PLEASE NOTE: In the autumn of 1995, we hatched the idea for a free, local gardening publication. The following spring, we published the first issue of Michigan Gardener magazine. Advertisers, readers, and distribution sites embraced our vision. Thus began an exciting journey of helping our local gardening community grow and prosper.
After 27 years, nearly 200 issues published, and millions of copies printed, we have decided it is time to end the publication of our Print Magazine and E-Newsletter.

Archive for the tomatoes tag

Why do cracks on tomatoes occur while still on the vine?

February 3, 2023 •

Resistant varieties come in all sizes and types. ‘Mountain Spring’ (a large red), ‘Sweet Million’ (a small-fruit variety), and ‘Mountain Gold’ (a yellow tomato) are just three selections that are not so prone to cracking.

Cracks on tomatoes that circle the stem end or stretch down from the stem end can be very annoying. They not only deform the beauty of the fruit, but also leave it susceptible to rot. The cause of cracks on tomatoes is generally a growth spurt caused by a prolonged drought. The solution is to provide your garden with adequate and consistent water. You need to water to keep the soil evenly moist. In Michigan, we can have full weeks of rain followed by a month of nothing.

If droughts are common in your immediate location, then besides monitoring the watering, try to look for and select a crack-resistant variety next season. Resistant varieties come in all sizes and types. ‘Mountain Spring’ (a large red), ‘Sweet Million’ (a small-fruit variety), and ‘Mountain Gold’ (a yellow tomato) are just three selections that are not so prone to cracking.

Answers compiled by Martha Ferguson, and contributed by Beverly Moss, Michelle Dunham and Chuck Tyrrell.

ELSEWHERE: Tomatoes exhibiting cracks this summer

Boundless tomato harvests contain infinite possibilities

September 8, 2015 • Leave a Comment

The Salt at NPR.org:

It’s that time of year when some gardeners and tomato-coveting shoppers face a vexing question: What on earth am I going to do with all these tomatoes I grew (or bought)?

A select few up to their elbows in tomatoes may have an additional quandary: How am I going to prepare different kinds of tomatoes to honor their unique qualities?

Chef Jamie Simpson of the Culinary Vegetable Institute faced a particularly challenging version of this last week: 100 pounds of 60 different kinds of tomatoes to transform into a seven-course dinner. Fortunately, it’s Simpson’s job to come up with creative solutions to such problems of abundance. And as Simpson deftly reminded us, the possibility of the tomato is pretty much infinite.

Read the rest of the article here…

Identifying and treating blossom end rot

August 24, 2015 • Leave a Comment

MSU Extension:

Blossom end rot is a physiological problem usually associated with tomatoes. Many gardeners have seen it, but may not know why it happened. Michigan State University Extension horticulture educators and Master Gardener hotlines receive a number of calls as gardeners begin circling their gardens looking for ripe produce.

Tomatoes, being the biggest garden diva, are alarmed and shocked at many situations that other less neurotic vegetables ignore. Tiny doses of herbicide, blowing sand and lack of water will produce damage to tomatoes while other vegetables tough it out. But other plants, if stressed enough, can also experience blossom end rot. These are peppers, eggplant, summer squashes and melons.

Read the rest of the article…

Ripe tomatoes are susceptible to Anthracnose

September 16, 2014 • Leave a Comment

MSU Extension:

For many gardeners, the end of August and beginning of September are the big times for harvesting ripe tomatoes from their home gardens. As is the usual case, those same excited gardeners have planted too many plants and a great number of tomatoes are being picked almost daily. What many of these gardeners are finding is these ripe tomatoes are rotting rapidly. When the gardeners looked at their plants, the leaves and stems looked good, the fruit was good, but what happened to the lovely tomatoes?

The answer is anthracnose (Colletotrichum coccodes). This is fungus that causes fruit to rot and can also be responsible for a high mold count in canned tomatoes.

Read the rest of the article here…

Cook some classics with green tomatoes

August 21, 2014 • Leave a Comment

The Detroit News:

I may have a ripe tomato before the frost hits. Feeling full of gratitude that most of my garden survived the cruel winter just a few months ago, I planted several varieties of tomatoes in containers on my deck. The plants grew tall, the buds finally formed and then the cooler weather and gray skies put the kibosh on all of it. The one Early Girl that I was watching longingly as it began to redden and ripen turned up in a squirrel’s jaws the next morning. My voice was the scream heard ’round the block.

So, I’ve adopted a new philosophy: When life gives you green tomatoes, put them in a frying pan, a pickle jar or a cake or a soup or a casserole. Don’t bemoan that the lovely heirlooms are taking their sweet time coming around; instead, take action and put those green tomatoes to good use.

Read the full story here…

The story behind tasteless tomatoes

July 8, 2012 • Leave a Comment

So, why do store-bought tomatoes lack the taste that many of us remember as kids? Blame aesthetics according to a recent report in Science Magazine:

The next time you bite into a supermarket tomato and are less than impressed with the taste, blame aesthetics. A new study reveals that decades of breeding the fruits for uniform color have robbed them of a gene that boosts their sugar content.

The finding is “a massive advance in our understanding of tomato fruit development and ripening,” says Alisdair Fernie, who studies the chemical composition of tomatoes at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology in Potsdam, Germany.

Read the full story here…

The secret behind growing tasty tomatoes

June 6, 2012 • Leave a Comment

Most of us in Michigan that plan on growing tomatoes this season have already planted. But, in the event you still haven’t or want to take notes for next year, here is some good information in the quest for a tomato with optimal taste.

The Salt at NPR:

It’s tomato time here in the mid-Atlantic – the critical moment when those of us eager to pull fat, bright fruit off our own backyard vines in a couple months are scurrying to get tender little plants in the ground.

But as anyone who’s spent a few summers of kneeling in the dirt can tell you, healthy-looking vines will not necessarily get you a mind-blowingly delicious tomato. And why?

Well, it turns out that scientists still don’t know exactly what growing conditions are responsible for the supertasty tomato. But they have a few inklings, which are worth keeping in mind as you try to coax sweetness and tartness from your seedlings.

Read the full story here…

Digital Editions

Archive for the tomatoes tag