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Old March 2, 2017   #53
KarenO
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Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
Posts: 5,918
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"picking" large tomatoes of any shape by pulling them off the vines is something I would never do.
Most of the time there are lesser ripe fruits in the cluster to remain and pulling off the ripe one risks ruining the cluster stem. I always use a pointed pruner and cut the stem while simultaneously holding the fruit I am removing. Pulling the stem off the fruit risks tearing the skin and fruit with the stem attached keep much better than ones where the stem has been removed on purpose or by accident. For sale, I think stems attached make them look home grown. Cannot pile or stack tomatoes with stems still on though as hard stems will puncture other fruit
KarenO
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