My tomatoe plants are turning ripe but the skins are splitting what's the reason?

Question

My tomatoe plants are turning ripe but the skins are splitting what's the reason?

Answer 1

Uneven watering. While the tomatoes are in their final stages of growing and ripening, you have to water regularly (daily) and roughly the same quantity each time.

Early on when the toms are little and green, it doesn't matter much, because the tomato's skin hasn't 'set'. But once that's happened, it'll split if you miss a day -- the flesh can still grow and expand, but the skin is much less able to stretch.

Lots of mine had split this morning following torrential downpours last night...

The fruit's still fine to eat -- as long as the split is clean and hasn't been left to go mouldy. Make pasta sauce! Yum. =D

Answer 2

It is one of two things:

--Calcium deficiency.  When you tomatoes are out in the sun, the UV rays damage the cells in the epidermis of the fruit.  The cells rupture and once enough do you begin to have cracking.  Using a fertilizer that is high in calcium will help the cell walls be more rigid and resistant to dessication.  If you don't want to go buy an expensive fertilizer, all you need to do is go to your local drugstore and invest in some epsom salts.  Sprinkle about a 1/4 - 1/2 cup around the base of your plant before your next watering.  Reapply ever 3-4 weeks.  It works great!

--The variety you are using.  Heirloom varieties like Brandywine or Beefsteak do this naturally.  (Modern varieties have had that bred out of them and only do it now when they have a CA deficiency).  Unfortunately, the only thing you can do for that is just cut out those parts when you eat them.

One other note:  if this is occuring on Cherry tomatoes, there is less that you can do for them.  The skins on those are very delicate and something as simple as watering can make them pop open.  Thankfully, they also produce more fruits per plant so it is not such a big deal.

Answer 3

Could be as simple as too much water and growing too fast.

Answer 4

Yep lack of water. The fruit is 85% water and during fruit set - IT NEEDS it.

Answer 5

im thinkig theyre dehydrated or you may not be picking them soon enough