Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: matt80 on September 02, 2008, 09:12

Title: Splitting tomatoes
Post by: matt80 on September 02, 2008, 09:12

Hi,

I had a bumper crop of Gardeners Delight tomatoes which have all of a sudden started to split - both red ones and green ones. Any idea why this might be? It seems to have been a bit colder the last couple of nights, could this be the reason why?

Is it ok to use these split tomatoes to make passata or something? How about the green ones, can they be put in aswell or do they not taste as good?

Thanks,
Matt

Title: Splitting tomatoes
Post by: SpudtheBinx on September 02, 2008, 10:10

Tomatoes splitting is to do with erratic watering. The skins do not have time to grow when the tomato is deluged with water and the fruits swell rapidly making them split.

Title: Splitting tomatoes
Post by: gobs on September 02, 2008, 16:31

Yep, too much varying water levels, perfectly edible though and I'd think, a lot of us would rather happily swap you for some brown on green looking ones. :lol:

Title: Splitting tomatoes
Post by: jono2507 on September 02, 2008, 16:39

I read about this thing recently, and it was all about watering.

One piece of advice that I picked up was not to remove any more of the side shoots, that way the extra growth will take up some of the extra water.

Whether is works or not is another matter!!!

Title: Splitting tomatoes
Post by: Yabba on September 02, 2008, 17:19

Quote from: "jono2507"

One piece of advice that I picked up was not to remove any more of the side shoots, that way the extra growth will take up some of the extra water.

Logically speaking, that would also mean that they'd take needed water during the "dry" periods as well?

¥

Title: Splitting tomatoes
Post by: sclarke624 on September 02, 2008, 23:24

I've had a bumper crop of gardeners delight this year, lucky for me not diseased or all green.  One or two of mine have split a bit think it was the deluge of rain we have had.