Question: My tomato plants have plenty of fruit, but many of them are rotting. When I pull them off the vine, they’re just bags of stinking fluid. What causes that?

Answer: There is an especially nasty bacterial soft rot that hits tomatoes, leaving them hanging like water balloons on the plants. Usually you can see the discoloration a few days before the fruit turns putrid. Try to remove the fruit at that point. Wear a disposable plastic glove, and take care not to touch other fruit or foliage. A registered fungicide probably will help.