Friday, February 5, 2010

When to water tomato plants, to avoid splitting?

I have noticed that sometimes after I water my tomato plants (esp cherry tomotoes) that they split open. Am I watering at the wrong time of day, watering too much, or what?When to water tomato plants, to avoid splitting?
Tomatoes usually split because of uneven watering. Water regularly, preferrably in the morning and water deeply. If you have a period of draught and then a lot of rain all at once they fill up with water too fast and split.When to water tomato plants, to avoid splitting?
Try different varieites. E.g. I used to grow Sweet 100 cherry tomatoes. Great taste, but prone to splitting in the late summer. The variety was tweaked to SuperSweet 100's, and they split much less. Then came Sweet Millions, which I believe is much the same, but from a different developer.





Try watering less, though there is nothing you can do about heavy rains.





Plant extra.
the splitting is caused from the tomato growing too fast its natural
try watering them late in the evening,just before the sun goes all the way down.that way they can absorb the water slowly overnight.if you water well enough they will stay moist through the day.when you water in the morning the plant has to try to absorb all the water it can before it gets hot out side an evaporates threrefor the tomatoes crack.be sure to water consistantly also because if the plants go long period of time with out they tend to be starved there for drinking in the water to fast and tomatoes crack.also be sure to water the leaves as well as the ground,because they absorb water also! hope this helps,i have been an avid green thumb gardener for about 20 years!
The tomatos are growing too fast. The sun can also help cause it because it helps dry the skin out causing them to crack. You could shade the tomatos and that would probably help some.
Both types of cracking or splitting are in general a result of inconsistent intake of water during the fruiting season. Cracking indicates fast growth followed by slow growth. (The skin cells harden during slow growth and crack when fast growth happens) Fast growth occurs when temperatures and moisture levels are high.





During growth tomatoes need about one inch of water per week from rain, irrigation or both. Because of our lack of control of Natural water we have to try and improve the soil to maintain proper moisture levels. Good drainage is key, raised beds work well also to lessen environmental stress. The soil should be moist but not water logged.

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