Why did so many of my tomatoes turn out so ugly this year? Aside from the cracks (rain) they generally seem misshapen and heavily blemished/afflicted.
Why did so many of my tomatoes turn out so ugly this year? Aside from the cracks (rain) they generally seem misshapen and heavily blemished/afflicted.
by TheBetaBridgeBandit
21 Comments
purplemarkersniffer
Do you know what variety these are? Some tomato varieties will take on certain characteristics of shape and are adapted to certain conditions. There are even varieties know to be resistant to cracking. Without knowing your watering, what the plants looked like or soil conditions I would suggest looking into a tomato variety suited for your region and even your specific area. Some tomato growers develop and breed tomatoes and are happy to share. Judging from the appearance alone, looks like irregular watering and/or heat fluctuations. But there may also be a soil fertility factor it’s tough to say based on this alone.
Zepscv
Looks a lot like mine when I wasn’t able to keep them consistently watered due to travelling. I’d wait for someone more experienced than me to chime in, though.
yo-ovaries
Damn those poor bastards. What variety was this? Raised beds or in ground? What were the leaves like? Did you see shield bugs like stink bugs or kissing bugs?
You may consider doing raised beds next year. You can’t control the rain but you can focus on soil quality to improve drainage. If your garden is on a depression or otherwise retains water a raised bed may help. Of course greenhouse/polytunnel for tomatoes is pretty unobtainable for most home gardeners but that would be the only way to prevent cracking.
Did they also have blight or stink bug predation?
Sh33zl3
Its the old and heirloom races that are more likely to get diseases.
I always get the more modern or new sorts. As they are better adapted.
PurpleKrim
That’s drought stress. A few of mine had it when I was struggling to keep up with my garden’s water needs back in August. The smaller more cosmetic marks are usually from insufficient & inconsistent soil moisture, i.e. you’re watering them, but the soil is drying out so fast that the fruits are basically swelling in little bursts when you water, which stretches the skin out. It’s basically stretch marks. The larger splits are usually a result of a heavy rainfall or heavy deep watering during drought conditions, which cause the fruit to swell with water rapidly for multiple days in a row, much faster than the skin can grow, causing it to actually tear.
Expanse-Memory
As the first post said. Droughts stress and, imho nutrient absorption. Not really your fault, this year was like that and next year will be different 🙂
Krickett72
This was my Mortgage lifters late last year after we had a couple of weeks of rain. They were so bad I didnt even use them for anything.
gimlet_prize
My Cherokee purples were all like this, still have fruit coming in that is unusable even though the drought has lifted.
Consistent_Rule_5421
Inconsistent watering and lack of nutrients
spaetzlechick
These are pretty horrific, for sure. I would think this is more likely to happen if you plant varieties unsuitable for your growing conditions/are or that are bred for greenhouse growing. Did you buy seed from a reputable dealer or plant seeds from tomatoes you bought at the store?
Legitimate-Word-9818
Mine split like crazy attracting bugs. It was because of all the rain over watered them. Simple as that
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camprn
Some varieties are more prone to catfacing, and inconsistent watering.
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raphen_ilweed
Looks like a nutrient issue in the soil. The broken skins can be a calcium issue, lack of. With 120+ chromosomes in tomato plants you can get some freaky things.
shizbox06
That is kinda what my tomatoes looked like when I grew for 5 seasons in a row in the same plot and lacked nutrients.
loveychipss
Aw these poor yellow guys 😂 my tomatoes got crazy anthracnose this year and I didn’t act quickly enough. I did learn that feeding them regularly is important so we still got an excellent harvest. Also those stretch marks things are (1) more common in type likes Black Krim and (2) can be controlled by picking them before it rains so they don’t swell as much.
Zealousideal_Dig8570
Tomatoes crack can cause with different ways , it could be calcium deficiency, tomatoes like! their roots moist , don’t let the tomatoes get too dry. When this happens, water them just a bit ,just a little bit water to moist the soil , then comes back and water it deeply, tomatoes likes their root moist , in order for the intake of the calcium , if your tomatoes are kept moist and still your fruits are cracking, then you need to add calcium into the soil , this will prevent cracking, I will recommend bone meal fertilizer, just add a little around the plants , this will give them a boost of calcium
IndicationMelodic566
Ready for Halloween
No_Shoulder_5426
Same issue. Didn’t get one good tomato 😭. Similar to what everyone says here, inconsistent watering and lack of nutrients are the likely culprits. Better luck next year for us I suppose!
