strange albino cave tomatoes

veratrine · July 16, 2007

This morning, I was out communing with the garden and wondering why none of my tomatoes is ripe when I'm eating squash, corn, peppers, etc, from the garden. In fact, I noticed, the tomato plants have a few yellowing leaves, which is depressing when you haven't consumed a single tomato and it's July. So I thought I might snip off a couple of the droopier branches.

As with all my pruning, I got a little over-excited and soon I had a huge pile of branches, and for the first time in months, I could see into the interior of the tomato bushes (5 1/2 feet high, 4 feet wide, and dense). What's in there isn't pretty--droopy brown leaves, little tiny black buggies, and ALBINO tomatoes. Seriously. They're so white, they almost glow in the dark.

So, here's my question: Do the tomato fruits require sun to ripen, or will they turn red even in total shade (like the interior of my plants). And should I a) prune the plants so the interiors get sun or b) cut off the tomatoes growing deep inside or c) a little of both? (I know my plants sound like they should be razed to the ground, but the outsides of the bushes are quite healthy--it's just the insides that are scary.)

July 16, 2007	#1
veratrine Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: los angeles Posts: 16	strange albino cave tomatoes This morning, I was out communing with the garden and wondering why none of my tomatoes is ripe when I'm eating squash, corn, peppers, etc, from the garden. In fact, I noticed, the tomato plants have a few yellowing leaves, which is depressing when you haven't consumed a single tomato and it's July. So I thought I might snip off a couple of the droopier branches. As with all my pruning, I got a little over-excited and soon I had a huge pile of branches, and for the first time in months, I could see into the interior of the tomato bushes (5 1/2 feet high, 4 feet wide, and dense). What's in there isn't pretty--droopy brown leaves, little tiny black buggies, and ALBINO tomatoes. Seriously. They're so white, they almost glow in the dark. So, here's my question: Do the tomato fruits require sun to ripen, or will they turn red even in total shade (like the interior of my plants). And should I a) prune the plants so the interiors get sun or b) cut off the tomatoes growing deep inside or c) a little of both? (I know my plants sound like they should be razed to the ground, but the outsides of the bushes are quite healthy--it's just the insides that are scary.)