I have had vegetable gardens my whole life, my parents were actually farmers back home in MT.
But since I started my first garden here in MA, I can't seem to get tomatoes to ripen, without these cracks forming? Picture attached. All my grape tomatoes are wonderful, but full size all crack.
Any ideas, I am stumped. Doesn't look like a bug is getting them. Just looks like cracks? Starts when they are still green.
Thank you!
Cracking is caused by inconsistant watering. when the tomato plant dries out a little the skin of the tomato gets tough and then a good watering causes a growth spurt and the skin cant stretch enough. you could try watering more freequently with a smaller quantity of water. also adding alot of organic material(compost) to the soil always helps.
These are stress cracks. Other possibilities include too much fertilizer, and extreme heat.
Les
I'm interested in this thread because I have several heirloom tomatoes in Earth Boxes, which are supposed to be immune from the possibility of over-watering or fertilizing. Yet one of mine (Mortgage Lifter--which so far is the only one to ripen) is turning out to have many of these stress cracks on the tomatoes.
We haven't had too much extreme heat--in fact, we've had more rain than usual, but this doesn't affect the Earth Boxes I don't THINK (but then I'm still a newbie.)
In my limited experience with tomatos, our heavy rains caused spitting of the skins in the red part. Your photo show cracks in the green stem end. I think it is not from water. It's more characteristic of high heat.
Here is a little more info:
High temperature cracking is probably due to a heat caused breakdown of cutinized epidermal tissues around the stem end and can occur under conditions of adequate uniform soil moisture. Increased exposure due to lack of foliage can result in higher fruit temperatures. When low soil moisture conditions are followed by an irrigation,
the sudden increase in water content of fruit cells may create internal pressures sufficient to crack fruit. Prevention, therefore,
lies in selecting varieties for maximum resistance, avoidance of high fruit temperatures
and maintenance of uniform soil moisture conditions.
Les
This one notes high nitrogen and low potassium.
Growth Cracks
Two types of growth cracks affect the stem end of tomatoes: concentric and radial. Concentric cracking produces circular cracks around the stem end of the fruit. Radial cracks spread outward from the stem scar. These cracks typically appear as the fruit matures. Growth cracks often appear when conditions drastically change the rate of growth, such as wide fluctuations in temperature and moisture. Dry weather followed by heavy rains causes radial cracking in many tomato cultivars. Cultivars vary in their ability to withstand cracking depending on the strength and "stretchability" of the skin. Very susceptible cultivars will crack while still green, those that are somewhat resistant often don’t crack until the fruit has reached the breaker stage. The earlier the fruit cracks, the deeper the cracks become. High nitrogen and low potassium are often implicated in fruit cracking and therefore, proper plant nutrition and adequate, regular irrigation will reduce the likelihood of growth cracks.
Les
Thank you for the information. Very helpful. Here in MA this year, we have been remarkably stable with temperature. We have not had any heat spells, and it has rained more than I can ever remember. Every day, almost like Florida afternoon showers.
So I am thinking I need to water on days it doesn't rain. Every day watering? Or every other? What is consistent.
The other part being High Nitrogen and low potassium. What do I do about that?
Again, thank you so much. This site and its participants has always been really helpful.
Larry
What is consistant? It would be not allowing the plants to go dry. They need a continual source of water but not too much.
Nitrogen-Potassium ratio. Boosting potash would bring the ratio into balance. My favorite is hardwood ashes. Try a handful sprinkled around each plant and watered in.
Potassium is what makes our skin soft and pliable. Perhaps it will do the same for the stem end of the tomatos, allowing the skin to stretch without cracking.
Les
You mean burn some hardwood into ash, and sprinkle it around. Fascinating.
I'll give that a shot, plus it gives me the chance to burn something. Double the fun.
Thanks again!
Larry
Is potash the same as potassium?
Thanks,
Larry
Main Entry:
pot·ash Listen to the pronunciation of potash
Pronunciation:
ˈpät-ˌash
Function:
noun
Etymology:
singular of pot ashes
Date:
1748
1 : potassium carbonate especially from wood ashes 2 : potassium or a potassium compound especially as used in agriculture or industry
larry, i hope your tomatoes are getting better.
I have one tomato plant (out of 6) that is doing the same thing. We purchased it at a local farmers' market as a "green tomato" plant. All of my plants are on a watering system and get the same amount of water and sun, so I think this is indicitive of whatever species it is. The flavor is still wonderful. I made fried green tomatoes while they were still green. Now, they are a pinkish red.
I made fried green tomatoes while they were still green.
Yes, Granny. How do you make fried green tomatoes.
