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Why Are My Tomatoes Cracking?

August 13, 2015 by Jeanne

tomatoes

Healthy tomatoes in my garden…

Why are my tomatoes cracking? If your beautiful tomatoes are now cracking, reeking messes, you may be at your wit’s end trying to figure out what’s going on.

Why Are My Tomatoes Cracking?

In my garden right now, the beautiful large beefsteak-type tomatoes are all starting to crack. There are two types of cracks: vertical cracks, which run from the stem down the side of the tomato, and horizontal cracks, which are usually rings up near the stem. The most common form of cracking and the one that I’ve got going on in my garden this week is the vertical crack that splits tomatoes open, spilling seeds everywhere.

cracked tomato 1

Yuck! Two weeks later, vertical and horizontal cracks and yes, a worm tunneled in. What a mess.

This type of crack is most common when tomatoes receive a sudden rush of water after a dry spell or drought. What happens is that the plants drink as much water as they can, sending water into the fruits. The skin cannot grow quickly enough to accommodate the water. Think about a water balloon; if you fill it too fast it bursts. That’s what’s happening to your tomatoes.

In my case, we had some rain about a week or two ago, but then this past week we received an abundant rainfall of two inches in about a day and a half. The tomatoes were probably shouting “Hallelujah!” as they drank their fill, but within days, I had a mess of cracked tomatoes in the garden.

There’s not much you can do when Mother Nature is behind the problem. If downpours aren’t causing it, check your own watering schedule. Do you neglect you garden for days on end, then pour water on it hoping to keep plants alive? That’s a sure setup to encourage skin cracks in tomatoes.

cracked tomato

Another example of cracking. This one has sealed over. Just cut out the cracked portion and eat the rest.

cracked cherry tomato

Even cherry tomatoes can crack. Middle tomato is cracked, but the ripe on above is fine.

When you have a lot of tomatoes with cracked skins, you have only a few choices to use them. Those that are still on the vine and not too badly damaged may be salvaged by washing them, cutting out the cracked portion, and slicing up the rest for immediate use. If they fall to the ground, throw them out. The cracks allow too much bacteria to enter the tomato and they will rot quickly.

Tomato season reaches its peak in Virginia in late July and August. Cracks or no cracks, I’m enjoying the tomatoes that I have. I canned another three gallons of soup/juice this past weekend. We made our very first pot of tomato rice soup this weekend using tomatoes from the garden, and it was delicious. Even though it was a lot of work to can the tomato juice, I told my husband, “In January, when the winds are blowing and snow is falling, we’ll pull a can of tomato juice from the shelf and remember these warm, sunny days with every sip.”

If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy:

  • How to Make Tomato Juice Without a Juicer
  • How to Plant Tomatoes
  • Growing Tomatoes
  • RECIPE: Heirloom Tomato Caprese Salad

Happy gardening!

 

Jeanne
Jeanne

Jeanne Grunert is a certified Virginia Master Gardener and the author of several gardening books. Her garden articles, photographs, and interviews have been featured in The Herb Companion, Virginia Gardener, and Cultivate, the magazine of the National Farm Bureau. She is the founder of The Christian Herbalists group and a popular local lecturer on culinary herbs and herbs for health, raised bed gardening, and horticulture therapy.

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Filed Under: Vegetable Gardening Tagged With: growing tomatoes, why do tomatoes crack

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Previous Post: « How to Make Tomato Juice without a Juicer
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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gardener on Sherlock Street

    August 16, 2015 at

    So disappointing when this happens. Luckily, I haven’t had this much this year.

  2. Erlene

    August 18, 2015 at

    I noticed some small cracks on the tops of some of my tomatoes and had no idea that water could cause them. Good to know.

    • Jeanne

      August 18, 2015 at

      Glad I could help Erlene! Stop by again soon!

Trackbacks

  1. What Happens When There's Too Much Rain says:
    September 29, 2015 at

    […] crack: Tomatoes tend to crack more in wet weather. The skin can’t expand to accommodate all the water inside the fruit, so […]

  2. Tomato Plant Problems: Tomatoes with Cracks - Home Garden Joy says:
    August 2, 2018 at

    […] tomatoes are still edible and taste just fine. If dark, leathery patches appear in the cracks, you can trim […]

  3. Why Are My Tomatoes Splitting? - Home Garden Joy says:
    August 9, 2019 at

    […] Why Are My Tomatoes Cracking? – Article […]

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