Tomatoes with hard core

[Duids]

My first post here is a question to find some possible cause or causes for my toms to have a hard center core. The hard part starts from the stem and goes about 1/3 of the depth and white in color.

Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you
David

[Ozark Lady]

I waited for other comments, but my first thought was it is the type of tomato.
I would say, if you don't like the large hard core, don't save seeds and remember not to grow that particular kind again.
I also wondered about maturity, are they all the way ripe?

[LindsayArthurRTR]

Of the 12 varieties that I grew this year, brandywine, pink german, cherokee purple and marglobe seem to have the hardest cores. Black Prince, amish paste, and the mystery yellow toms have the least amount of core.

Marglobe was the woodiest.

Black Prince was the softest.

[thanrose]

A tidbit gleaned from a Green Giant ad almost a half century ago is that tomatoes with raised hips will have a woody core. At the stem end, if the tomato flesh raises up significantly over the hilum or stem scar, that tomato will have a hard white and green core.

Most of the fruits you mention without a hard core rarely have high hips, while the brandywine types do.

[Duids]

Thanks to all of you.
I didn't know if it was the variety or maybe the weather or just my luck.
I haven't had a garden or tried to raise anything related to such. I do enjoy it very much.

I grew up on a farm and we always had a big garden and truck patches. Mom and I did all the canning and freezing. I remember it all very well but remembering and doing are to different dogs altogether.
I do remember her fussing about the hard cores but some years she didn't. I have no idea what varieties they were.

Oh well, live and learn and experiment, that to me is the most enjoyable part of this. That and watching everything grow.

Thanks again
David

[garden5]

A tidbit gleaned from a Green Giant ad almost a half century ago is that tomatoes with raised hips will have a woody core. At the stem end, if the tomato flesh raises up significantly over the hilum or stem scar, that tomato will have a hard white and green core.

Most of the fruits you mention without a hard core rarely have high hips, while the brandywine types do.

I, too, think it's just the nature of the variety. That's part of gardening: trying new things and seeing what you do and don't like.

Thanks to Thanrose for the great tomato tip.

[TZ -OH6]

Most modern hybrids are made to be as "coreless" as possible, but there are physiological reasons for any one variety to be more or less cored from year to year. Often times the large core is associated with "puffy" (slightly hollow) fruit and uneven ripening. This could be due to low potassium in the soil and/or temperature extremes. A soil nutrient test will tell you if your potassium is low.

[731greener101]

I agree with TZ but to take it one step further even though your N-P-K values may be in line your Ph may be off and not allow the plants ability to uptake potassium to be suficient.Greener