When Tomatoes Crack On The Vine (Now What?)

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At some point everyone who grows tomatoes in the garden will have some fruits split open on the vine. So, are cracked tomatoes safe to eat? And, is there a way to prevent it?

If you’re a new grower, also see 10 Best Tips Before You Plant Tomatoes.

Tomatoes Cracking Open

It happens to every tomato gardener at some point. You’ve been growing tomatoes in your garden, keeping them staked, pruned, and fed as needed when, in the home stretch, something happens and the fruits suddenly split open—right there on the vine.

Your first thought is—drat!—I never even got to taste them. But then you notice they don’t really look too bad and ask, can I still eat them?

Are Cracked Tomatoes Safe To Eat?

The good news is: yes. If the fruit is newly split and the tomato otherwise seems fine, it’s still edible—assuming it’s ripe enough that you’d want to.

It’s when a cracked tomato has been sitting on the vine for some time with the inner parts (pulp) of the fruit exposed that insects and pathogenic fungi and bacteria may get in and ruin it.

If you’re not sure, examine it. If the fruit looks and smells fine, it very likely is.

I check my garden crops daily so it’s easy to notice freshly-cracked fruits. And to me, if it happens, that’s nature’s way of telling me to carpe diem and enjoy those delicious sun-warmed fruits right away. Yum!

Why Tomatoes Split

While a lot of garden problems seem complicated, this one is relatively harmless and straightforward.

Basically, a tomato splits open when the skin is too weak to contain the pressure inside.

It often happens after some hot, dry summer days as the fruit is reaching maturity. This is when the skin loses some of its elasticity and may not be able to stretch further to accommodate new growth or a sudden increase of water inside.

Down comes a good rain, giving the plant some much-needed water but, as that inner fruit swells—pop!—the skin can’t take the pressure and splits open.

Splitting is said to be most common in large tomatoes like some of the lovely old heirlooms but I mainly grow cherry tomatoes (with fairly thick skins) and they crack every year too. The more resilient ones are often marked as ‘crack-resistant‘ in seed catalogs.

Tomatoes cracking on the vine. — Red tomato with horizontal split

Cracked red tomatoes on vine. — Red tomato with horizontal split

There are two basic ways tomatoes can split: vertically (top to bottom) or horizontally (in a circle, all or part way around the fruit). Either way, it’s all the same thing.

Sometimes the splits stay open, other times they seem to heal over forming a sort of scar tissue.

Unlike a simple split in the skin, it’s that scar tissue that tends to worry gardeners because it can look rather strange. But no worries. While unsightly, it’s harmless. Just cut off the tough parts and use the rest of the fruit.

How To Prevent Tomatoes From Splitting

Cracking tomato skins are not entirely preventable the way some say.

Commercial growers, with far more control over their greenhouse growing conditions than we have in our gardens, struggle with splitting tomatoes every year, resulting in multi-million-dollar losses.

So, if it’s a struggle for them, the best we can hope for is perhaps to somewhat lower the risk.

Here are a few things that may help:

Plant Choices

Grow “crack-resistant” varieties. It doesn’t mean they are immune, just less susceptible.

Check your favorite seed catalog for suggestions—there are dozens of them.

Here are a few:

Abraham Lincoln (Indeterminate, 85 days to maturity)
Black Plum (Indeterminate, 80 days to maturity)
Bonnie’s Best (Indeterminate, 85 days to maturity)
Cherry Chocolate (Indeterminate, 75 days to maturity)
Gardener’s Sweetheart (Indeterminate, 65 days to maturity)
Green Zebra (Semi-determinate, 75-80 days to maturity)
Marglobe Supreme (Indeterminate, 75 days to maturity)
Marion (Indeterminate, 75 days to maturity)
Mountain Gold (Determinate, 80 days to maturity)

Mail Order Seeds

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West Coast Seeds Canada

Care

Water deeply and consistently without allowing your tomato plants to dry out.
Provide good drainage.
Mulch the soil to help retain moisture.

Harvest

Check the fruits on the vine daily, always on the lookout for any sign of cracking. This way, even if it does happen, you can at least enjoy the fruit before it goes to waste.
If heavy rain is expected (and conditions have been dry), cut your losses, and pick a bit early. So long as the fruit is mature, it can continue ripening off the vine. This explains how to ripen tomatoes after picking.