they was doing well , and producing plenty but the tomatos are always small, and now they busting open. is this becuse I'm not giving them enough or too much water or something else? thanks in advance ! 
tomatos bustin open on vine
hi , I am having a problem with my tomatos, they was doing well , and producing plenty but the tomatos are always small, and now they busting open. is this becuse I'm not giving them enough or too much water or something else? thanks in advance !
they was doing well , and producing plenty but the tomatos are always small, and now they busting open. is this becuse I'm not giving them enough or too much water or something else? thanks in advance ! -
rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
By "bustin open" I assume you mean splitting or cracking?
https://tomatoheadquarters.com/wp-conten ... tomato.jpg
Splitting happens due to inconsistent water levels. If it is dry for awhile the tomato skin thickens up to help conserve moisture. Then if you get a bunch of rain after that, it is not very elastic and cannot expand as quickly as the insides do, hence the split.
The solution is to maintain consistent moisture, through regular deep watering (water the ground, not the leaves) and through mulching, which helps keep the moisture in the soil.
It also makes a difference what varieties you grow. Beefsteak tomatoes are more prone to cracking. So for next time, look for thinner skinned, crack resistant varieties.
Do you prune your tomatoes? Deleafing can add to the problem. If the tomatoes don't have enough leaf protection, they can heat up dramatically in the direct sun and then cool quickly at night. This leads to expansion and contraction and can lead to cracking. Also over-fertilizing, especially with high nitrogen, low potassium fertilizer, also increases vulnerability to cracking.
The picture I showed was longitudinal cracking, aka splitting.
There is also concentric cracking
https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uplo ... cking2.jpg
rings around the stem end. This is more just a varietal thing, some varieties are very prone to it, some not. It is usually not as damaging, because the concentric cracks tend to seal over.
https://tomatoheadquarters.com/wp-conten ... tomato.jpg
Splitting happens due to inconsistent water levels. If it is dry for awhile the tomato skin thickens up to help conserve moisture. Then if you get a bunch of rain after that, it is not very elastic and cannot expand as quickly as the insides do, hence the split.
The solution is to maintain consistent moisture, through regular deep watering (water the ground, not the leaves) and through mulching, which helps keep the moisture in the soil.
It also makes a difference what varieties you grow. Beefsteak tomatoes are more prone to cracking. So for next time, look for thinner skinned, crack resistant varieties.
Do you prune your tomatoes? Deleafing can add to the problem. If the tomatoes don't have enough leaf protection, they can heat up dramatically in the direct sun and then cool quickly at night. This leads to expansion and contraction and can lead to cracking. Also over-fertilizing, especially with high nitrogen, low potassium fertilizer, also increases vulnerability to cracking.
The picture I showed was longitudinal cracking, aka splitting.
There is also concentric cracking
https://www.ces.ncsu.edu/wp-content/uplo ... cking2.jpg
rings around the stem end. This is more just a varietal thing, some varieties are very prone to it, some not. It is usually not as damaging, because the concentric cracks tend to seal over.
-
applestar
- Mod
- Posts: 30541
- Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
- Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)
Some varieties are more prone to splitting than others. When you grow a lot of different varieties and only one or two of them split and others don't, you have to assume the fault is not it's not your growing method but in the variety.
It's best to choose a different variety to grow next time, unless the flavor of the variety is so good that you are willing to go the extra mile to grow them and use special techniques.
For ones that you already have growing that tend to split easily, one way to avoid this happening is to harvest the fruits as soon as or soon after they blush -- by this I mean after the fruits change from green to lightly colored to medium colored, but before fully ripe. You can watch and see at what point they split and harvest before. Rinse and dry, then ripen in the house in something with air circulation -- I use baskets on cookie cooling racks and colanders and paper lined cardboard box with a small personal fan blowing on them. Some varieties split while still green -- these are hopeless.
It's especially a good idea to pick the fruits before heavy rain is forecast or before you water. But if you are caught unawares, get up early in the morning and check on them before daytime bugs have the chance to get into the fruits from the split. (You may still be too late against night time raiders like slugs and cutworms, but hopefully damage will be minimal) throw out any already discovered by fruit flies.
If the split goes all the way to the gel, it's best to eat those right away -- as fried green tomatoes, in curry type dishes, or use as tomatillo substitute in salsa. If the split is only surface skin deep, wash with running water, dry well, then wrap in paper napkin to protect from stray mold spores and ripen on the counter. Usually the split will heal over.
It's best to choose a different variety to grow next time, unless the flavor of the variety is so good that you are willing to go the extra mile to grow them and use special techniques.
For ones that you already have growing that tend to split easily, one way to avoid this happening is to harvest the fruits as soon as or soon after they blush -- by this I mean after the fruits change from green to lightly colored to medium colored, but before fully ripe. You can watch and see at what point they split and harvest before. Rinse and dry, then ripen in the house in something with air circulation -- I use baskets on cookie cooling racks and colanders and paper lined cardboard box with a small personal fan blowing on them. Some varieties split while still green -- these are hopeless.
It's especially a good idea to pick the fruits before heavy rain is forecast or before you water. But if you are caught unawares, get up early in the morning and check on them before daytime bugs have the chance to get into the fruits from the split. (You may still be too late against night time raiders like slugs and cutworms, but hopefully damage will be minimal) throw out any already discovered by fruit flies.
If the split goes all the way to the gel, it's best to eat those right away -- as fried green tomatoes, in curry type dishes, or use as tomatillo substitute in salsa. If the split is only surface skin deep, wash with running water, dry well, then wrap in paper napkin to protect from stray mold spores and ripen on the counter. Usually the split will heal over.
-
dtizme
- Cool Member
- Posts: 90
- Joined: Sat Jul 06, 2013 10:23 pm
- Location: Port Elgin, Ontario, Canada. Zone 5a
I would agree the variety your growing probably has more to do with it than anything. I have some cherokee purple plants that are prone to doing this while the 2 hybrid varietys that I grow seem to be unaffected by splitting. What I do with the ones that split early is pick them before they fully ripen on the vine and let them ripen in your kitchen. If you leave them on the plant to long there almost gauranteed to split. I even get the odd cherry tomato split on me if it gets overripe.