Splitting Tomatoes
Jimbolena
Posts: 114
Can anyone help me please, a good 70% of the tomatoes I've had so far have split, I've no aphids or any other pests attacking them, which makes a change, a welcome one.
I think I'm over feeding but don't really know, I have stopped feeding them and only watering now with rain water, I also have a mains water fed sprinkler system that I set up before my holiday, it's on a timer and comes on twice a day for a short period of time, this was a life saver for them, by the way.
Because the sprinklers aren't a localized watering system, the GH gets humid so to stop the aphids, I have the door open all the time unless it's really cold, I also have auto vents, which was a holiday measure.
The varieties are, I think, I'm bad at labeling are gardeners delight and money maker, although they don't look it, very small.
Posts
Splitting usually means too much water after the skins have set. I'd cut back on the watering ... only water when the top inch of the compost is dry.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Okay that's great.
I will switch the watering system off and water by hand, I think the sprinklers are only on for a minute twice a day but I suppose that must be too much. It's not exactly been a hot summer up north.
Mine are outdoors in large buckets ... they get watered once or twice a week.
No splitting and no BER either
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
ok, less water...FAB
You can always tell if you are over-watering tomatoes as they shed extra water through pores in the leaves. Water droplets will appear along the edges of the leaves.
It will not help our tomatoes at all that, they have experienced some really hot dry weather and then heavy downpours. I think the heat might be toughening up the skins too much to expand when watered. Tricky! Most of my Gardeners Delight are still in green but some are splitting. They are still edible though.
'You must have some bread with it me duck!'
Thanks Welshonion for sharing your experience and thanks to Iamweedy because I am throwing the split ones away, they could be used for Chutney.
I've turned the sprinkler off. I watered them this morning so will wait a couple of days but as they're in the GH I won't leave them a week.
I'm grateful for the experience you've all shared.