Suggestions of Crack/Split-Resistant, w/High Yield & Full Flavor?

[2nd Foundation]

I've been looking through my tomato catalogs and noticed that many of them list 'crack-' and 'split-resistant' in their tomato descriptions. While this is very generalized--because of endless variables such as weather, water, soil, amendments, etc., I still find it quite helpful in narrowing down varieties. The more information they can print, the better for me. I'm always grateful for those willing to spread their knowledge, especially here on this forum.
Anyway, I was wondering if others have found the catalog descriptions to be generally accurate regarding crack and split-resistance.?
~Caroline

[simmran1]

2nd,
I agree, along with plant growth. I can send u some Galina cherry for SASE no problem. My best non-cracking beefsteaks would include Box Car Willie, County Agent, Cuostralee, Mule Team, Red Barn. All of the Bratka types I've grown.
Aker’s West Virginia. All Brandywine types crack (for me), Prudens Purple less.

[2nd Foundation]

Thanks simmran1! Sending pm!
You posted exactly the kind of information I'm looking for!
Cuostralee, Box Car Willie, and Aker's West Virginia I'm adding to my 'wish list.' And I'll look more closely at the Bratkas you suggested.
Thanks again,
Caroline

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by 2nd Foundation

I've been looking through my tomato catalogs and noticed that many of them list 'crack-' and 'split-resistant' in their tomato descriptions. While this is very generalized--because of endless variables such as weather, water, soil, amendments, etc., I still find it quite helpful in narrowing down varieties. The more information they can print, the better for me. I'm always grateful for those willing to spread their knowledge, especially here on this forum.
Anyway, I was wondering if others have found the catalog descriptions to be generally accurate regarding crack and split-resistance.?
~Caroline

I believe very little of descriptions in catalogs. After all most are in the business of making money so are going to shy away from saying anything negative.

The other issue is that not all companies grow their own tomatoes for seed, far from it, so haven't a clue as to crack and split tolerance, not resistance, for there really is no resistance.

Another issue is that one has to distinguish between the different kinds of splitting since for many varieties it's just part of their genetic makeup to do so.

Concentric splitting occurs as circles around the stem of the fruit. Those splits usually heal over but with too much irrigation or water from the sky they can reopen and then normal bacteria and fungi in the air can invade and start a rotting process.

Radial splitting is seen as rays of splits that extend outwards from the stem, and they too are associated with certain varieties genetically, Same story as above in terms of healing over and then resplitting.

Horizontal splitting is cracks/splits, that occur elsewhere on fruits and that's usually due to too much water and with that water influx when the fruit wall is at it's maximum size, the fruits just split.

There are some vendor sites that I think are much better than others in terms of being honest about the traits of varieties, and not saying that, for instance, that this or that varietiy is low acid, few have been documented to be so, but very few.

And the adjectives used by many vendor listings is WAY over the top when it comes to taste and yield.

And what happens one year as regards a specific variety as to horizontal splitting as well as reopening of concentric and radial splits, may not happen the next season that variety is grown.

Again, there are vendors that do grow their own tomatoes for seed production, but also some that subcontract out for same, and some that buy seeds off the shelf, and some that do a combo of the above.

And what some do that don't grow their own is to use descriptions from the SSE YEarbooks to help out. And don't get me started on DTM's ( days to maturity) b/c they are sheer guesstimates.

Carolyn

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by 2nd Foundation

Thanks simmran1! Sending pm!
You posted exactly the kind of information I'm looking for!
Cuostralee, Box Car Willie, and Aker's West Virginia I'm adding to my 'wish list.' And I'll look more closely at the Bratkas you suggested.
Thanks again,
Caroline

Caroline, please look at the post I just did as to splitting. I've grown all the ones just mentioned, and when someone refers to Bratka ones most of the time they're talking about ones that Joe Bratka's father bred which are Mule Team, Box Car Willie, Red Barn, Great Divide and Pasture.

