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echquiltstorm

Truth or myth: Sugar and tomatoes

echquiltstorm
15 years ago

I read somewhere that if you put a cup of sugar in the hole when you are planting tomatoes, then the tomatoes will be sweeter. I did it last year, but being a novice I wouldn't know if it really worked. I realized I forgot to do it this year and wondered if it really made the difference?

What do you think?

Comments (12)

  • dangould
    15 years ago

    Just have a good laugh and ignore it.

  • justaguy2
    15 years ago

    Sugar can increase biological activity in the soil. This is good and bad. Good in that the biology will liberate more nutrients, but bad in that there will be less left in reserve for the next crop.

    In no case is there any credible science backing the idea that sugar in the planting hole makes the fruit sweeter. A bit healthier? Perhaps. Sweeter due to sugar? Nope.

  • aulani
    15 years ago

    Save your sugar in the planting hole and sprinkle some on the tomato itself to reduce acid if you have a tummy acid problem. Not much sugar, just a little. I find that about mid season, after I've eaten my weight in tomatoes, that my tummy starts to get a bit upset with all the acid. Sugar reduces it.

  • zabby17
    15 years ago

    echquiltsorm,
    Nope, sugar in the soil won't somehow travel up the plant into the tomatoes. It might affect the soil activity, as justaguy says. But if you want sweet tomatoes, grow sweet varieties. (Look at the descriptions and avoid words like "bite" and "old=fashioned tomato taste" and look for "sweet" and "mild" and "low-acid" (they probably aren't really low acid, since almost all tomatoes have the same pH, but those with more sugar often TASTE less acidic).

    Sungolds, like macheske has, are the sweetest known---lovely little organe things you can pop like candies! We dry them and use them like dried figs or apricots.

    aulani,
    Sugar will reduce the acidic *flavour* by adding a sweet flavour, but it won't reduce the actual acidity level in the tomato. Sugar isn't basic so it won't react with the acid to raise pH.

    On the other hand, if adding a little sugar helps your tummy feel better, no reason not to do it!

    Zabby

  • james_in_lapine
    15 years ago

    echquiltstorm
    I read somewhere that if you put a cup of sugar in the hole when you are planting tomatoes, then the tomatoes will be sweeter.

    My Grandmother and Great Grandmother used 1 table spoon of sugar per gallon of water just before they harvested their tomatoes. I did a search on the net for "how to grow sweeter tomatoes using sugar" and found nothing to support that it worked. I did find a Canadian trial that used 1/4 seawater per (imperial) gallon that did get some added sweetness in the lab. They said it was most likely "due to plant stress from the salt". I will try and find it again if you would like the link

  • david chovanak
    8 years ago

    I took dr Carey reams class on his method of measuring soil energy and then the amendments from Dr A F Deddoe who wrote gardner's "How to Grow Nutritious Plants." One problem from the NPK fertilizers is the decline in soils water retaing per 'soluble carbons' from NPK salts.sugar applied in winter will be digested by soil bacteria and produce these little water holding 'gems.' Plants do best with a certain moisture at the roots. Old cooking oil also works. Rate of 1/2 cup per 100sq' raked in at winter's set. i tried that on a lawn area I could not keep water in for lawn (sandy) It worked! By way Dr beddoe does not endorse NPK as they are industrial wastes of 'low energy' .His book is well worth getting for making your own 'high energy' applications. I did it and it also works.As a foliar feed , tomatoes and all-ck out German formula: VF-11.

  • daninthedirt (USDA 9a, HZ9, CentTX, Sunset z30, Cfa)
    8 years ago

    No, sugar in the soil won't add sweet flavor. None at all. Sugars are large molecules that don't get taken up osmotically by roots. Plants simply don't get their carbon by uptake through roots. They don't need to do it, so they aren't set up to do it. That being said, small sugars like glucose might get through a bit, but not much. In fact, sugars are a class of carbohydrates, and those aren't taken up by the roots either. Now, if you don't wash it all away as the plants are growing, I suppose salting your picked tomato with the dirt it was growing in might sweeten it some. Sound appetizing?

    It's another question as to whether throwing sugar in the hole will help plants make their own sugar. I really don't see how. My guess is that it will only increase the likelihood of fungal and bacterial disease. It will certainly mess with the soil chemistry.

    If you want sweeter tomatoes, save your sugar and sprinkle it on after you pick.


  • Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
    8 years ago

    If I grew sweet tomatoes, I would simply die. I like the true tomato tang.


  • celestial
    8 years ago

    Years ago, I used a spray to try to increase tomato plant brix (sugar), but not necessarily to sweeten the tomatoes. I read higher brix levels help the plant fend off insects and disease. The spray included, among other things, a little blackstrap molasses. I also tested using Epsom salt in the planting hole, but not sure if it really did much. My best tip for sweet tomatoes is to neglect the plants--dry soil makes the sweetest tomatoes (and the sweetest, hottest chili peppers).


  • J M (zone 5a)
    8 years ago

    I vote Myth. Show me data.

  • damon_lowes
    7 years ago

    Add sugar, better still add molasses once per month when watering (1lb molasses per 2 Gallons), once fruit has set and the plant is a good height (5-7 trusses of fruit). The sugar will use up the nitrogen in the soil as the microbes increase. A reduction in soil nitrogen has been shown to produce approx 17% more sugar and reduce the acidity a little bit, but only in certain varieties and can enhance ripening by 4 weeks in colder zones. If your tomato is normally sweet you may not notice. If you use molasses, then the plant will receive a good hit of minerals especially potassium which is essential for tomato sweetness. This will not impact on further crops as when the microbes die off when they have used up the sugar they will release the nutrients back to the soil.

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