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Mottled tomatoes - what's going on?
franka_winterH2H-POMj
Posts: 8
in Fruit & veg
Hi, I'm new to growing tomatoes and I hope someone here can help. I'm growing marmande this year, cordoned up strings in my conservatory, in pots using tomato compost and twice-weekly tomato feeds since fruit has started to set. I usually water twice a day by filling the saucer twice each time.
The plants look fine, stems and leaves are good, and lots of green tomatoes that are growing by the day. But now some of the fruit are starting to look strange. They are developing mottled, blotchy bruises from the bottom of the fruit, but they don't appear rotten. The mottled area looks just like a black eye a few days after the incident, although the border is slightly darker. It still feels firm and in no way soggy. I haven't found anything like it online. Any advice?
The plants look fine, stems and leaves are good, and lots of green tomatoes that are growing by the day. But now some of the fruit are starting to look strange. They are developing mottled, blotchy bruises from the bottom of the fruit, but they don't appear rotten. The mottled area looks just like a black eye a few days after the incident, although the border is slightly darker. It still feels firm and in no way soggy. I haven't found anything like it online. Any advice?
0
Posts
Have a look here under Blossom End Rot - the 2nd photo which shows the early stage
https://www.thecountrybasket.com/growing-tomatoes-part-3-common-problems-fixes/
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Hopefully it's just a few tomatoes that are affected.
I water mine (in the greenhouse) about twice a week depending on the weather - I sometimes get a few fruits with BER too
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
I'd guess I use about 6 gallons between 8 plants twice a week, one with fertilizer the other just water.
If it's warmer they may get a 3rd watering, if it's cooler maybe a bit less than 6 gallons between them
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
Are they in very small pots? I've never needed to water as often as that either, and I always have to grow undercover - usually in pots, but this year in the ground in the growhouse.
It's also really important to have good ventilation if they're in a conservatory - just as you would with a greenhouse. We don't have the very high temps that the south gets, but even so, my little greenhouse gets very hot, even when the temps outside are only mid teens. I open the top every day if there's sun -a bit less on the cloudy days
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.