Bonzo_Gariepi
shieeeeet thats some ugly ass about to rot tomatoes
21 Comments
Do you know what variety these are? Some tomato varieties will take on certain characteristics of shape and are adapted to certain conditions. There are even varieties know to be resistant to cracking. Without knowing your watering, what the plants looked like or soil conditions I would suggest looking into a tomato variety suited for your region and even your specific area. Some tomato growers develop and breed tomatoes and are happy to share. Judging from the appearance alone, looks like irregular watering and/or heat fluctuations. But there may also be a soil fertility factor it’s tough to say based on this alone.
Looks a lot like mine when I wasn’t able to keep them consistently watered due to travelling. I’d wait for someone more experienced than me to chime in, though.
Damn those poor bastards. What variety was this? Raised beds or in ground? What were the leaves like? Did you see shield bugs like stink bugs or kissing bugs?
You may consider doing raised beds next year. You can’t control the rain but you can focus on soil quality to improve drainage. If your garden is on a depression or otherwise retains water a raised bed may help. Of course greenhouse/polytunnel for tomatoes is pretty unobtainable for most home gardeners but that would be the only way to prevent cracking.
Did they also have blight or stink bug predation?
Its the old and heirloom races that are more likely to get diseases.
I always get the more modern or new sorts. As they are better adapted.
That’s drought stress. A few of mine had it when I was struggling to keep up with my garden’s water needs back in August. The smaller more cosmetic marks are usually from insufficient & inconsistent soil moisture, i.e. you’re watering them, but the soil is drying out so fast that the fruits are basically swelling in little bursts when you water, which stretches the skin out. It’s basically stretch marks. The larger splits are usually a result of a heavy rainfall or heavy deep watering during drought conditions, which cause the fruit to swell with water rapidly for multiple days in a row, much faster than the skin can grow, causing it to actually tear.
As the first post said. Droughts stress and, imho nutrient absorption. Not really your fault, this year was like that and next year will be different 🙂
This was my Mortgage lifters late last year after we had a couple of weeks of rain. They were so bad I didnt even use them for anything.
My Cherokee purples were all like this, still have fruit coming in that is unusable even though the drought has lifted.
Inconsistent watering and lack of nutrients
These are pretty horrific, for sure. I would think this is more likely to happen if you plant varieties unsuitable for your growing conditions/are or that are bred for greenhouse growing. Did you buy seed from a reputable dealer or plant seeds from tomatoes you bought at the store?
Mine split like crazy attracting bugs. It was because of all the rain over watered them. Simple as that
[removed]
Some varieties are more prone to catfacing, and inconsistent watering.
[removed]
Looks like a nutrient issue in the soil. The broken skins can be a calcium issue, lack of. With 120+ chromosomes in tomato plants you can get some freaky things.
That is kinda what my tomatoes looked like when I grew for 5 seasons in a row in the same plot and lacked nutrients.
Aw these poor yellow guys 😂 my tomatoes got crazy anthracnose this year and I didn’t act quickly enough. I did learn that feeding them regularly is important so we still got an excellent harvest. Also those stretch marks things are (1) more common in type likes Black Krim and (2) can be controlled by picking them before it rains so they don’t swell as much.
Tomatoes crack can cause with different ways , it could be calcium deficiency, tomatoes like! their roots moist , don’t let the tomatoes get too dry. When this happens, water them just a bit ,just a little bit water to moist the soil , then comes back and water it deeply, tomatoes likes their root moist , in order for the intake of the calcium , if your tomatoes are kept moist and still your fruits are cracking, then you need to add calcium into the soil , this will prevent cracking, I will recommend bone meal fertilizer, just add a little around the plants , this will give them a boost of calcium
Ready for Halloween
Same issue. Didn’t get one good tomato 😭. Similar to what everyone says here, inconsistent watering and lack of nutrients are the likely culprits. Better luck next year for us I suppose!
shieeeeet thats some ugly ass about to rot tomatoes