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3 reasons why tomatoes crack: what mistakes gardeners repeat year after year
28.01.2023 07:20
Updated: 13.04.2023 17:24
Tomatoes are consistently among the most popular crops that summer residents grow on their plots.
Along with this, a list of the most common mistakes in caring for tomatoes appeared.
Some of them affect the harvest to a lesser extent. But there are miscalculations that can seriously spoil the final result.
For example, there are three mistakes that lead to cracks in ripening fruits. Such a harvest quickly rots and looks terrible.
Not enough water
Tomato ripening coincides with a period of rather hot weather. Daytime temperatures can easily reach +30 °C.
Often, summer residents stop watering tomatoes when they see the harvest starting to turn red. If the plant experiences a lack of moisture during this period, the fruits will start to crack.
Therefore, you need to water the tomatoes until the end of fruiting, except when it rains. Then you won’t have to pick tomatoes covered in cracks.
Temperature changes
A sharp drop in temperature at night (+10 …+18 °C) and heat during the day (+28 °C …+32 °C) also lead to undesirable consequences.
In this case, after sunset, summer residents cover the plantings and air them during the day. Temperature differences do not affect tomatoes as much, and cracks can be avoided.
Overripening
Often, summer residents pick tomatoes while they are still green or remove them from the bush when they have barely begun to turn red. It is believed that this is done solely to increase the harvest.
In fact, overripening is fraught with cracks. As a result, the bush spends extra resources that the fruit no longer needs. Therefore, it is important not to overexpose tomatoes on the bushes, but to pick them while they are still elastic and smooth.
