It’s easy to avoid unappetizing cracked fruit once you know what causes this problem.
You have high hopes for yourtomatoesand can practically taste the delicious recipes you’ll make with your homegrown plants.
But then, you notice a problem.
Credit: Scott Little
“Why are my tomatoes splitting?”
you ask yourself in frustration.
Here’s what’s going on.
Trouble sets in fast when tomatoes crack duringhot, humid weather.
The split skin opens the door for fruit-rotting microbes to invade.
Prevent cracking with three simple growing tips to ensure you get a bumper crop of delicious, split-free tomatoes.
Why are my tomatoes splitting?
The grocery store is filled withtomatoessporting smooth, glossy, blemish-free skin.
These types of tomatoes are bred to be uniform.
Plus, any that happen to split typically get removed before making their way to the produce aisle.
In contrast, thetomatoes you grow in your gardenwill usually appear more varied.
But sometimes those irregularities become damaging, like splits in your tomatoes.
Tomato cracking is typical when there are big swings in thewater available to plants.
The tomato skins crack when the flesh expands faster than the skin.
Tomato splitting isn’t due to apest or diseasethat will spread to other plants.
There is no concern about a plant with cracked tomatoes sharing the problem with nearby plants.
If skins crackwhen the tomatoes are green, the fruit will likely rot before it ripens.
“All that needs to be done is trim out the damaged areas,” she says.
Tips for Preventing Tomato Splitting
Once tomatoes split, the damage cannot be undone.
However, there are a few things you’re free to do to prevent the cracks from occurring.
Water Tomato Plants Consistently
Tomatoes grow best with about 1 inch of water a week.
If rainfall is less than that, water plants as needed.
Use adrip hoseorwatering wandto deliver water directly to the base of plants.
Watering plants at the base and keeping leaves dry will help prevent several common foliar diseases.
The mulch slows evaporation and helps prevent big swings in soil moisture and skin cracks.
Use organic mulch, such aswell-decomposed compost, straw, or grass clippings.
Grow Split-Resistant Tomato Varieties
Some tomato varieties are better at tolerating fluctuating amounts of moisture than others.
Tomatoes that resist splitting include ‘Celebrity’, ‘Juliet’, ‘Plum Regal’, and ‘Pink Girl’.
When shopping for tomatoes,check plant tags for resistanceto cracking and certain diseases.
Septoria leaf spot causes black spots and yellow leaves and happens when the weather is hot and wet.
Plants getting too much sun can result in tomato sunburn or sunscald.
For more about tomato diseases,check out this listof possible problems.