Here is my recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes:
Slice 1 large green tomato. Dip each slice into a beaten egg with a little milk, salt and pepper added. Then dip in cornmeal with a little Parmesan cheese added. Fry in olive oil until gently browned on each side. Flavor has a little tang to it.
My tomatoes were from a "green tomato" plant, although they are now starting to turn pink. I don't see why you couldn't use any green tomato.
Thank you, Granny Sal! I've got a lot of green tomatoes that are terrific candidates.
Ummmm. And your recipe sounds sort of healthful (olive oil, after all!)
Thanks Granny Sal. Sound yummy, ALMOST makes me want to pick my tomatoes green - but since I have had so few this 1st year, maybe not.
I had a similar problem a few years ago and I think I read something like what linux_guile said about irregular watering. I believe adding calcium to the soil may help also.
A little late for this year, but I also read something about planting some egg shells and banana peels in the some hole as the tomato. Mike
Thanks Mike. I still have some plants with baby tomatoes and some new, volunteers, so maybe I'll try both fertilizing and take some eggshells from the bucket going to the compost pile
Egg shells, banana peels, and adding calcium are all anecdotal solutions which have largely debunked as ineffective. Egg shells in particular break down very slowly and do not contribute calcium to the soil that in a way that is readily accessible to the plants.
I do suggest adding some dolomitic lime to the planting hole (or the whole bed) every year. It works on the pH and has been effective in fighting off B.E.R.
I agree with others who suggest that the pictures in this topic look like stress from hot weather and/or irregular watering. I pick tomatoes when they are just starting to blush (especially right before a rain) and have never had a problem with full flavor development. And in the process I get a lot fewer cracks and blemishes (and feed a lot less tomatoes to birds and rodents!)
This message was edited Dec 2, 2008 9:13 AM
Well, guess the eggshells can go into the compost pile again. I heard somewhere about putting a banana peel into each hole with a new plant - also anecdotal? More compost material.
My tomatoes (few that there were) all had cracks and we do have very hot & dry weather and it was difficult keeping the garden watered frequently (multiples per day) enough. Should I consider some lat day shade for next year? Just tomatoes or all veggies?
If you are gardening in raised beds 8-12 inches high with good soil full of compost, and you've got a good layer of pine straw or other mulch, I'm not sure why you would need to water more than once per day.
No, I am gardening in native soil mixed in with LOTS of well aged home grown horse manure. Spent some $ on chicken wire to line bottom and sides against gophers and to make a short fence against bunnies. Couldn't build raised beds - but in the FUTURE I hope to. Will still need maybe hardware cloth (chicken wire was not sufficient) against those nasty gophers and fencing around the box.
We have an unused bale of alfalfa that is dried up and not good enough for the horses. Can I use that for mulch? Compost? Or will I end up growing alfalfa?
Might wait for an expert, but I would use it here, or at least spread it over my garden area for the winter. I have read that it is a good legume to use for a winter cover crop. Not sure at what temp it dies. I planted it two years in conjunction with winter-rye, but the winter-rye has over taken it so really did not get to know for sure if it would over compete with summer garden veggies if established. I know that some winter cover crops they say not to let it go to seed. If you are not doing a winter garden, you might consider growing a winter cover crop to add nutrients to the soil. When the search engine gets up and running again, you might do a search of alfalfa or a search of +winter +cover +crop to get only articles that have all those words.
Mike
Thanks Mike. Last night at DD's 4H meeting I talked to some Horse Mom's who also garden and they said it can be added to compost or used as mulch. I do have a winter garden in one area, so could use it in the other garden area that gets too much winter shade as cover crop. They said alfalfa should be too much problem and is easy to pull out if it takes root. They have used straw as mulch and had oats grow! They warned NOT to use Bermuda hay as that will seed all over the yard.
Last year this time I was up not too far from your neck of the woods. Family live in the Plano area.
They say that even grass is a weed when it is in the wrong place. Bermuda is pretty resilient once it gets established.
My wife sells REO properties for banks and sometimes gets some in Plano after they go through foreclosure. Mostly she does Denton county though.
I would be interested in knowing what variety of tomato it was?
I've found that my heirloom tomatoes were the ones to crack and grow into weird shapes. My hybrids always ripened very nicely without cracks.
This is a rather old topic, but I will say even with the cracks, I still grow mostly heirlooms. ;) I can deal with a few cracks and imperfections in exchange for the flavor.
The original picture at the top of this thread looks like water was sitting on top of the tomatoes and/or water stress. Shaking the plants so there is no water on top of the tomatoes, mulching well, and picking tomatoes at first blush will all help.
I personally only grow heirlooms myself. I have to agree with feldon - the imperfections are a small price to pay for a taste that can't be beat!! Kelly
