This page looks plain and unstyled because you're using a non-standard compliant browser. To see it in its best form, please upgrade to a browser that supports web standards. It's free and painless.

Cracked Tomatoes?

mycoupons | 02 July, 2007 06:00

Our gardening question this week was submitted by Lorraine S. from Ohio

Hi there Annie,

I've noticed that my tomatoes have split/cracked skins.   Are they alright to eat and what causes them to do that?   Any idea?

Thanx and love the gardening blog!

Lorraine S.

 

Hi Lorraine

Thanks for the great question!  

First,  tomatoes with split skins are ok to eat.  

Split skins are actually a common problem.   It is caused by irregular or inconsistent watering.    Try giving the plants a steady supply of water, rather than watering heavily after letting them go dry.  

Aside from split/cracked skins,  fluctuations in soil moisture or uneven watering can also cause, Early Blight,  blossom-end rot and blossom drop.

You should water deeply about every 2-3 days.   Some say about an inch of water a week.   I use mulch around my plants to help keep moisture in, so the soil doesn't dry out completely.   

One last thing,   you can purchase seed or plants of tomato varieties that are crack resistant.   You may want to consider this option for next year.


Keep on gardening!

Annie~

Smile

Green Thumb Mondays :: Comment (0) :: Permalink :: Trackbacks (0)
Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
    co.mments del.icio.us digg Fark Reddit YahooMyWeb
Valid XHTML 1.0 Strict and CSS.