Start over, do over, more than a little embarrasing. In addition to eating crow and swallowing pride, I also have to choke on a big electric bill for the light – a light which grew some fungus and thousands of aphids, but not a tomato.
OK time for some excuse making:
Just a simple tpyo – I meant 3.48, not 4.38! (blasted dyslexia…)
Wrong ballpark (where DID I drop that GPS unit…)
Just a demonstration of what not to do
I can’t be accused of being a pessimist anymore
Rotting won the race over ripening
Rotten tomato award?
First light frost on day 42; first hard frost day 62; first serious mold on day 78 – that’s when it should have been picked! Mold management is crucial when air circulation is poor; this one was covered for as long as 3 continuous days in November.
Density (specific gravity) estimate is 0.91 (compared to water) , which is a bit less than the average 0.95 for tomatoes that are half ripe.
This one would be classified as “horseshoe” shaped.
This fruit gives some vague idea of what a 9 lb. tomato might look like; a perfectly spherical (NO lobes or cracks…) and ripe tomato with a diameter equal to the maximum of this one (20.1 cm) would likely weigh about that much.
Obviously the formula needs some serious reworking to take deep lobing into account. I’ve worked up some Geometry Adustment Factors already, so next year I’ll start integrating those into predictions.
Lessons learned, trial and error, back to the drawing board, better luck next time…
Delectation of Tomatoes, etc. 