Do you wish for sweeter tomatoes?

[Dahlia]

I just learned that supposedly if you add a few teaspoons of baking soda to your garden, you can boost the sweetness of your tomatoes!!

 

[digitS']

Flavor is likely very complex, probably includes a combination of proteins, minerals and starches.

That sentence indicates that I really don't know anything about it . But ... I'm gonna guess that sugar is only a part of the complexity. If sweetness is high, other flavorful compounds may be lacking.

Saying that is my cover for admitting that i prefer tomato sweetness. I find that in hybrid cherries — my choices. Oddly, Yellow Jelly Bean stands out for me and one reason is that it tastes like a red cherry.

BTW – I've read that the skin to meat ratio of cherries means higher sugar content is possible without splitting. Degrees Brix, the horticulturalists say, for measuring sucrose.

Steve

 

[flowerbug]

after last year i don't think i could get sweeter ones.

using baking soda would change the pH of your soil a little and that can make more of certain other compounds available to plants.

i'm not too likely to do it here, i need to go the other direction for pH with some elemental sulphur to counteract the well water which has some calcium in it.

 

[Joao]

I've found that cutting back on watering once the fruit starts to ripen concentrates the sugars quite a bit. Doesn't work as well in really hot climates where the plants are already stressed, but in milder weather it makes a noticeable difference.

 

[Dahlia]

I've found that cutting back on watering once the fruit starts to ripen concentrates the sugars quite a bit. Doesn't work as well in really hot climates where the plants are already stressed, but in milder weather it makes a noticeable difference.

Welcome to the forum from the Pacific Northwest!