I know them well since when Joe found them in a toolshed in glass jars, already named, he couldn't germinate the seeds, sent them to me and I was able to get the above ones going.But as grown by me none of them are always tolerant of splitting.

Aker's West Virginia is a great variety, but again, it depends on the season it's grown in as to all the variables that go into splitting as to whether it will have splits or not, which is true of almost all the now over 3,000 varieties I've grown.

Best to just grow varieties yourself and see how they do as I see it.

Carolyn

[saltmarsh]

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. If you notice a variety is subject to splitting, you can avoid it by picking them at the pinking stage (starting to show good color on the blossom end).

They will continue to ripen after picking with no noticable difference in flavor.

And please remove the stem when you pick them so it doesn't damage other tomatoes in the basket (Scratches from stems are hard to notice until your tomatoes start to rot.).

You don't have to leave the tomatoes spread out on counters or tables. Do a pink to ripe pack in a basket. Line a basket with newspaper and place a layer of those showing the least amount of ripeness on the bottom (stem end down) followed by layers of riper tomatoes on top. Use a soft dish towel to remove any moisture or debris from the tomatoes as you pack them. Don't put any blemished or leaking tomatoes in the basket, use them immediately. Claud

[2nd Foundation]

Carolyn-- excellent information on cracking & splitting, and also about seed vendors. In years past, I’ve always enjoyed reading your posts on Gardenweb. You, and Dave (digdirt), provided a wealth of knowledge on that board!



Going back to Asimov -- Foundation is the best sci-fi series ever in my opinion. A true classic / ’Intelligent science fiction.’ If you have all the volumes on your shelf, it’s a must-read…or re-read, haha :-) My favorite part is ‘The Mule’ and everything thereafter. Continuing on to the forth volume, Foundations Edge (1982) is just as good as the original trilogy in my opinion. And if you find a copy of The End of Eternity, it’s definitely worth reading…on time travel…very clever and different from his other works… I consider it Asimov’s best stand-alone novel. I also enjoy Clarke, Niven, Douglas Adams, Heinlein….and I’m currently reading Tolkien.



Caroline

[2nd Foundation]

Carolyn,

Very interesting about the Bratka seeds....had they been in those glass jars in the toolshed for a long while? Did you do anything special to get them to germinate?

‘Great Divide’ sounds appealing to me.

Thanks,
Caroline

[2nd Foundation]

Concentric (or circular) cracking I know from Black Krim, which I’ve grown for a few years, in container, and in ground. Taste is pretty good, but it’s far too prone to concentric cracking and rotting for me....I know this is a genetic characteristic and can’t be prevented....plus fruits are not large enough, and production is low. There are other blacks that I would like to try, including JD’s Special C Tex and Black From Tula. - To anyone that has grown Black From Tula, may I please ask how much splitting or cracking you normally see?
The PREDOMINANT PROBLEM for me with most tomatoes is RADIAL splitting (or 'longitudinal'/'pole to pole'… geography major here, haha). In my area it's caused by too much rain. Rain is uncontrollable, and here in NC we have large intervals of drought followed by deluge. The fruit swells faster than the skins, they split open, radiating out from the stem end.

That’s why I’m looking for tough tomatoes that are 'less susceptible' to splitting & cracking....and ones that still taste great (strong tomato taste or ‘aggressive’/ ‘old time’ flavor)....AND will give me more than just a few fruits. In particular, beefsteaks or large fruited, and cherries. There being thousands of tomatoes out there, something is bound to exist that performs decently in my locale & conditions ...though I realize it will be much trial and error. I’m hoping that the help of this forum can steer me in the right direction.
~Caroline

[2nd Foundation]

Claud,
I agree, great advice! Yes, I already pick most all of my tomatoes (that aren’t ruined, argh) at the point of ‘break’ or ‘blush’....or sometimes earlier....in an attempt to beat the splits. But, unfortunately, many of my tomatoes split in the green stage before blushing, then go on to rot and blush together! Isn’t that cute! So aggravating....I just cannot afford it, literally.
Thanks for posting about removing stems, layering from unripe to ripe, and quickly using the leakers ~ yep, I do all of these things, great tips.
I do also want to add~ that I mulch my garden well in order to reduce fluctuations in soil moisture ....and that I sometimes water with hose during periods of drought.
Thanks again for any help,
Caroline

[WVTomatoMan]

Cherries are notorious for splitting. The one that splits the least for me is Sunsugar. As far as non cherries there are many as can be seen by the responses on this thread.

