Not to worry. I recently had a megabloom on my Black Krim at the terminal growing end, exactly like yours. Unfortunately, a hail storm snapped it right off as it was setting fruit. :-(

Your plant will likely correct itself naturally. The growth points will probably diverge on either side of the megabloom, forking into two new branches. At least that's what mine did. It should be fine within a week or so. I can post update pictures of my Black Krim as it is now, growing wonderfully.

~Caroline

Here is a link to the megabloom pics:

Here is a link that might be useful: Black Krim megabloom at terminal growing end

Hey Chick,

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks to me like there is a sucker sprouting just below the megabloom. Unless you've removed all the suckers, they will sprout and continue to grow and you will have plenty more tomatoes on this plant.

Good luck!

Mark

Step 1: Take a deep breath.
Step 2: Leave the plant as it is and fertilize and water as if everything is normal.
Step 3: Realize that everything IS normal.
Step 4: Stop worrying.
Step 5: Harvest ripe tomatoes in about 2 months, plus or minus.

:)

The plant will grow suckers from the leaf joints and it will continue to grow, flower, and set fruit. Terminal end megablooms happen fairly regularly and are nothing to worry about.

Since you indicate you have read through some of the other discussions on megablooms/fused blossoms then you already know that I tend to differ from others when it comes to dealing with fused blooms, especially terminal end ones. I snip them off as soon as I see them.

Although they do happen they are not normal but a deformity. I've never seen any benefit whatsoever to leaving them unless you are into ugly, deformed, fused tomatoes for some reason. ;) But I do see real benefits to the plant in terms of new growth and development when removing them.

Your choice.

Dave

Megablooms just happen, and can on almost any variety and not due to weather or anything else. In my experience they happen most often with large pink fruited PL varieteis but I've seen them on others as well.

I agree with Dave that if they are terminal to pinch them off. If they aren't terminal and the plant is large enough I just let them stay. But the fact is I usually grew so many plants that I didn't have the time to look at each one to see if it had a megabloom or not. ( smile)

I noted that your plants are only about a fott tall and I take off almost ALL buds and blossoms of plants that size and shorter when I set them out b'c I want them to stay in the vegetavie cycle of forming new roots and stems and foliage before they divert energy into the sexual cycle of blossom formation and fruit set and maturation.

Carolyn

Thanks to all. I am a bit of a nervous ninny this year with these tomato plants since I only have 7 and El Nino is playing havoc with weather. So yes, *deep breath*

I will take off the megabloom since the plants are still small. I did pinch off the first set of flowers - this is the second set; I don't want to pinch off the entire second set because I don't want to wait until mid-August for tomatoes :( Maybe I will leave a couple flowers and take the rest off?

Thanks a million,
Chick

Everything is fine judging from the pictures. Enjoy the plant and realize that megablooms do occur. Huge ugly fruit are as delicious and can be harvested and eaten as easily as picture perfect fruit. I see no problem here whatsoever.

Hi Irenep,
Sitting here looking at the rain outside the window in Berkeley. Chilly enough for a blanket.
Question. What is your mulch?? Looks like coffee beans!

Hi MockTurtle,

Yeah, we have heating on :(
I am using cocoa bean hulls. Got them at OSH. They are pretty and smell kind of like chocolate. This garden is used as a hang out spot by other tenants in the building so I have to stick to pretty. I didn't want to go with bark because I read it can leach nitrogen from the soil. Cocoa bean hulls can make the soil a little more acidic, but I would rather have that than leaching away nitrogen. I can always correct acidic with lime later on and toms are good with lime.
Hope the weather warms up. It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but the weekend looks a little sunnier and warmer. Let's keep our finger's crossed?

i let mine just grow. i like the character they give and they'll eat just fine.

i like them. some of them might need a little butchering when cleaning up to eat but so what. as far as stunting the plant. mine never missed a beat.

I agree, raisemybeds and jjt2005. I wish my megabloom didnÂt get knocked off in the hailstorm. I was interested in observing it grow out. I guess itÂs my curious scientific mind. Hopefully IÂll get another one!

HereÂs my Black Krim plant today. You can see where the megabloom was, and how the plant quickly resumed growth on either side of the megabloom. The plant is perfectly fine and healthy.

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star stuff, many of the big blossoms fell off of mine, but i had a spell of blossom drop. there was a weather anomaly that affect everyones blossoms around here but a few of them did set. some of them are still putting them out. i'll see if i can get a picture of some of the big flowers tomorrow. i'm on daddy duty so it might not happen. school is out and i made a promise to see shrek and eat sushi tomorrow so the garden is going to have to wait.

I pull off any ones that I see. Not much point growing fruit that will likely be a deformed woody mess that is a large curiosity but never ripens properly. Just pinched them off all of my plants this morning.

Here's what I got from a Cherokee Green mega/king:

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I really had it going on that year on that plant! Another angle:

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I should also mention that seedsaving is a nightmare. When I grew a plant the following year from the seeds, they were crossed seeds and gave me Cherokee Bi-Color F1!

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I'd grow it out instead of removing it.

As for your mulch, careful, it's toxic to dogs I believe.

Hope this helps.