Cracks in the Armor

They may not be Jon and Kate or Reggie and Kim, but a good sized bunch of tomatoes are breaking up. Ironically, our problem is occurring just about everywhere except on our celebrity tomato plant.

As you can see, many of the tomatoes (mostly on the heirloom plant) have large tears or cracks in their skins. What causes this problem? There are a few possibilities.

1)Alteration in the growth rate- The fruits may not grow at a steady rate. They can go from a slow rate to a rapid rate. In doing so, the cells in the tomato may not be able to stretch quickly enough for the skin to grow in accordance with the rest of the fruit (kind of like stretch marks on a pregnant woman).

2) Fast growth- With the high temperatures and humidity here to stay, some fruits grow very fast, and again, the skin of the tomato can't stay with the rapid growth.

3)Fluctuation in temperature- In the hot sun the fruit heats up and cools off during the night. If it's a substantial change in temps, it causes a lot of expansion and contraction. This will cause the skin to crack during those cycles.

4)Uneven nutrient levels- Plants with high levels of nitrogen and low potassium are more likely to crack.

5)Change in watering cycles- If there's a dramatic change in the cycle the plant receives water, cracking will occur.I have a feeling that a couple of these could be my problem, but I think the main issue is #5. When I went on vacation, the watering cycle changed from every other day to whenever my neighbors could water. Don't get me wrong...for two weeks of no rain, my garden stayed healthy thanks to their efforts.

But the transition from a very wet spring to a dry summer has altered the water cycle of my plants. It was just a matter of time. If the rains had been even throughout the seasons, we may not have had the problem.

The good news about cracking is it doesn't make the tomatoes any less edible. Good thing because I need a good snack while surfing the celebrity gossip websites for all the new Hollywood break-ups and drama.