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[00:00.04]This is the time of year

[00:03.24]when many gardeners are harvesting tomatoes.

[00:08.80]Associated Press gardening expert Jessica Damiano

[00:13.80]recently reported about the many pictures

[00:18.08]of strangely shaped tomatoes sent to her from

[00:21.40]fans of her gardening advice.

[00:26.84]She said people sometimes question

[00:30.40]if the tomatoes are okay to eat.

[00:34.88]The good news, Damiano said,

[00:37.92]is that there is nothing wrong with the deformed fruits.

[00:43.84]Unless otherwise diseased,

[00:46.76]they are perfectly good for eating.

[00:50.48]Their unusual appearance does not affect

[00:54.72]their taste or nutritional value.

[00:59.36]If you have ever cut open a tomato,

[01:02.88]you know they are divided into internal parts, called locules,

[01:09.56]which contain seeds and a substance called gel.

[01:15.44]Most tomatoes have about four or five locules;

[01:21.36]other kinds of the fruit, like cherry tomatoes,

[01:25.56]contain two or three.

[01:29.08]Plum or Roma tomatoes have two locules.

[01:34.72]But when a plant experiences temperature extremes,

[01:40.08]cell division in the developing fruit can go off track.

[01:46.44]Temperatures over 32 degrees Celsius during the day

[01:51.80]and 27 overnight can lead the tomato to form an extra locule.

[02:01.20]But there is not enough room inside a tomato for the extra part,

[02:07.28]so it grows on the outside of the fruit.

[02:12.84]Not every tomato on an affected plant will be deformed, however.

[02:19.76]"Under the right conditions

[02:21.92](temperatures that are too hot or even too cold),

[02:26.04]this could affect one or two tomatoes per plant,

[02:29.96]depending on where they are in the development process

[02:34.80]and what the (weather) conditions are," said Timothy McDermott.

[02:40.68]He is an assistant professor

[02:43.12]and extension educator at Ohio State University.

[02:49.36]The likelihood of one of your tomatoes

[02:52.44]developing a locule oddity

[02:55.52]is estimated to be about one in a thousand, McDermott said.

[03:03.12]Any tomato can grow an extra locule.

[03:07.04]But, Damiano noted, heirloom kinds

[03:11.20]seem more likely to have this genetic mutation than hybrids.

[03:18.32]The extra-locule mutation is not

[03:21.36]the only abnormality caused by extreme heat.

[03:26.52]Conditions including sunscald, blossom drop,

[03:31.56]halted fruit formation and ripening

[03:35.48]can also arise when plants are grown

[03:39.08]outside their usual temperature limit.

[03:43.96]Provide shade for your plants

[03:46.60]when temperatures are predicted to remain

[03:49.76]above 32 degrees Celsius for several days.

[03:55.80]Attach a piece of 40 to 50 percent shade cloth

[04:01.44]to stakes inserted into the ground around the plant.

[04:07.88]Leave it in place from 12 to 4 p.m.,

[04:12.48]when the sun is at its strongest.

[04:16.72]Then remove it to avoid problems caused by a lack of sunlight.

[04:24.32]And, when harvesting your crop, remember:

[04:28.20]the funny-looking tomatoes taste just as good!

[04:33.64]I'm Caty Weaver.

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Words in This Story

nutritional – adj. containing nutrients that support health and growth

internal – adj. inside of something

oddity – n. something strange or unusual

heirloom – adj. a kind of cultivated plant that has survived for several generations usually due to the efforts of private individuals

mutation – n. a change especially a genetic change in a plant or animal that affects its appearance, function or structure in some way

hybrid – adj.a living thing, especially a plant, that is created by combining two different kinds of plants

ripening – n. the process in fruit of becoming ready to eat or use

blossom –n. the flower formed by a plant to produce a fruit

shade – n. an area blocked from sunlight