the sweet 100's in big pots for the last several years and they have always been very sweet. I have some yellow cherry plants too but they haven't started to produce yet.
      For some reason we don't see many varieties of cherry tomatoes around here. Sweet 100s and the variety of yellow I bought are about it.

    7. #7
      JanR is offline Senior Member
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      You need to put stuff in your ground to make your tomatoes and cukes both not be bitter. Ask a garden store in your area what you need to put in the soil. I know this year we didn't realize it but we needed calcuim in our soil. Some of our tomatoes have a brown mushy spot on the bottom. We took one into a our local garden store and they said we need calcium in the soil. They said we can cut off the bottom and still eat it though so the tomato isn't bad. My hubby sprayed something on the tomato plants to help prevent this from happening this year and this fall when he prepares the ground for next spring he is going to put calcuim down.

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      Horse poop!!!!!!!! and I know you have plenty
      YADA X 16 proud member of the blabbermouth club Have faith and hope in your self and each other and the world will be yours TINA


    9. #9
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      Quote Originally Posted by JanR View Post
      You need to put stuff in your ground to make your tomatoes and cukes both not be bitter. Ask a garden store in your area what you need to put in the soil. I know this year we didn't realize it but we needed calcuim in our soil. Some of our tomatoes have a brown mushy spot on the bottom. We took one into a our local garden store and they said we need calcium in the soil. They said we can cut off the bottom and still eat it though so the tomato isn't bad. My hubby sprayed something on the tomato plants to help prevent this from happening this year and this fall when he prepares the ground for next spring he is going to put calcuim down.
      Blossom end rot sometimes occurs when the soil gets real dry between waterings, then wet then dry. I have plenty of CA in my sol and I still get it sometime in the spring. Epsom salts has the magnesium that cukes need to cut the bitterness in the fruit, it also has calcium. It works well on cukes, my first thought was try it on tomatoes also, and glad to hear that someone else has the same thought.
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      How much epsom salts are you adding to your cucumbers? Ours are very bitter this year.
      YADA X 16 proud member of the blabbermouth club Have faith and hope in your self and each other and the world will be yours TINA


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    11. #11
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      Quote Originally Posted by BillJ View Post
      There may be a clue. Did you fill your pots with soil from your garden or bags from a store? If you want really sweet tomatoes,next year try planting some grape tomatoes.

      Bill
      personally and personal experience grape tomatoes are HIGHLY overrated. It took 12 years of growing different kinds before we finally found one that we thought was worthy of us growing it for farmer's market. It's called Sprite. Firm (read chewy) with a thick skin (if you like thick skinned tomatoes) but with good flavor and sweetness. They have thick skins so they don't split easily and firm so they can ship them easily.

      If you want SWEET, Sun Gold or the next generation Sun Sugar are by far THE sweetest cherry tomatoes.

      We don't buy any plants but start all of our own.

    12. #12
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      Quote Originally Posted by Cowiche Ponder View Post
      personally and personal experience grape tomatoes are HIGHLY overrated. It took 12 years of growing different kinds before we finally found one that we thought was worthy of us growing it for farmer's market. It's called Sprite. Firm (read chewy) with a thick skin (if you like thick skinned tomatoes) but with good flavor and sweetness. They have thick skins so they don't split easily and firm so they can ship them easily.

      If you want SWEET, Sun Gold or the next generation Sun Sugar are by far THE sweetest cherry tomatoes.

      We don't buy any plants but start all of our own.
      You sound like you know a few things about tomatoes. My grandkids gave me 2 tomato plants they started from seed. The fruit are all knobby and the skin is yellow. I'm not a fan of tomatoes,but my wife says they are seedless and juice-less and have an unusual texture. Any idea what they might be?


      Bill
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    13. #13
      Cowiche Ponder's Avatar
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      they look orange on my screen?? There are hundreds if not thousands of tomato varieties. Brandywines come in different strains and different colors. It would be impossible to tell by pictures.

      This is our 12th year of doing farmer's market. We grow for the best flavor and having stuff that is ripe to sell instead of potato rock hard..no we don't sell potatoes

    14. #14
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      Quote Originally Posted by Cowiche Ponder View Post
      they look orange on my screen?? There are hundreds if not thousands of tomato varieties. Brandywines come in different strains and different colors. It would be impossible to tell by pictures.

      This is our 12th year of doing farmer's market. We grow for the best flavor and having stuff that is ripe to sell instead of potato rock hard..no we don't sell potatoes
      To be honest,Mary,I edited the photo a bit. Flash burned the color out so I added shadowing with Picasa. The color is much more yellow. I should have left it alone. Picasa (free version) does not have an "undo" feature. This is closer.

      Bill
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    15. #15
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      looks like a canning variety to me. if you want a good "samich" type it is hard to beat a rutgers,good fried while green too...

    16. #16
      Cowiche Ponder's Avatar
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      there is a yellow brandywine but many other yellow varieties as well.

      Our best tomato this year is a black tomato called Paul Robeson. I just made a pot of spaghetting sauce with it..WOW! Problem with making the sauce is my DH keep stealing my ripe tomatoes!

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