tomatoes cracking?

Question

i grow tomatoes in the backyard and they dont completely turn red but they crack so i pick them so the bugs dont get to them then i let them sit to turn red
why do they crack they are not super big they are of nice size but they crack before they get red please help

Answer 1

They swell when it rains or they get watered then split when it gets very hot. Try to limit the amount of water you give them on very hot days. Cherry's do the same thing in the spring!

Answer 2

just about everyone is having this trouble. Our growing season has lacked steady rain. And the heat has been unreal.
Try sprinkling a little epsom salt at the base of the tomatoe plant. When you water only water at the base of the plant. Try to keep it off the leaves and fruit. Mulching helps maintain a more even moisture for the plant. We have had quite a few tomatoes this year but some have split like yours. We try to make sure the plants are watered at least every other day during the heat. m

Answer 3

Usually, a tomatoe will crack if the plant is getting too much water. Tomatoe's should be waterd2-3 time's a week. Over-head wating is also known to crack tomatoe's so if you ground water letting the water set in a bath around the plant, the plant will get plenty of water without the water hitting the fruit and causing it to split.

Answer 4

One step beyond: A Dry/wet cycle does cause this type of damage. Also, some varieties are prone to cracking. Next year, look for varieties that are crack-resistant. (Yes, your greenhouse people can help you with that!). I use Red Sun, San Romano (an Italian plum-type), Mountain Spring and Mountain Fresh for production tomatoes these days. All of them are crack resistant. When you plant, just establish a watering schedule and use it when the rain doesn't cooperate. When the weather gets hot and dry, mulching with natural materials or shredded newspaper will help keep the soil evenly moist for a long period of time.
Good luck!

Answer 5

Too much water will cause them to crack open, especially if you water them just as the tomatoes start to turn red. If they are in the ground, and they are mature plants, they really only need to be watered every 3-4 weeks, even in the hottest weather.

Answer 6

Fruit cracking occurs when there is a rapid net influx of solutes and especially water into the fruit at the same time ripening or other factors reduce the strength and elasticity of the tomato skin. Increases in fruit temperature raise gas and hydrostatic pressures of the pulp on the skin, resulting in immediate visible cracking in ripe fruit. In green fruit, cracking occurs later in the ripening process when minute cracks created earlier expand to become visible. High light conditions, especially on unshaded fruit have also been associated with higher rates of fruit cracking. High light intensity raises fruit temperatures, especially on exposed fruit. Under high light conditions, fruit soluble solids and fruit growth rates are higher; both of these factors sometimes are associated with increased cracking

Answer 7

You have to be consistant with your watering. The cracking happens when the tomatoes/soil gets too dry and then they are given water. Make sure you water everyday, enough to get to the roots that are deep and your problem will be fixed.

Answer 8

That happened to mine all last summer. I was told that it is from inconsistent watering. I only planted two small plants in containers this summer where I could monitor them more closely. I didn't have as many ripen, but no cracks either. Guess they need consistency, just like animals do!

Answer 9

they are starved for water and they have a tough skin. when it rains again, they try to grow some more and swell up with more water of course , but the skin remains tough, they try to make it stretch and it doesn't stretch, it is really tough and difficult to swallow and chew. the tomatoes earlier in the season were not like that either. i bet some of them have hollow spaces on the inside where the seeds should be. they are just trying to make seeds space.

Answer 10

If it rains a lot tomatoes swell and sometimes burst the skins. One solution is to raise the plants on elevated beds but this sometimes starves the plant of water when it dosen';t rain. I just eat them split skins and all.