I think the title sums it up,
but the first couple of brandywine tomato fruits have finally appeared and one is split already. I'm in the l.a. area and water nightly, the plants are in full sun at least 10 hours a day. what can I do to stop this happening? and would a picture help?
thank you.
splitting is caused by uneven moisture conditions. the fruits get s sudden influx of water and basically 'burst' because they cannot grow/expand fast enough.
>>how to stop
mulch mulch mulch - 6 inches of mulch is not unreasonable in a hot dry climate.
water deeply. the mulch promotes an even moist soil.
>>"water nightly"
okay, but watering night for 10 minutes is different than six hours of drip irrigation - so need to explore that a bit.
>>how to stop
mulch mulch mulch - 6 inches of mulch is not unreasonable in a hot dry climate.
water deeply. the mulch promotes an even moist soil.
>>"water nightly"
okay, but watering night for 10 minutes is different than six hours of drip irrigation - so need to explore that a bit.
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Dilbert is right, but the sudden influx of water is more likely to cause splitting when the tomato was a little too dry. In conditions of not enough moisture, the tomato skin hardens and thickens, so then when influx of water causes the tomato to swell, it splits.
Sounds like they are not staying moist enough. I agree with mulch. Also, I'm thinking you aren't watering deeply enough. If you are just watering the surface, it will dry out quickly, so then (especially in your climate), the plant can be water deprived. A few minutes after you water, dig down and see how deeply the soil is wet. I think you will be surprised at how shallow it is.
Sounds like they are not staying moist enough. I agree with mulch. Also, I'm thinking you aren't watering deeply enough. If you are just watering the surface, it will dry out quickly, so then (especially in your climate), the plant can be water deprived. A few minutes after you water, dig down and see how deeply the soil is wet. I think you will be surprised at how shallow it is.
You say "already" which sounds like you have a small green tomato splitting. That is the start of catfacing. The cause is not a definite, some plants will do it no matter what, while others split because of cool temps at the wrong point in development.
Radial cracking on the top, is somewhat genetic and unrelated to water. It can occur when the fruit is mature green and you can't really stop it.
Splitting from a spike in water pressure generally happens only after the fruit starts to soften during ripening, and the easiset way to avoid it is to pick the fruit soon after it starts to change color from green to red. The fruit is physiologically cut off from the plant at that time, and will ripen on its own, but it is not cut off from the water which is not reliant on the same vessels.
LA is not blazing hot this time of year, so unless you are growing in sand or an undersized pot you might not need to water every day. And I expect the nights are still cool, which 'might' cause the catfacing. If you are near the coast you have a lot of June gloom, and probably don't need to water daily. Fall Santa Annas will need a lot of watering.
Radial cracking on the top, is somewhat genetic and unrelated to water. It can occur when the fruit is mature green and you can't really stop it.
Splitting from a spike in water pressure generally happens only after the fruit starts to soften during ripening, and the easiset way to avoid it is to pick the fruit soon after it starts to change color from green to red. The fruit is physiologically cut off from the plant at that time, and will ripen on its own, but it is not cut off from the water which is not reliant on the same vessels.
LA is not blazing hot this time of year, so unless you are growing in sand or an undersized pot you might not need to water every day. And I expect the nights are still cool, which 'might' cause the catfacing. If you are near the coast you have a lot of June gloom, and probably don't need to water daily. Fall Santa Annas will need a lot of watering.
Applestar,
it is not split that deeply, but it's a much smaller tomato.
******
splitting is caused by uneven moisture conditions. the fruits get s sudden influx of water and basically 'burst' because they cannot grow/expand fast enough.
>>how to stop
mulch mulch mulch - 6 inches of mulch is not unreasonable in a hot dry climate.
water deeply. the mulch promotes an even moist soil.
>>"water nightly"
okay, but watering night for 10 minutes is different than six hours of drip irrigation - so need to explore that a bit.
****
Dilbert,
I have been thinking about a drip/soaker system and today I went a bought a few lengths of 1/4" soaker tube. I connected it to a 4 way manifold (I have 4 beds) and wound the tube through the tomato bed. I had put doing this off for a while because I am not sure how it compares to regular 'hose' watering. how long do you leave the soaker on for in relation to the regular hose head? I also got some coconut coir as mulch? and opinions before I spread it around?
