What's happening to our tomatoes?

September 26, 2006 12:03 AM

What's wrong with the tomatoes in our garden?

First off, pictures:



From L-to-R, a less ripe (and less strangely textured) tomato, and a ripe one with full-fledged spiral on top.



The inside of a halved tomato with the same problem. The top was tough to cut (for a tomato - and, yes, I used my serrated knife).

We also have cherry tomatoes in our garden, and none of them seem to have this problem. The apartment's owner and tomato caretaker until the end of August (we are subletting) warned us that if they sat in the sun too long they would split, but he never mentioned this.

We are in Brooklyn, NY; we have had plenty of rain lately, alternating with plenty of sunshine. The weather has been above 65F (but never above about 82F) during the day since we moved here. As I said, we are not the original growers so I have no information on what products/fertilizers and what have you were used.

posted by anjamu to home & garden (7 comments total)

There are two kinds of splitting that can happen at the stem end of the tomato and you can't prevent either one.

Concentric splitting is seen as circles around the stem that usually scar over and there's a genetic association with certain varieties.

Radial splitting is seen as splits that radiate outwards from the stem and they also have a genetic association with certain varieties.

So both of the above are consedered perfectly normal for many varieties. And unless there's heavy rains or overirrigation which opens up the scarred splits when rotting can ensue, it's not a problem/

Horizontal splitting is any splitting that occurs elsewhere on the fruits and is due to uptake of too much water when the fruits are at the mature stage since the skin can't expand to accommodate the increased water.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 12:31 AM on September 26, 2006 [1 favorite]

We've had some close calls with frost, and my 'maters are doing the same thing.

Surely, w-gp, the formatting was unintentional? It's easy to forget to close a tag. Jess can fix it, if you care.
posted by theora55 at 6:37 AM on September 26, 2006

[I reformatted the link a littlle bit]
posted by jessamyn at 7:08 AM on September 26, 2006

Yes, unintentional formatting. Lost the close tag when I added a bit before posting.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:43 AM on September 26, 2006

No, I guess I just linked too much text. Thanks, jessamyn.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:45 AM on September 26, 2006

What I think is going on is uneven watering. Tomatoes grow at a certain rate with steady watering. When they go through a dry spell, they slow down. Sudden influx of water causes a sudden growth spurt and, like puberty, causes stretch marks. most of the time, your tomatoes are going to be ugly all scarred up but they are safe to eat. If they look dry on the outside, they are probably sound. Use those to make something where the skin comes off, like tomato sauce or catsup.
posted by Foam Pants at 7:48 PM on September 26, 2006

Thanks, everyone.

I ate the tomatoes this morning (less, of course, the funky-looking part) and I am happy to report that they are indeed quite tasty with a pinch of salt.
posted by anjamu at 11:59 PM on September 26, 2006