I had a similar problem on a garden I had years back when I first started the garden. The bottom line is that I added a bunch of organic matter but most was wood chips. The nitrogen was going into decomposing the wood chips rather than feeding the plant. The next year I added some fertilizer and everything got better. Hope that helps.

Maybe it's the variety. There are some tomatoes varieties that are designed to be dry for making sun dried tomatoes. An example would be Principe Bourgese.

snappybob, was he growing his tomatoes in the ground and if so the same spot as the year before. Or was he growing them in containers and if so what kind of aggregate was he using?
What if any amendments did he add to the soil or container aggregate. If soil grown what is the ph of the soil he's growing in. Alot of questions I know but there are alot of variables in growing tomatoes.

Hi Snappybob,

I'm with M. Since you have good knowledge of growing tomatoes, a soil sample is in order. The test would cross off some of the variables for this one. Seems like some sort of nutrient deficiency to me since it crosses over to different varieties. This would show up in the sample test. A leaf sample test showing what is actually being taken up by the plant would be even better. Sorry $$. Good luck, sure would like to know what you find out on this one.

This is his second season of growing tomatoes on this property. It's a sandy soil. I'm not sure how much of my preaching of soil amending he has taken to heart. A soil test was one of my recomendations also. I agree, a leaf test would be even better. Will they also test the fruit? Last year apparently he had a good crop. I would like to help him solve this problem because in a few years I will be moving my operations to some land that I own that has the same kind of soil. Thanks for the help, I will be relaying this nad any other info to him tomorrow.

Hi Snappybob,
The extension service in you area might know about testing different parts of the plant. They might know of this problem in your area too. Since it is cross variety,I don't know the type of area (rural or suburbs, etc) you live in, it might be a faint chemical over-spray from something like Roundup which is an enzyme-inhibitor or other hormone sprayed in the local area for some reason. Has anyone killed an area of grass in the area or sprayed something in an orchard near by. Again the extension people would be familiar with similar past experiences in your area. Just a thought. Local experts are best. Good luck in your investigation.