Most of my ripe tomatoes are cracking!

[Bobberman]

Its not just the small ones but many bigger types. I talked with several people and they are having the same problems. Is it the early blight or too much rain or a combo of both?

[Juliuskitty]

My guess would be the rain. Early blight causes foliar problems mostly, rather than fruit problems, and heavy rain is a sure way to get cracking fruit as the fruit swells with water faster than the skin can keep up.

[imafan26]

Yeah, usually when it rains a lot the fruit swell with water and when the rain stops the fruits shrink again and there is more cracking. There isn't that much that can be done about that unless you have the tomatoes growing under cover.

[Ohio Tiller]

We have tons of GREEN tomatoes that will not turn red. Those that have Cracked! We have had such a cool summer it has to have something to do with them not turning. We have not had to much rain I would say less than needed really.

[imafan26]

The other cause for cracking besides uneven watering would be genetics. Some tomatoes are more prone to cracking than others. Radial cracking is more genetic. Concentric cracks are from watering. What varieties of tomatoes are you growing and are they prone to cracking. I find unless you get a crack resistant variety, cracking is very common especially in ripe fruit and some tomatoes stay green when they are ripe.

[applestar]

Right. I try to harvest my tomatoes with any to good amount of blush before heavy rains.

I have also noted that if I put unblemished fruit hot from the sun in a bucket of cold water to wash, some of them will split skin on contact. Even cool early morning picked fruits will crack if left in a bucket of water for 30 minutes or more, even after rain (and presumable it had already swelled up without cracking).

Now, I only quick dunk and rub around the stem/calyx in bucket of water that had been left to warm up a little, then immediately lay them on the teak patio table with whatever dimple that would have collected water facing down to drain/dry.

[Bobberman]

Are cracked tomatoes loaded with bacteria.!

[rainbowgardener]

bobberman - if the cracked tomatoes sit around for a long time, then the open wound is vulnerable to bacteria and rot. If you can use them quickly, they should be fine

OH Tiller - I have had plenty of rain. What I haven't had is much sunshine or heating degree days, very cool wet summer here in very SW OH. My tomatoes seem to be taking an excessively long time to turn also.

[Lindsaylew82]

I think if the crack is deep enough, yes, but tomatoes are good at preserving their seeds. 1 infected seed chamber will not mess the whole fruit up....at first... I have noticed in my garden that split fruit will keep long enough to ripen on the counter even if it's visibly molding in one section. Keep in mind, they won't keep long like that. I don't wash them, though. I think keeping the wound dry aids in keeping it from advancing.

Green tomatoes that split here will usually scab over and continue to grow. I pick tomatoes that are just starting to blush to keep them from cracking during heavy rains.

I don't wash my tomatoes until I'm ready to eat them!

[applestar]

When a fruit has a freshly split skin, I harvest to prevent bugs and mold from getting in them out in the garden, then I dunk rinse and let drip/air dry in the sun as described above. Then after bringing them inside, I make sure they are completely dry and wrap the skin split ones with a single layer of paper napkin when placing them with other harvested fruits. Most of the splits heal over and the fruits continue to ripen.

I do check frequently for any sign of deterioration especially along the split.

...

I've heard about not washing until ready to eat, but I decided the cucurbits get mildew more readily when covered with pollen from the corn, so I'm assuming the same for tomatoes too -- that their outer skin could be covered in fungi nourishing pollen and fungal spores. I won't use any products to wash them with because I believe there are beneficial microbes/bacteria as well. My only concession is to use straight from the faucet chlorinated water -- level playing field.

[Lindsaylew82]

(Sometimes...I don't even wash them )

[digitS']

My gardens seldom have growing season rain. They are fairly large and have overhead irrigation. The big veggie garden has the same 4" irrigation pipes and rainbird sprinklers as the alfalfa fields on both sides of it.

The rocky soil allows moisture to quickly move away from the plants. Summer afternoons typically have 20% or less humidity. Splash water on those tomatoes and splitting happens!

There are quite a few varieties that will just not hold up in this environment. Short of installing a large drip system, there is not much I can do. I'm doing "better." In recent years, there has been little blossom end rot. That is often another soil moisture issue. Still, wet fruit is vulnerable to splitting.

I don't think of varieties that resist splitting as having "tough" skin. Really, what they need is flexible skin. But, anyway - look for varieties that are resistant and good luck!

Steve