Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

When i checked the garden tonight i was looking at the Tomatoes growing and thought that two in the bottom group were beginning to ripen as they had a tinge of what i thought was red about them. Anyway when i examined the two Toms they were completely soft almost rotten like and more just skins of water,they end of the fruit was the same colour as the rest of the fruit,not as i expected with blossom end rot with the brown bottom to the fruit,there was no smell and no slimy feeling to it in fact if i had not touch them i would never have thought anything was wrong.
These were the first fruit formed so i haven’t panicked into anything at the moment,the other Toms all seem fine with no evidence of anything untoward.
Anyone have any ideals ?

Any holes from fruit flies or evidence of any injury?

Scotty435 I didn't think to check,I was disappointed and pis......d off so there in the compost,the first one I mashed so no clues there I think the second I pulled it apart slowly,it was just water inside not even really mush,really strange,I will get it back out first thing I visually check.

Sounds like bacterial soft rot of some kind but I'm not positive. Usually it's more obvious.

In soil, high Nitrogen levels in ratio to other nutrients during fruiting can cause tomatoes to be watery, with pale, almost mushy flesh... so possibly high Nitrates in your AP system... what's your reading?

Have you been adding Seasol occasionally, or any Potassium?

Mr D,nitrates are nearly zero most of the time,still only lightly stocked,Seasol is not available here in Thailand and as for Potassium I have been Foliar spraying Pot Sulphate at a 2% mix but have now taken your advice and dosed Pot Sulphate at a level teaspoon/ 1000litre,I dosed the first time four days ago and dosed again tonight.

Scotty,Mr D if you go to my thread on the last page,the pic of the Toms you can see the biggest one has a tinge of colour almost as if it's trying to ripen,this is one of the Toms that had just water and mush inside.

Still not sure what's going on. I did find a really nice key with pics of tomato diseases though - http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/DiagnosticKeys/TomFrt/TomFrtKey.html

Here's another site - http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs200

For what it's worth, this might be what's called Puffiness in these two web pages.

Many thanks Scotty,nearly midnight here so I will read through them in the morning,once again thanks.

Wow, its like a horror show with those pictures

Great information - with all the bad things that can happen to toms, its a wonder we get any!

On examination this morning i found this,i take it this fruit fly and the cause or something else to go with it,what are the little dark lumps on the top of the Tomatoe leaf ?

Dark lumps look like insect eggs but I don't know what kind. Might want to clip that portion put in a jar and see what hatches.



Maybe, that's what I was thinking when I asked about it. I figured there had to be a break in the skin for bacteria to get in and liquify the inside of the tomatoes. Either the fruit fly larvae did the job or something that got in because of the damage they created.

I removed the Tom and checked it,they were indeed eggs,very small and stuck together in that cluster,the hole went just passed the skin,i carefully dissected it,the inside of the Tom was ok no sign of anything.
Thanks for the link some pretty horrible things these Toms can get..

Scotty435,one more this morning but this time i had little white larva crawling in it,not good but at least it looks we figured it out.

Yea looks like fruit fly to me dasboot