I’ve been receiving emails from my customers along with a pictures of some of their tomatoes, asking questions about what is it, what to do about it, etc. I thought I’d share them with you, one at a time, since it’s a good bet that you may be dealing with some of the same issues. This hot weather we’ve been having here in the Pacific Northwest (East of the Cascades), has been making us and our plants a little on the moody side. So here goes…

Customer Question and Picture:

Any idea what this scarring is on the sungold cherty tomatoes. The first couple of weeks of picking was OK but we noticed this several days ago and the scars are spreading to many now. Thanks for your advice.

My Answer:

That looks like sunburn to me. It’s kind of papery, white and then it damages the fruit. If you don’t have enough leaf cover to protect the fruit, try getting some shade cloth or row cover and laying it lightly over the plant. 

Sunscald  or Sunburn, occurs particulalry during hot, dry weather when the tomatoes (and peppers) are exposed to direct sunlight. It can happen if your plant has sparse foliage, heirloom paste tomates often have sparse foliage or if you have defoliation from leaf spot or blights or you’ve pinched out too many leaves and auxiliary stems. (That is one of the reasons I don’t pinch out the suckers on my plants). Since this is physiological (physical cause) rather than a disease or a fungus,it won’t jump form tomato to tomato. Use a row cover, such as Remay, or shade cloth to cover.