Preventing Tomatoes from Splitting

One of the most exciting activities of year is harvesting from your own garden, but that can quickly turn to disappointment when discovering that your tomatoes are cracked and split. Fortunately the solution to this is quite easy.

Tomatoes crack, or split, when they have gone through cycles of inconsistent watering. When the plant goes dry, then wet (over and over) not only will it stress the plant, but the fruit itself will also show the signs of a gardener not being diligent with their duties. When tomatoes go through a dry spell and then are either over-watered or get a heavy rain, the moisture surges within the "dry" tomato and bursts the skin as it swells quickly.

A consistent amount of moisture is needed to keep your tomatoes from splitting. This means that daily watering (if needed) is best for your tomato plants. Keeping them well watered helps to buffer that cycle of dry and wet. Tomatoes like a lot of moisture and typically it is difficult to over-water (not that it can't be done.)

So drilling down to the point...keep your tomatoes consistently well-watered and they should not crack or split.

Check out our short video on this subject below: