Odd tomato plant (problem?)

[Jason]

First time I’ve seen this with my tomato plants. Of the 9 I have 3 have these monster blossoms, which is not usually an issue, as they produce large, but odd looking fruit. The problem may be this. The flower seems to be, not on a flower cluster, but on the end of the main stem.

I may have to let a side shoot grow out, and let that become my main stem.

Any idea? Please see the attached photos.

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[Don Foley]

Hi Jason,

I haven’t come across this myself but I’m sure Charles will have an answer for you. What variety Tomato is this?

Don.

[charles]

Jason it’s a trait of beef tomatoes when starting out, to lose their growing point and just have a fruit or truss. It’s maddening and yes you need a side shoot to grow, you have lost time.
I would pinch off that monster fruit too.

[Jason]

Charles:
I just went to pinch off the massive blooms. Not a big deal as the plants have other, smaller blooms. So no time lost. Luckily, I have not had a chance to truly prune my plants, so there are sideshoots to choose from at this point. A bit of catching up to do, but the plants are quite large (1.5 feet tall, sowed in early march, planted deep in mid May). But I doubt I’ll get the 100lbs plus of fruits I managed out of the same amount of plants last season.

For the record, the affected plants are Brandywine and Cherokee Purple. MY favorite tomatoes. Also growing Sungold for the first time, thanks to your recommendation in one of your videos. 🙂

[The rooftop gardener]

Thanks for this, I have been looking for an answer to this phenomen!

[Author]

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