Thank you.
it is not split that deeply, but it's a much smaller tomato.
******
splitting is caused by uneven moisture conditions. the fruits get s sudden influx of water and basically 'burst' because they cannot grow/expand fast enough.
>>how to stop
mulch mulch mulch - 6 inches of mulch is not unreasonable in a hot dry climate.
water deeply. the mulch promotes an even moist soil.
>>"water nightly"
okay, but watering night for 10 minutes is different than six hours of drip irrigation - so need to explore that a bit.
****
Dilbert,
I have been thinking about a drip/soaker system and today I went a bought a few lengths of 1/4" soaker tube. I connected it to a 4 way manifold (I have 4 beds) and wound the tube through the tomato bed. I had put doing this off for a while because I am not sure how it compares to regular 'hose' watering. how long do you leave the soaker on for in relation to the regular hose head? I also got some coconut coir as mulch? and opinions before I spread it around?
Thank you.
>>judging watering time
there are so many variables one would need a weather station, couple thousand bucks of sensing gear, a computer and 2-3 geeks to program & maintain it.
so, there's a easier way:
stick you finger in the dirt. half to one inch down it should remain moist / damp.
it's "natural" that the top half to one inch of soil dries out between waterings - but when/if the watering routine is insufficient to keep the soil moist in the "deeper" root zone, the plants will struggle for water.
I have no experience using coir as a mulch; here I only see it starched into baskets/etc - so I'll defer to someone with better knowledge on that.
there are so many variables one would need a weather station, couple thousand bucks of sensing gear, a computer and 2-3 geeks to program & maintain it.
so, there's a easier way:
stick you finger in the dirt. half to one inch down it should remain moist / damp.
it's "natural" that the top half to one inch of soil dries out between waterings - but when/if the watering routine is insufficient to keep the soil moist in the "deeper" root zone, the plants will struggle for water.
I have no experience using coir as a mulch; here I only see it starched into baskets/etc - so I'll defer to someone with better knowledge on that.
The lower tomato looks like catfacing. That is caused by the weather usually being too cold at the time of blossoming. Some varieties are more prone than others.
https://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/A3111.PDF
Cracking on brandywine and many of the large heirlooms and hybrid tomatoes are very common. If the cracking is radial and not concentric then it could be genetic. I grew Brandy wine and Cherokee purple and both of them had radial cracking. The tomatoes aren't pretty but they are still edible.
Concentric cracking is pretty much related to fruit expansion and contraction, I get that when it rains heavily. Radial cracking I get on fruit that grows faster than the skin can accommodate, and a lot of that is genetic. All it takes for some varieties to crack is unexpected rain at the right time.
Brandywine is known to be prone to cat facing and cracking.
https://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plantoft ... dywine.htm
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/ ... blems.aspx
https://learningstore.uwex.edu/assets/pdfs/A3111.PDF
Cracking on brandywine and many of the large heirlooms and hybrid tomatoes are very common. If the cracking is radial and not concentric then it could be genetic. I grew Brandy wine and Cherokee purple and both of them had radial cracking. The tomatoes aren't pretty but they are still edible.
Concentric cracking is pretty much related to fruit expansion and contraction, I get that when it rains heavily. Radial cracking I get on fruit that grows faster than the skin can accommodate, and a lot of that is genetic. All it takes for some varieties to crack is unexpected rain at the right time.
Brandywine is known to be prone to cat facing and cracking.
https://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plantoft ... dywine.htm
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/ ... blems.aspx
I agree that brandeywines do tend to catface a lot more often thatn any other variety I have ever grown. That being said, the taste of a Brandeywine, in my opinion, is still far better than anything else I have ever grown, so for a little less appealing looking tomato, I will gladly make that sacrifice for the superior taste I get.
I am sitting here typing, mouth just watering, picturing a large slab of a brandeywine on a BLT......a couple months away, but man I can taste it already........
I am sitting here typing, mouth just watering, picturing a large slab of a brandeywine on a BLT......a couple months away, but man I can taste it already........
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
n8, where are you that ripe tomatoes are a couple months away? I have ripe tomatoes in my garden now (not Brandywines). If you don't get ripe tomatoes until Sept, how long do they produce before frost comes back or are you in a super hot summer area where you grow your tomatoes through the fall and spring instead of summer?
