Sow Along, tomato seedlings – week 6

Sow Along, tomato seedlings - week 6

A week before transplanting into bigger pots, the tomato seedlings show a good mid to dark green leaf colour. Also a look at the variety Heartbreaker Vita F1…
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Question by Wilson: Why are the produce departments leaving the stems on tomatoes ?
Does leaving the stems on tomatoes serv a purpose?

Best answer:

Answer by stephl6581
It serves a marketing purpose. It makes the tomatoes look fresher and more organic. It also adds weight to your bag.

Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!

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3 Comments

  1. Leaving the stems on serves no purpose other than to improve the look of the product. Just like adding color and designs to a cereal box. By leaving the stems on, the consumer’s mind is tricked into thinking that these tomatoes have been handled with special care, and therefore will taste better and fresher than the ones that have been handled by machinery.

  2. As mentioned above, there is no real purpose other than marketing appeal and the appearance of fresh and organic and “vine ripened”.

    Typically, and in the past, tomatoes are picked off their plant when they are full size but still green. Green tomatoes ship better and will be less damaged than soft red tomatoes. Some time before during or after the shipping process (depends on where they are being shipped to) the tomatoes are sprayed with a plant hormone called ethylene (ethylene is the same chemical that causes apples to turn brown once they’ve been cut and exposed to the air). The hormone cause the tomatoes to start ripening and turn red. Since the tomato has to rely only on nutrients and sugars already in the fruit to produce lycopene, tomatoes grown this way tend to have less taste and worse texture. But tomatoes that are “vine ripened” turn red naturally and supposedly have the added benefit of continuous influx of water and sugars from the plant which result in a better tasting fruit.

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