Gardeners often encounter cracks when growing tomatoes. Fruit ripening in the bushes will burst en masse near the stalk and then rot faster, making them unsuitable for long-term storage. If such tomatoes cannot be processed or eaten in time, then all the efforts of growing vegetables in summer can be said to be in vain. In this article, we will look at why tomatoes to crack and how to deal with the problem with the website bubgo.com.
Ripe and even green tomatoes can start cracking in bushes. This applies to both greenhouse and outdoor vegetables. The cause is hard to pinpoint. It is often due to improper care of the plant and a lack of farming techniques. Consider why tomatoes crack in bushes.
This problem can occur in gardens dominated by large-fruited, thin-skinned salad tomato varieties. These are more prone to cracking than others.
It is recommended to plant those salad and pickling varieties with thick skins. There are varieties (mainly late maturing and hybrids) that are resistant to cracking, such as
Fruits that store well and weigh up to 130 g.
Arkansas Traveler - 80 days - Pink, slicing.
Big Beef - 70 days - Indeterminate; globe-shaped, hybrid.
Big Boy - 78 days - Indeterminate; meaty.
Black Cherry - 65 days - Indeterminate; cherry.
Blondkopfchen - 75 days - Indeterminate; cherry, heirloom.
Box Car Willie - 80 days - Indeterminate; large, heirloom.
Burpee’s Big Girl - 78 days - Indeterminate; large red, hybrid.
Burgess Crack Proof - 80 days - Indeterminate; large scarlet fruit.
Celebrity - 72 days - Semi-determinate; medium-large.
Chianti Rose - Beefsteak, Italian heirloom.
Colonial - Midseason - Determinate; medium-large.
Debarao - 72 days - Medium, deep red, paste or salads, open-pollinated.
Delicious - 77 days - Indeterminate; large globe shape.
Eva Purple Ball - 78 days - Indeterminate; heirloom.
First Lady - 66 days - Indeterminate; slicing, hybrid.
Gardener’s Delight - 70 days - Indeterminate; small, round, red.
Glamour - 74 days - Indeterminate; medium-size, heavy clusters.
Gold Nugget - 70 days - Determinate; yellow cherry, open-pollinated.
Golden Sweet - 60 days - Indeterminate; grape.
Grape Tomato - 60 days - Indeterminate, bright red.
Jackpot - 70 days - Determinate, meaty.
Japanese Black Trifele - 80 days - Indeterminate, meaty, dark fruit.
Jet Star - 70 days - Determinate abundant producer to 8 ounces, hybrid.
Juliet - 60 days - Indeterminate; red oblong grape, hybrid.
Market Champion - 80 days - Indeterminate, heirloom.
Morado - 85 days - Dark purple-pink.
Monte Verde - Midseason - Determinate; large, hybrid.
Mountain Fresh - 79 days - Determinate; large fruit.
Mountain Gold - 80 days - Determinate; yellow heirloom.
Mountain Pride - 77 days - Determinate, large, hybrid.
Mountain Spring - 79 days - Determinate; large red.
Park’s Whopper Improved - 65 days - Indeterminate, big juicy.
Peron Sprayless - 68 days - Indeterminate; globe shape.
Piedmont - Mid to late season - Very large.
Pritchard - 90 days - Indeterminate, heirloom.
Prize of the Trials - Cherry tomato.
Pruden’s Purple Tomato - 65 days - Indeterminate; pink-purple heirloom.
Red Rose - 85 days - Indeterminate.
Red Sun - Determinate; medium red.
Rutgers - 75 days - Determinate; bright red globe-shaped.
Santa - 60 days - Indeterminate; cherry.
Spitfire - 75 days - Determinate; large, hybrid.
Summer Sweet - 58 days - Indeterminate; grape, hybrid.
Sun Gold - 57 days - Indeterminate; orange cherry, hybrid.
Sun Sugar - 60 days - Indeterminate; yellow cherry.
Sunpride - Midseason - Determinate; very large, mature green.
Super Fantastic - 70 days - Indeterminate; canning, hybrid.
Sweet 100 - 65 days - Indeterminate; cherry to 1 inch in diameter.
Sweet Chelsea - 64 days - Indeterminate; large red.
Sweet Million - 65 days - Indeterminate; round cherry.
Sweet Olive - 57 days - Grape, hybrid.
Thessoaloniki - 77 days - Indeterminate; for slicing.
Traveler 76 - 76 days - Indeterminate; Southern growing, open-pollinated.
Williamette - 70 days - Determinate; smooth, globe-shaped.
Yellow Pear - 78 days - Indeterminate - Sweet, continuous harvest.
Cracked tomatoes will spoil quickly after harvest.
In addition, tomatoes can crack at ripening from overactive pinching, pinching, and breaking of leaves in the plant. Please note that these are important agricultural practices necessary for adequate vegetable growth, but are only good when observed in moderation. Tomatoes with a small amount of greenery are well watered and the water does not act directly on the leaves but on the fruit. The rapid increase in their growth can lead to cracks in the rind.
Tip: It is not advisable to cut off more than three leaves from a shrub each week.
Why else do tomatoes grown outdoors and in greenhouses crack when they ripen? A common cause of fruit cracking is overly dry soil, alternating with excessive moisture. Tomatoes are at increased risk of cracking if growers don't regularly tend to their gardens, go out of the house often, and water their tomatoes in the greenhouse for "backup". Outside, the problem comes from heavy rains, which can cause the soil to become too wet in August.
Ideally, the soil in a tomato seedbed should always be moderately moist: not cracking from dryness, but not waterlogged either. This stability can be achieved by covering the soil under the tomatoes with mulch.
Tip: Mulch also protects tomatoes from overheating in high temperatures and keeps them warm in low temperatures. There is no need to weed or soak the plants beneath it. When planting tomatoes, it is important to keep watering intervals short.
It is also good to feed plants in moderation. Too much fertilizer, especially nitrogen, can cause tomato plants to become "greasy" (when they are accumulating green clumps with little to no fruit to bind). In addition, if too many nutrients are supplied, the plant will ripen faster and its skin will not have time to form properly and crack.
During fruit development, tomatoes are fed moderately and strictly those elements that are important for the plant at that time: potassium, phosphorus, and calcium.
Not only excess but also a deficiency of components such as calcium, which are important for the development of the plant, can also cause tomatoes to crack. To eliminate the cause of the problem, you can fertilize tomatoes with calcium nitrate. The plant can be sprayed on the leaves to make it work faster. Vegetables can also be watered below the roots.
For 2.6 gals (10 liters) of water, add one tablespoon of calcium nitrate for spraying and two tablespoons (no top) for root dressing. It is recommended to repeat the fertilization every two weeks, starting from the beginning of August.
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Outside, tomatoes crack in the bushes due to weather fluctuations and the daytime and nighttime temperature differences that often occur in August. Temperatures can be as low as 86 °F (30°C) during the day and 50 °F (10°C) at night. In such cases, the plants must be properly protected, for example by covering them with cling film overnight.
Tip: Greenhouse vegetables can be protected from discomfort by closing the greenhouse door at night. Sometimes you can even see cracks on green tomatoes that have not yet fully ripened.
Have you ever experienced cracked tomatoes in a bush? What helped you fight the sickness? Share your experience in the comments!
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