Over half of the cherry toms I have picked are split, does anyone know why is this happening? At first i thought it was because I left them on too long but the ones that are just starting to ripen are splitting too.
Some tomatoes are more prone to cracking such as the super sweet 100. Try a crack resistant variety. Also, they will split when watered heavily after a drought as the fruit swells with water faster than the skin can stretch to accomodate it. It's so frustrating!
Inconsistent watering is the normal cause. Some heritage toms are prone to splitting too but I haven't found any cherry or grape heritage toms yet.
Hey, I just read a suggestion on a gardening forum for preventing splitting in tomatoes. Since the cracking is caused by a lot of water after a dry period, the suggestion is to root-prune just before a heavy rain is expected. This will prevent the roots from being able to take up as much moisture. The person who posted said it did reduce the cracking compared to his un -pruned plants. I'm guessing you just slice down into the dirt around the plant. I don't know what this does to the plant long term, say, if the deluge is followed by a long dry spell. The reduced root system may need more supplimental water from you. It's worth a try.
If the cause is watering, then wouldn't the best solution be to be extremely consistent as far as watering goes...choose a schedule for watering for the plant/plants involved, and water those plants with a small amount of water to begin with...and slowly increase the amount of water offered to the plant until you get it to a healthy amount. You'd have to deal with continued splitting until the plant acclimatizes, but you're better off in the long run. I personally would be afraid to cut the roots of a plant if there's a chance of another dry spell. Yeah, having a schedule like that will require taking down records of your water times and amounts, but it would also get you into the habit of keeping a close eye on your plants, and you'll be more likely to notice when something odd changes about them--and of course, consistent watering (healthy amounts and incriments of course) can help maximize your crop yield. Consider also how much water is in a tomato--they need a lot of water. Sounds like if the plant's sucking up so much water to put into the tomatoes that it splits them, that it's not getting enough. I'm no botanist of course...but that's what common sense tells me.
