2013, the year of the megabloom?

[KarenO]

Hello All,
My tomatoes are growing well and beginning to really get blooming but I am noticing an unusual number of compound blossoms on all of my beefsteak sized tomatoes. In particular, my captain Lucky only has megablooms so far (although it's early). I was wondering if this is something others have noticed as well. I guess I can expect a bunch of big freakish lumpy tomatoes although I am vibrating the trusses to try and help these big blooms pollinate more completely.
Anyway was just wondering if you are noticing the same thing.
Karen O

[tlintx]

No megablooms on any of my plants, although I think if I saw one I'd probably pull it if I didn't need the seeds.

Those fused distorted tomatoes creep me out for some reason.

[KarenO]

Our season is too short to sacrifice these earliest blooms as I am pushing the envelope as it is with even the later mid season varieties so ill let them set fruit. Maybe I'll get a few really big ones
Karen o

[kath]

It seems I've got quite a few, too, Karen- I'll take a closer look tomorrow. More common early in the season with the first bloom or two on a plant I think, which is what I'm seeing now. Less than half my plants have open blossoms at this point. I'm not pulling them even though I don't care for the ugly lumpy ones either.

kath

[indigosand]

I've had a few already as well. Most of them are on my purple calabash.

[AprilMayJune]

I have a Black Krim where the whole plant is a mutant. The stem is crazy thick and the foliage was out of control. It is loaded in megablossoms waiting to open. I'm not sure if I'll leave them on or not yet...

[kath]

Just came in from "buzzing" and so far the following varieties have at least one megabloom per plant- Terhune and Fish Lake Oxheart each have 4: Amazon Chocolate, Barlow Jap, Black, Black Mamba, Brandywine Liams, Brandywine Glick's, "Chocolate Beefsteak", Copper River, Daniels, Don's Double Delight, Durmitor (curious because I thought it was a cherry), Gary'O Sena, Hays' Tomato, Indian Stripe Potato Leaf, "Indian Stripe x possibly Daniels", JD's Special C-Tex, Marizol Bratka, Mom's Heart (a HUGE one), PPP x PP x "C", Turkish Ayla and Work Release Paste.

kath

[KarenO]

haha Kath, I guess it is not just me who will be having some big lumpy tomatoes this year
KO

[kath]

Originally Posted by KarenO

haha Kath, I guess it is not just me who will be having some big lumpy tomatoes this year
KO

Yup- but that's ok since there are always lots more "normal" ones.

kath

[danielnc84]

yeah Megablooms on everything. i even had a cluster of mega blooms on my 100 sweet cherry tomato plant. i cant wait til they start to ripen. along with everything else is fused as all get out too!

[TightenUp]

Originally Posted by indigosand

I've had a few already as well. Most of them are on my purple calabash.

that will make quite the ugly tomato. any set fruit?

[TightenUp]

out of over 50 plants only 2 plants with mega bloom. both are carbon and right next to each other.

[Cindyb1969]

I'm so glad I looked at this thread. I have those too, but didn't know what they were called or why they looked different. (I'm still a newby and dove in head first this year with heirlooms.) Mine are also on carbons next to each other. There are TONS of them too. I kept googling different words trying to figure out if this was good or bad. They are so beautiful that I couldn't imagine it being bad.

All of this being said, with the insane weather we've had this year in the Dallas area and the fact that I'm a beginner with a couple of not so great season behind me, I'll take tomatoes.....ugly, pretty, weird. Whatever!!! :-)

[KarenO]

Hi Cindy1969
I always leave them to see what they do. Every so often you'll get a really big one. I would imagine the big cherokee purple in my avatar photo was from a megabloom because it weighed 24 oz which is about double the size of a big "normal" Cherokee purple.
Folks who try to grow giant tomatoes on purpose look for these and remove normal blooms leaving only a couple of these compound blossoms per plant to try and get a super sized tomato. I don't do that but my Canadian season is short so I'm happy to get any tomatoes too. big, lumpy or whatever
KO

[unless]

i have never heard of this phenomenon, and i am intrigued.