You grow your tomatoes the right way, nurture it, and watch it go from green, pink to juicy red fruit. One morning you decide to harvest, then suddenly, you find out it’s been split. Quite heartbreaking right? Well, we feel your pain!
So why do tomatoes split on the vine? The splitting of tomatoes is not uncommon. We will be discussing why they split and what you can do to prevent splitting re-occurrence.
Reasons Why Tomatoes Split on The Vine
The best-known reason why your tomatoes are cracking or splitting on the vine is because of water fluctuation.
Rapid Temperature Change and Irregular Watering
When your tomato grows during the drought period and you do not water regularly, there is a limited supply of water to your plant. If it rains suddenly, after going through the drought period, there will be a sudden inflow of water. Your thirsty tomatoes fruit will absorb so much water inside its juicy endocarp cavities. Therefore the inside grows faster and bigger than the outer skin, causing the outer skin to split.
This type of issue is most common in tomatoes that are ripe or almost ripe. This is because as they continue to grow and ripe, they absorb more water to grow more rapidly causing the split.
What Splitting of Tomatoes Does To Your Plant
When splitting occurs, your tomatoes are opened up to bacteria and fungi. This can attract disease-causing pests to your plant as the cracked tomatoes rotten.
Periods When Your Tomatoes are Prone to Splitting
Your tomatoes have a high chance of splitting or cracking at the end of summer. So try as much as possible to prevent this from happening.
How to Prevent Tomatoes from Splitting on the Vine
Tomatoes splitting can be quite frustrating especially when you planned to harvest them for a delicious fruity meal. It can be pretty difficult to manage these issues because it is a natural problem. But here are some things you can do to limit this splitting occurrence:
- Water regularly and correctly: tomatoes plant needs a lot of water. Water your plants regularly and correctly especially during the hot season. This will prevent your plant from experiencing shock from water deprivation whenever there is a heavy downpour. A better plan especially if you are mostly unavailable to water your plant regularly is to set a drip watering system.
- Mulching: mulching your tomatoes plant is an essential step to take to avoid your tomatoes from splitting. This will help keep in the moisture down to the root of your plant.
- Pick your tomatoes early: pick your tomatoes early especially when your zone is expecting a major downpour.
- Move your plant: if you are growing your tomatoes plant in a container, you can move them inside whenever there is a major downpour. This way, they don’t get overwhelmed by too much water. Also, you can move them into a greenhouse whenever the weather is too hot to prevent them from drought.
What To Do Split Tomatoes: Can You Eat Them?
You can eat the split tomatoes if you catch them early. Simply examine them and discard the ones that are rotten and have insects.
Bottom Line
Basically, the reason why your tomatoes split is because of irregular watering. So endeavor to always water your plant consistently.
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Eunice is a gardener who loves to play in the dirt. She starts her day early in the morning, watering her plants and tending to her garden. She loves the smell of freshly cut grass and the feeling of sunshine on her back as she works. She‘s a master at creating beautiful flower arrangements and can often be found humming a tune as she tends to her plants. When she‘s not gardening, she loves to read books about nature and share her knowledge with others. Eunice loves gardening so much that she‘s even been known to talk to her plants!