It's so devastating when the lovingly cared for tomatoes burst open without warning. Familiarize yourself with the different causes here. This is how you can effectively prevent the damage.
Why do tomatoes burst and how can you prevent it?
Tomatoes burst due to fluctuations in temperature and humidity, irregular water and nutrient supply, or intense sunlight. Avoid overhead watering, provide rain protection, and ensure consistent watering and fertilization to prevent bursting.
Most common damage: many small cracks
When summer heat and high humidity come together, the delicate tomato peel cannot cope with the fluctuations. The skin splits open in many places without reaching deep into the flesh. How to avoid the damage:
- Never water tomato plants overhead
- ideally water in the early morning hours
- basically cultivate under a rain cover
If there is high humidity under a rain canopy, there is a risk of late blight infestation. Therefore, leave one page open.
How to correctly interpret star-shaped cracks on tomatoes
Tomato plants prefer consistent consistency in their water and nutrient supply. Rashes in one direction or the other cause fruit to burst, in which case the damage appears in a star shape.
It won't get that far if you water tomato plants as evenly as possible. As soon as the soil surface dries, watering is carried out. Severe drying out and correspondingly intensive watering causes the unsightly cracks on the tomato peels.
A sudden increase in the amount of fertilizer has an even more dramatic effect. If the nutrient supply increases, the fruit grows faster than the peel. It is much better to add compost evenly as soon as cultivation is finished. As flowering begins, gradually increase the dosage. In this way you can effectively prevent star-like cracks on tomatoes.
Circular jumps require immediate action
If the peel on tomatoes splits open in circles, this indicates that the sun is too intense. This damage occurs particularly when too many leaves have been removed, for example during pruning. There is therefore a lack of sufficient shading. It's best to immediately get out a large parasol (€99.00 on Amazon) and protect the tomato plant from further sunburn.
Tips & Tricks
Statistics revealed that tomatoes rarely burst in greenhouses. In order to be able to offer your plants these protected conditions, it is not absolutely necessary to invest in an expensive prefabricated model. With a little craftsmanship you can easily build a tomato house yourself.
