Marianne's Response

jazzyval’s Question

My Early Girl tomatoes look just great — EXCEPT for the yellow around the stem end. The rest of the fruit is ripe and delicious, but around the stem, the fruit is yellow and hard. Too much water? Too little? Or what? I grow them in pots on my deck. (The cherry tomatoes are doing just fine.)

Posted by Val Dumond on August 27, 2013

Marianne's Response

Sometimes this is just the nature of the beast - Early Girl tomatoes do not ripen all in one shot when the days start to grow shorter the end of the season. The good news is your tomatoes will continue to ripen after you pluck them from the vine so the yellow should turn red as the tomato continues to ripen. This late in the season try to keep your tomato plants dry - wet leaves slow down ripening and can cause a deadly leaf blight disease. Some gardeners place their pots close to the house in late August under the eaves to protect them from the rain. Keep growing, Marianne Binetti