HelpfulGardener.com

Zone 8b

We got about three inches of rain last week. When I went to check on my tomatoes Monday I noticed this.

It looks different from how I normally see tomatoes splitting but they are a lot smaller in size. It only done it to one variety that I am growing which is Cherokee purple heirloom.

If it is just splitting are some varieties more prone to split then other varieties?

The tomatoes are cat facing. Cherokee purple are very prone to catfacing especially when the weather is cold or inconsistent. They will also have radial cracks in most of the vine ripened fruit unless you pick them early.

Some varieties are just prone to doing this more than others.

Most heirlooms/Open pollenated tomatoes will crack with excess water/rain because they have thinner skins. Hybrids were made to have thicker skins for easier mechanical picking and transport.

That said, as Super indicated some are more susceptible than others to both cracking and catfacing. Here farther north, the first Cherokee Purples of the season may catface because of our inconsistent temps and rainfall. They usually grow out of it the same as blossom end rot. None of this affects the taste of the fruit, just cut it out if you want.

So I didn't necessarily need to pick them off?

If it would help you feel any better, these look pretty deep and into the gel. Once gel is broached, all kinds of fungal and insect issues develop and fruit can rot from inside out. Sometimes cat facing will occur over time so that the injuries heal over and only scarring remain, but yours might have happened in conjunction with sudden influx of water causing the fruits to split at the weakened areas of the skin.

Yeah, I agree! I think they got too much water and split with the cat facing.

I would have picked off the super cracked ones with gel showing, too. They likely would have molded.