My Tomatoes Are Cracking at the End of the Stems

Types

• There are two types of cracks that occur on tomatoes. Radial cracks occur at the top of the tomato where the fruit meets the stem. These cause a large crack that starts at the area of the stem and runs along the tomato toward the bottom of the fruit. Concentric cracking occurs only around the top of the tomato in a circular pattern where the fruit meets the stem (like the cut top of a jack-o-lantern). Cracks may be deep or superficial, depending on the circumstances that caused the crack.

Causes

• Causes of tomato cracking are varied, but typically involve soil moisture problems or fruit maturity. Fluctuations in soil moisture cause stress in the fruit. When the soil is dry, then suddenly becomes moist again due to watering or rain showers, the tomato takes water in rapidly. Its stressed flesh swells faster than it is ready for, then begins to crack. Occasionally, the fruit matures and is left on the vine longer than necessary, which results in concentric cracking.

Prevention

• Tomato cracking is easily prevented by taking a few precautions. Keep soil around the plants consistently hydrated to reduce stress on the fruit. Water plants daily to ensure the soil stays moist and spongy, never soggy, muddy or excessively dry. Another option is to soak the plants thoroughly once weekly to keep soil moist. To determine if your plants need water, insert your finger into the soil and if it feels dry, water the plants immediately. Finally, remove tomatoes that are mature even if you do not intend to use them immediately. This keeps them from cracking on the vine and encourages your plant to produce more fruit.

Crack Resistance

• Try planting crack-resistant varieties of tomatoes in your garden to greatly reduce your chances of tomato cracking. Jetstar, Mountain Spring and Mountain Fresh tomato varieties are noted for their crack resistance. Larger varieties of tomato such as Beefsteak tomatoes or Italian Giant tomatoes are more prone to cracking due to their large size at maturity.