A tomato can look perfectly ripe everywhere except the area closest to the stem, where a stubborn patch of yellow, green, or pale orange refuses to join the red party. Those discolored areas, known as yellow shoulders, usually point to a ripening problem caused by intense heat and strong sunlight, not a mysterious disease stalking the garden.
Yellow shoulders rarely make the entire tomato inedible. The affected area may taste firmer, less sweet, or slightly bland, while the rest of the fruit remains perfectly useful for slicing, sandwiches, sauces, and the kind of backyard snacking that mysteriously happens every time someone walks past the plant. A few simple changes can also reduce the problem during the hottest part of the growing season.
