tough skins

I am growing plants from two breeding programs, and currently tasting and measuring lots of tomatoes. The tastes vary, but the skins are invariably tough.

But now some of the other 75 kinds of tomatoes I'm growing this year (named ones) are coming ripe, and they have tough skins, too.

Could it be my growing conditions?

[Gardeneer]

I don't think that growing conditions can contribute to tough skin. However of the tomato is not fully ripe might taste like one with tough skin. So in this case it could be the wall that feels tough not the skin.

[zipcode]

Growing conditions do indeed affect toughness of skin a lot. From my observations direct sun on the tomato fruit seems like the biggest offender. Dry conditions also contribute, irregular watering, and who knows what else.
Indeed a softer tomato will seem to have tougher skin.
Also for some reason to me it happens in the beginning of the season much more than later. I am not sure why that happens, possibly because the first fruits are more exposed to sun before leaf coverage? The difference for a grape tomato I tried this year is staggering. The first fruits seemed to have plastic skin, despite the crunchy texture you basically had to spit them. Now it's way better, not ideal but spitting is no longer necessary.

[b54red]

Growing conditions definitely affect the toughness of tomato and pepper skins. Varieties that had very tender skins back in May and early June now have much tougher skins with far more blemishes now. I can remember growing Celebrities that are known for having somewhat tough skin and thinking they weren't too bad until later in the summer the skins got really leathery. Some varieties just have thicker tougher skins and when the weather gets tough so do they.

Bill

[slugworth]

4th of july hybrids have tough skins,so it's a tradeoff between that and having an early tomato.