Post #3987551

2026-07-21 14:05 UTC

I've been growing tomatoes for years, and today is the first I've heard about the "breaker stage". That is, once the blossom end of a tomato shows its first blush of color, that is the point that it should be harvested. Leaving it on the plant adds nothing to the flavor, encourages the plant to produce fewer tomatoes, and also increases the risk to the tomato on the vine. Is this common knowledge?

Replies (5)

@tsupasat@infosec.exchange 2026-07-21 14:10

@wdormann@infosec.exchange New to me! I wonder though what are best practices for ripening those half-green tomatoes? Maybe in a plate on the counter?

Open ##3987639
@derekheld@infosec.exchange 2026-07-21 14:25

@wdormann@infosec.exchange I’ve never found myself complaining my tomato plants weren’t producing enough, more the opposite of oh my gosh I have to find a bunch of stuff to make with tomatoes in it. I’ve never heard about harvesting at the breaker stage, but reading the Penn State Extension article sounds more like something for commercial producers to worry about.

Open ##3987914
@wdormann@infosec.exchange 2026-07-21 14:57

We'll see how this goes...

Open ##3988521
@tyzbit@toot.now 2026-07-21 15:11

@wdormann@infosec.exchange there might be a reason, seeing as how you're reading probabilistically generated prose. don't believe anything you see in that space.

Open ##3988816
@gneilyo@mastodon.online 2026-07-21 15:08

@wdormann@infosec.exchange I’ve never heard that term and I’ve taken in many articles and videos about tomato ranching. However, I have noticed that tomatoes picked at this point do turn out great

Open ##4021984