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Ontario, Canada

I have a huge megabloom om a thick ribbon vine that has many of these sepal leaves on the top. My concerns are that these could later die & cause a spot to rot on/in the top as the mater grows. Should I trim them back a bit now or should I just leave them alone? It looks like it has an afro haircut. Lol.

Here is a picture of it. Any help is appreciated.
Phil & Jane

https://www.gvgo.ca/forum/grower-diaries/1st-tomatoes-of-the-season

8/23/2019 11:49:42 AM

Ontario, Canada

Scroll down to bottom picture.

8/23/2019 11:51:06 AM

Central NY

Not sure what I’d do but that is a thing of beauty... could they be pulled out of the crevis?...I’ve done that before w success....wowzer...that’s cool-lookin...best of luck with that one!!!!!...what seed?

8/23/2019 12:16:05 PM

Lebanon, Oregon

What a great looking tomato! I see your point. I would think it wouldn't hurt to trim them off. Of course be really really careful with those scissors!

8/23/2019 2:52:17 PM

Oak Grove, Mn

Nice looking mega. I have had these sepals in the tomato before. Sometimes you can cut them from the back side and remove them. More can be done the younger it is. At some point, is surgery causing more damage than helping.

Aren't the new crosses fun. Your soil must be quite potent. Mega's on ribbons is what I have seen with the megacrosses when P and K are in the high range. Don't worry, with Wixom's mega crosses, if your soil stays potent, you will see many more like this in time.

Looking at the early tomato weighoff results so far. Things have changed...3 years ago 95% of the tomatoes listed were Big Zac. This year it is looking like MegaZac and BigMarley have made an impact.

8/23/2019 2:58:28 PM

Wixom MI.

Either way is fine its more cosmetic than a problem. Its safer to leave it alone because of potentialy bruising it while picking the leaves off. Good luck you have a nice one their !!! its common for the megazac veriety to grow those late monster megablooms later in the year. Im getting quite a few myself now !!!

8/23/2019 3:05:05 PM

Bloomington, IN USA

That is wild-looking!
I understand your concern about the sepals but sepals rarely become diseased to the point that they rot & infect adjacent tissues.
I recommend leaving them alone.

8/23/2019 5:07:16 PM

Ontario, Canada

Thanks for the advice. It looks better every morning I look at it. I think I'll just trim a couple sepal tips, so I can see the stem better & leave the rest. Don't want to get too close to the fruit. It is grown on the 6.23 & is on the same plant that grew our 5.75 a couple weeks back.

Good luck all.

8/24/2019 12:14:34 PM

Ontario, Canada

They are greenhouse grown & the soil is quite rich & well take care of. We brew up Ronny's compost tea blend, with some Magical Max, Essential Plus & kelp. We drench it once a week with this brew.

We had 3 other huge megablooms on ribbon vines form on the same plant this week. One is still in flower & the other ones were terminated in hope that everything went to the one big bloom. The plant would be well over 8' tall if it hadn't tipped over & I didn't trim the crazy growth on top. This is by far the most aggressive tomato plant that I've ever seen in our many years in this crazy sport. Gotta love those megazacs. LOL.
Good luck.

8/24/2019 1:52:07 PM