Tomato sprouts.....inside the tomato ....

[Murray]

Has anyone seen this kind of thing before ? See pix
The tomato seeds in the tomato are actually sprouting !!!!
This tomato came from a fresh food supermarket, could it be that the tomato has been held that long in cool storage that it has started to sprout ????

I have put the cut piece out on the window sill to see if any of the sprouts will grow enough to be planted out ... I can't see why they would not do so.

[djs-sa]

by the look of it that tomato has been out of cold storeage too long and was picked very ripe hence the growth of the seeds. I would be complaining and asking questions if I purchused a tomato looking like that.

[Hamish]

Murray what I want to know is - what are you doing buying tomatos at this time of the year!?! I thought you would have them growing everywhere.

[Murray]

Just starting to pick tomatoes now Hamish.......Yes it is a disgrace .....I am guilty as charged.

[Hamish]

Hahahah - well i shouldnt throw stones in my glass house - I dont have any cutting toms left after all the relish I made - just a million little toms!

[BenY]

Never seen anything like that before!

FYI the gel coating around tomato seeds is actually a growth inhibitor that prevents the seed from germinating. That is why when you are saving tomato seeds you need to ferment (read let them get all mushy and rotten) the seeds in a bowl to help soften the gel before washing and drying.

That must have been one of those nuclear tomatoes grown for its ability to withstand a drop from 4m high! :p

[Murray]

Hi BenY,
I did plant out a seedling from that tomato. It grew very well but did not have any fruit bigger than green peas.

What are we eating from supermarkets ??? Why do we buy the stuff when we can grow it so easily ????

[organicusrex]

One year I didn't have a garden because of a work related injury. I bought "USDA organic" tomatoes from the grocery. I had that happen to me a couple times with the seeds sprouting inside what appeared to be a perfectly good tomato from the outside.

I asked myself the same question as to what I was getting from the store. Fermentation must occur only to prevent the transmission of any diseases picked up from the last season. They will sprout but not with the best results or with a germination rate you would see from properly fermented seeds, plus they tend to be diseased. I found out the hard way one year. BUT, when they sprout inside a tomato that makes me nervous.

I've packed green tomatoes in newspaper as long as they were showing a white star on the blossom end to ripen after the garden was finished out. They need to be kept cool & dark and won't ripen without the little star. I never had one of my homegrown heirloom open pollinator tomatoes sprout even one seed internally. I was eating tomatoes from my garden a full four months after the season ended.

GMO is the first thing I thought of when I saw internal sprouting. Something ain't normal about it. Probably makes for good BSF food or throw it at a bad comedian. :D