Is this a megabloom?

Gerardo · May 8, 2015

Hello Everyone:

Apologies for the picture quality, but my phone's camera hasn't recovered from a recent fall. This a True Black Brandywine.

Also got a few large ones on a Cherokee Purple and a Black Krim, more or less in the same growth stage, with the initial blooms or thereabouts.

Should I 86 'em? Lots of bees and butterflies due to citrus trees blooming, so pollination has been outstanding, if that makes any difference.

Thanks.

Iva · May 8, 2015

Yes, this IS a megabloom. If you are after big fruits, keep these, as you can sometimes expect very large fruits from these.

If you are after seeds (after eating the fruits of course) that are most likely not crossed, do not save them from fruits that form from megablooms. Those tend to be crossed.

Gerardo · May 8, 2015

Thank you Iva, that answers everything! They shall stay.

JohnJones · May 8, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gerardo

Hello Everyone:

Apologies for the picture quality, but my phone's camera hasn't recovered from a recent fall. This a True Black Brandywine.

Also got a few large ones on a Cherokee Purple and a Black Krim, more or less in the same growth stage, with the initial blooms or thereabouts.

Should I 86 'em? Lots of bees and butterflies due to citrus trees blooming, so pollination has been outstanding, if that makes any difference.

Thanks.

Yes, definitely fused blossoms.

In my experience, they are not necessarily crossed (I have quite a few and VERY little bee activity), they typically show up early in the season during cooler temps. I think the blossoms have more trouble developing normally in lower temps.

Maybe some pros can comment and confirm or refute this.

Worth1 · May 8, 2015

I'm a little different on these things.
To me they take up energy from good normal tomatoes.
Often times mega blooms produce inedible tomatoes with a hard woody inside.
So if they are too mega tbey get pinched.

Worth

Gerardo · May 8, 2015

Thanks for the reply JohnJ and Worth, I'll monitor them and see how they develop.

bower · May 8, 2015

I have had a lot of disappointments with megabloom fruit, that ripened so unevenly you couldn't eat without tossing away half. I think Worth is right.

I find it hard to pinch the first flower though!

So exciting to see them - and the megablooms are really pretty in their own way - wow yours are very cool!

Could be a keeper for the ugly fruit competition...

Jazdoma · January 11, 2016

Well, I have different view on megabloom fruits. They can look awsome in some cases.
Something unique and special.

Ricky Shaw · January 11, 2016

Awesome!

MissS · January 12, 2016

Just Lovely. What variety is it?

**carolyn137** · January 12, 2016

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jazdoma

Well, I have different view on megabloom fruits. They can look awsome in some cases.
Something unique and special.

Yes they can look awesome especially to those who grow big tomatoes for competetion, not especially for taste, and IMO not so unique at all, since many varieties, especially PL varieties can form them early in the season and then stop doing so later on.

Just don't try saving seeds from them since each fused fruit can give rise to very different results so you won't get pure seeds back.

Carolyn

Gerardo · January 12, 2016

After reading Marvin's book "Giant Tomatoes" I'm carefully looking out for any megabloom. Anxious to try out my surgical technique to insure proper pollination of all the players. Otherwise, you end up with a wrinkled potato looking thing on one end.

AlittleSalt · January 13, 2016

I grew a plant that produced mega blooms on part of it, and the fruit looked impressively odd. I decided to grow it. They were not edible. The plant was supposed to be a Japanese Black Trifile (JBT), but JBT shaped tomatoes were about the only shaped tomatoes it didn't produce. I have no idea what the cross was because I didn't grow its parents, but I saved seeds from tomatoes on that plant that tasted good. I'm not sure if I'll ever grow it again, but the possibility is there. I did find that I have a couple of seeds left from that JBT seed source - I wrote F1 on that seed pack and they are stored beside the seeds I saved. I'm pretty sure Mother Nature wouldn't mind having a seed pack saved here and there of ones that didn't quite make it.

I know it's not what you asked Gerardo, but it is how I dealt with our first mega bloom. I'll most likely do it again when it happens, but I grow a lot of tomatoes - like you do.

Jazdoma · January 13, 2016

Well, in my case it was Pineapple mega bloom and there were 11 tomatoes fused in one .
I saved seeds just for fun, but there were not many. Taste was not good, sure not like Pineapple.
Some parts were overrippen and some parts in early stage of rippening. The only reason for growing was strange look and to see what will come out.
I am not sure, but the reason for mega bloom was, I guess, temperature changes last summer in my greenhouse at the time of forming flowers.

January 12, 2016	#10
MissS Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pewaukee, Wisconsin Posts: 3,149	Just Lovely. What variety is it? __________________ ~ Patti ~

May 8, 2015	#2
Iva Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Slovenia, EU Posts: 249	Yes, this IS a megabloom. If you are after big fruits, keep these, as you can sometimes expect very large fruits from these. If you are after seeds (after eating the fruits of course) that are most likely not crossed, do not save them from fruits that form from megablooms. Those tend to be crossed.

May 8, 2015	#3
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,598	Thank you Iva, that answers everything! They shall stay.

May 8, 2015	#5
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	I'm a little different on these things. To me they take up energy from good normal tomatoes. Often times mega blooms produce inedible tomatoes with a hard woody inside. So if they are too mega tbey get pinched. Worth

May 8, 2015	#7
bower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Newfoundland, Canada Posts: 6,794	I have had a lot of disappointments with megabloom fruit, that ripened so unevenly you couldn't eat without tossing away half. I think Worth is right. I find it hard to pinch the first flower though! So exciting to see them - and the megablooms are really pretty in their own way - wow yours are very cool! Could be a keeper for the ugly fruit competition...

January 11, 2016	#8
Jazdoma Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: EU, Slovenia Posts: 13	Well, I have different view on megabloom fruits. They can look awsome in some cases. Something unique and special.

January 11, 2016	#9
Ricky Shaw Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro Posts: 1,910	Awesome!

January 13, 2016	#13
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	I grew a plant that produced mega blooms on part of it, and the fruit looked impressively odd. I decided to grow it. They were not edible. The plant was supposed to be a Japanese Black Trifile (JBT), but JBT shaped tomatoes were about the only shaped tomatoes it didn't produce. I have no idea what the cross was because I didn't grow its parents, but I saved seeds from tomatoes on that plant that tasted good. I'm not sure if I'll ever grow it again, but the possibility is there. I did find that I have a couple of seeds left from that JBT seed source - I wrote F1 on that seed pack and they are stored beside the seeds I saved. I'm pretty sure Mother Nature wouldn't mind having a seed pack saved here and there of ones that didn't quite make it. I know it's not what you asked Gerardo, but it is how I dealt with our first mega bloom. I'll most likely do it again when it happens, but I grow a lot of tomatoes - like you do.