Thick, tough tomato skin

[HonoluluGirl]

Hi. This is my first time growing tomatoes. My mom recieved a free pack of determinate tomato seeds from Sunset magazine. I forgot the name of the tomato - it didn't have a "name", but it had a number as the name. I don't remember what it was. Any way, I grew 2 tomato plants, and the tomatoes have thick and tough skins. They look like perfect tomatoes - about 3 to 4 inches in diameter, beautiful and red, and they taste good. But the skins are thick and kind of tough to chew. What causes thick, tough skin?

[Bobberman]

It may have been some type of paste tomato since they have thicker skins!

[rainbowgardener]

Variety can make a difference as Bobber said -- tomatoes that are bred for crack resistance tend to have thicker skin.

But any tomato can thicken up its skin in drought or under watering. It is a defensive reaction to help preserve the moisture. High temperatures contribute to that also. Don't know if any of that applies to you ... I don't think of Honolulu as being dry...

[prettygurl]

Also, determinates tend to have different results than indeterminate tomatoes. They are shorter season varieties. That is why I have grown them in the past. In Hawaii, it may be best to go with an indeterminate and have a perennial plant.

[ElizabethB]

I don't have a specific answer to your question but variety may be the issue. I found this - it is university research based and region specific. Hope it helps for future planting.

https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/HGV-5.pdf

[HonoluluGirl]

Thanks for the article, Elizabeth.

Here's the name of the tomato: "Ace 55 VF" and it is a thick skinned variety. Here's a bit of what I googled:

Meaty, low acid, deep red, 7 oz fruit. A vigorous grower and thick walled. Produces heavy yields. Suited for slicing, cooking, and canning . Disease resistant. Good resistance to Fusarium and Verticulum wilt. Determinate.

[applestar]

Some people prefer thicker skinned tomatoes because they are easier to scald and skin or to cook and separate out with a mechanical strainer.

I have also heard that thicker skinned fruits are less bothered by stink bugs, though I don't have personal experience about that.

Personally I don't like tough skin on fresh-eating tomatoes... But on the other hand, they peel off pretty easily from ripe tomatoes even without scalding.

[dustyrivergardens]

Also the first tomatoes always have a thicker skin usually because the first tomatoes stay on the vine the longest.

[imafan26]

I have not tried Ace, is it worth it? How did you like the flavor? It is supposed to be low acid. Is it seedy? Does it have some tomatoey goodness or is it on the blander side? You said they were sweet?
In Hawaii the thicker skinned varieties do better especially with all the fruit flies stinging them. Virtually all of the UH cultivars are thick skinned but resistant to 3 races of fusarium, nematodes and TMV. Flavor wise, there are better tomatoes, and there are a lot of choices too. You may want to experiment and see which ones you like best.

[HonoluluGirl]

Imafan26, I said earlier that they were sweet. They're also kind of bland. They seem to have no acid. They don't have a lot of goo. So they're not very tasty. Very very mild. The birds love them though. If I leave them too long on the plants to ripen, the birds peck the heck out of them.

[imafan26]

Ace was bred to be low acid and without the sweet/acid balance, tomatoes tend to be described as bland. It can't be all that bad though. Birds will not touch a ripe tomato when they are bad. The birds will eat the best tomatoes at first blush, even green when they get desperate. Try sungold and Brandywine (I don't remember which strain I had) but the birds will even pass up chili peppers and go after these tomatoes at first blush. They even pecked trough the barriers. You will have to cover any bigger tomato with bags to keep the fruit flies out. Aloha