But, the bottom line is if you get the right (or wrong actually) conditions just about any of them will split. For example dry or drought conditions followed by a couple of inches of rain just when they're ripening is bad news for just about any variety.

Generally speaking the thicker the skin the less likely they are to split - but you know what happens when you generalize. Probably the best thing to do is try to mitigate the situation by providing an even supply of water, water deeply when you water and mulch.

Good luck.

Randy

p.s. What about the early guys like Jules Verne or H.G. Wells? Don't they get any love?

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by 2nd Foundation

Carolyn,

Very interesting about the Bratka seeds....had they been in those glass jars in the toolshed for a long while? Did you do anything special to get them to germinate?

‘Great Divide’ sounds appealing to me.

Thanks,
Caroline

I have no idea how long they were in the tool shed before Joe found them after his father died. I never asked him.

It's hard to remember whatI did but knowing that Joe couldn't germinate them I probably did back then what I normally did with almost non-viable seeds, and that was to soak the seeds in 0.2% Sodium nitrate for 24hrs, stirring often to get the seeds to hydate and sink, since older seeds are dehydrated.

And then after sowing to water them when needed with that same sodium nitrate solution.

Nitrate ions are known tohelp with germination but the plant physiologists I contacted had no idea of where or when they acted.

These days I suggest that folks soak seeds, when needed, just in a cup of water to which a few drops of blue stuff ( Miracle Grow or Peters or the like) or if organic, a few drops of undiluted fish or seaweed emulsion, Neptune's Harvest preferred by me, and do as above with the soaking.

I do think that I remember the taste of Red Barn was better than Great Divide, but it's been a long time since I've grown Great Divide.

Many already know Box Car Willie and MuleTeam very well, and Pasture is a rampant red cherry that I've suggested in the past might be even better than kudzu vine for covering outhouses in the south where that vine grows.

There were three varieties I could not wake up and I've always wondered what they might have been.

Carolyn

[swamper]

Originally Posted by WVTomatoMan

The one that splits the least for me is Sunsugar. ....if you get the right (or wrong actually) conditions just about any of them will split.

I found extraordinary crack resistance in sweet hearts, but not in sun sugar in my trials. sweet hearts is more of a grape in shape.

the down side is that sweet hearts is very crunchy in texture; on the positive side, the yield and vigor have been outstanding, as is the sugar content and overall flavor.

[Longlake]

There are other blacks that I would like to try, including JD’s Special C Tex and Black From Tula. - To anyone that has grown Black From Tula, may I please ask how much splitting or cracking you normally see?

Last year I grew Black Krim, Black from Tula and JDs side-by-side in a raised bed. Black Krim was early, productive, and I really liked the taste...but it also had the most cracking and disease (gray mold) issues. Black from Tula was also early, had far less cracking, no real problems with disease, great production and good taste. JDs was later, no cracking, lower production but no problems with disease. They were all good tomatoes.

As they say, your mileage may vary...

[WVTomatoMan]

Originally Posted by swamper

I found extraordinary crack resistance in sweet hearts, but not in sun sugar in my trials. sweet hearts is more of a grape in shape.

the down side is that sweet hearts is very crunchy in texture; on the positive side, the yield and vigor have been outstanding, as is the sugar content and overall flavor.

Proof positive of what I've said for years. Tomatoes perform differently in different regions/areas. I came to realize this when I started posting about tomatoes on the internet many years ago.

For instance I have a terrible time with Randy's Cherry Bomb splitting. But, Suze down in Texas didn't: http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/...+Bomb.jpg.html

Note that they are very big for a cherry, but are borne on cherry like clusters.

Randy