A Very Cat-Faced Black Krim

[grrlgeek]

I've been letting this grow, mostly because I want to see what it does.

2014-06-01_15-30-59_907web-catfacekrim1.jpg (36.29 KiB) Viewed 1561 times

2014-06-01_15-31-10_778web-catfacekrim2.jpg (45.56 KiB) Viewed 1561 times

I have 3 Black Krim plants; each has one tomato coming along. This is the only one doing this. Also, Black Krim is the only one of the varieties I am growing that had a bundle of 3 huge flowers at the first fork. By huge, I mean, they looked like calendula flowers. The were all open at the same time. It was pretty! All the other flowers that came afterwards are regular little pendant shaped tomato flowers. This tomato came from those big flowers. In fact, I think it's possibly 3 tomatoes.

On the other two plants, the fruits are growing normally from one of the later, regular-sized, flowers.

I don't figure this will be edible, or even pickable, the way it's wrapping around the stem. Is this something that happens with any frequency? What's up with the big flowers? (wish I had taken a picture... I thought they'd all be like that).

[valley]

It looks scary, if it reaches for you, run, better carry a machete.

I saw one that was almost purple, never eaten one. Let us see how it turns out before you pick it.

Richard

[applestar]

Don't forget to weigh it when you harvest.

Cat face pockets like that are prone to fungal issues here when the humid season hits in the muggy mid-Atlantic states, but maybe that won't be an issue for you in the S. Cal. desert?

[grrlgeek]

We are in the high desert, and we do get some humidity during the monsoon season. The low desert gets it a lot more than us, but neither do we get the rain that breaks the humidity instantly. I will keep an eye out for any fungal problems - thanks for the heads up on that. But I think this one tomato should be mature long before the humidity hits in late July - early August. I believe I am going to have to remove branches to get it out whole - but I will. Maybe I can enter it in the "biggest tomato" contest. Stay tuned!

[imafan26]

It doesn't look so much like a "cat's face" more like the elephant man.

[grrlgeek]

Warning - the following images may be disturbing or frightening to sensitive viewers.

So the little Bat-Faced Krim had become a bit more than blushed, and what with the Bird Wars going on in my front yard, I dared not let it stay on the vine any longer and risk losing this exciting photo opportunity.

This fruit, resulting from a compound bloom, looks almost normal from this side of the plant.

2014-06-11_17-08-09_639krim1.jpg (26.21 KiB) Viewed 1471 times

Coming around to the opposite side of the plant, the horror show begins.

2014-06-11_17-07-37_987krim2.jpg (28.26 KiB) Viewed 1471 times

Here you see a rare glimpse of a tomato trying to chew its own branch off.

2014-06-11_17-06-57_125krim3.jpg (31.86 KiB) Viewed 1471 times

A face only a mother could love. Or wait, at least I think that's the face.

2014-06-12_18-04-00_299krim4.jpg (34.79 KiB) Viewed 1471 times

The little darling weighed in at a meager 3.4 ounces. So much for the biggest tomato contest. :(

2014-06-12_18-04-12_556krim5.jpg (31.13 KiB) Viewed 1471 times

Here he is with his friends from the other plants.

It took a couple of days to ripen, and by then, it was looking pretty funky. When I sliced it (photos would have been too horrific, sorry) it was almost all scar tissue and gooze. Ick. It went in the bin.

The other two tasted wonderful. Everyone is producing normal-looking tomatoes now. Looking forward to more!

[applestar]

Hahaha! It looked ginormous without scale reference.

Giant tomato growers rely on that kind of fused multiple blossoms/fruits and don't care about edibility, but the way they ripen unevenly -- usually there's that last late fruit that persists in staying green while the oldest overripe fruit in the fused monstrosity starts to spoil....

It's a fun fruit to find though. Thanks for taking the time to share the photos.

[MB3]

fused blossom on Black Crim, how cool
perhaps you can save seed and select to advance this to a giant sub-variety? I know it weighed in light, but always worth trying for or passing on to those who love giants

[RogueRose]

It looks like Tim Burton created this tomato! What a fun one

[gixxerific]

Looks beautiful, now time for salsa.