Lots of cracking this year - Page 2

JRinPA · August 23, 2019

I have been doing the short start the last couple years and even mine got a little blighty in the trays a few days before plant out. Not too bad, but on the verge. It was just too cool and wet of a spring for summer crop transplants. Great spring though for the spring crops with good drainage. Bad for poor drainage areas.

I do have more cracks than usual on the sunny tomatoes but I'll tell you what...those big beefs I had full-sun florida weaved taste fantastic. They are super sweet and nice an firm! There is some white/hardish core on some but even that tastes really sweet, I was amazed. I haven't eaten big beefs on sandwiches for a couple year since I usually have so many heirloom tomatoes. I cut back this year and the OR117 were wet and tasteless which whittled me down to about 1/3 of the heirloom slicers I usually grow. Big Beef to the rescue, I guess, but I will come up short on canning I think. I picked a tray and a half to make sauce the other day and I think we ate half of them on sandwiches! Here is the latest. Please excuse me while I eat my ugly cracked tomato!

Bruinwar · August 26, 2019

Exactly it JRinPA! Cut away the cracks & it can still be a great tomato! Can't do that with BER.

SQWIBB · August 26, 2019

Its definitely Radial Cracking, I have had a lot of this in August but "0" up til August. It has subsided and now I'm not getting any cracks. This happened in my Big Beef and Jetstars.
I attribute this to the extremely hot days with lots of rain.

Mine crack but heal over, some will start to rot at the crack if you leave them too long
My cracked ones I cut the tops off and eat or if I have too many cracked tomatoes that look like they're weeping or have opened up, I aggressively cut out the cracks, core, half and freeze for sauce.

July 15th "0" cracking

July 17th "0" cracking

July 27th, a few radial cracks in a couple tomatoes.

By the early part of August till late part of August almost every tomato had radial cracking, the fruit on now is showing no signs of radial cracking.

August 26, 2019	#17
Bruinwar Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Ann Arbor Michigan Posts: 93	Exactly it JRinPA! Cut away the cracks & it can still be a great tomato! Can't do that with BER.

August 26, 2019	#18
SQWIBB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2018 Location: Philly 7A Posts: 739	Its definitely Radial Cracking, I have had a lot of this in August but "0" up til August. It has subsided and now I'm not getting any cracks. This happened in my Big Beef and Jetstars. I attribute this to the extremely hot days with lots of rain. Mine crack but heal over, some will start to rot at the crack if you leave them too long My cracked ones I cut the tops off and eat or if I have too many cracked tomatoes that look like they're weeping or have opened up, I aggressively cut out the cracks, core, half and freeze for sauce. July 15th "0" cracking July 17th "0" cracking July 27th, a few radial cracks in a couple tomatoes. By the early part of August till late part of August almost every tomato had radial cracking, the fruit on now is showing no signs of radial cracking.