Problem with tomato Gardeners Delight
 

I grow these outdoors in well composted soil and a black plastic mulch.
The fruits ripen and are absolutely delicious. 12 hours later, they
split :-(

As I can't harvest more than once a day, can anyone suggest:

- What I can do to stop this problem?
- An alternative variety that tastes as good but doesn't split.

Thanks!

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

"Steve Harris" wrote in message
...
I grow these outdoors in well composted soil and a black plastic mulch.
The fruits ripen and are absolutely delicious. 12 hours later, they
split :-(

As I can't harvest more than once a day, can anyone suggest:

- What I can do to stop this problem?
- An alternative variety that tastes as good but doesn't split.

Thanks!

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

With secateurs, cut them off the truss witha bit of stalk rather than
pulling/twisting the tomato off. Then pull the little bit of stalk off when
you want to use them.

--
Martin & Anna Sykes
( Remove x's when replying )
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~sykesm

In article ,
(Martin Sykes) wrote:

With secateurs, cut them off the truss witha bit of stalk rather than
pulling/twisting the tomato off. Then pull the little bit of stalk
off when you want to use them.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. The tomatoes split on the plant about 12 hours
after becoming fully ripe.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

The message
from (Steve Harris) contains these words:

I grow these outdoors in well composted soil and a black plastic mulch.


I wonder if the balck plastic is causing the roots to become too warm,
resulting in the fruits overripening and bursting? Why not take the
plastic off one of the plants and see what-like?

--
Cheers,

Compo.

The message
from (Steve Harris) contains these words:

In article ,
(Martin Sykes) wrote:

With secateurs, cut them off the truss witha bit of stalk rather than
pulling/twisting the tomato off. Then pull the little bit of stalk
off when you want to use them.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. The tomatoes split on the plant about 12 hours
after becoming fully ripe.

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

I believe splitting is usually considered to be connected with watering,
especially irregular watering, i.e. plants drying out a bit and then
getting a real drenching.

Can you just pick them slightly before fully ripe and eat them the next
day when they've finished ripening - or do they still split off the
plant?

I find Sungold is quite prone to splitting but haven't experienced much
on my Gardeners' Delight. (My watering is very hit-and-miss).

Janet G

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 01:13:03 +0100, Janet Galpin
wrote:

Can you just pick them slightly before fully ripe and eat them the next
day when they've finished ripening - or do they still split off the
plant?
I find Sungold is quite prone to splitting but haven't experienced much
on my Gardeners' Delight. (My watering is very hit-and-miss).

Janet, you are right on two counts. My Sungold are splitting more than
GD, and I am also finding they are splitting after picking.
Shortage of water causes the skins to harden slightly, and then when
they get water the skins split rather than stretching.

Pam in Bristol

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 11:29:09 +0000, Pam Moore wrote:

On Tue, 23 Aug 2005 01:13:03 +0100, Janet Galpin
wrote:

Can you just pick them slightly before fully ripe and eat them the next
day when they've finished ripening - or do they still split off the
plant?
I find Sungold is quite prone to splitting but haven't experienced much
on my Gardeners' Delight. (My watering is very hit-and-miss).

Janet, you are right on two counts. My Sungold are splitting more than
GD, and I am also finding they are splitting after picking.
Shortage of water causes the skins to harden slightly, and then when
they get water the skins split rather than stretching.

Pam in Bristol

However Sod's law states that if you drench the pot in the morning, by the
time you are back from work on a hot day the plants are starting to droop.

There seems no way to avoid irregular watering in really hot weather.

Picking the fruit with the stalk - there is generally a node on the stalk
that will part if pressured (much like picking an apple); this will reduce
the chance of the fruit splitting just after picking.

Pick early, pick often?

As long as you use them quickly, you can still eat/cook split fruit.

Another option is to pick all ripe and nearly ripe fruit before you
water.

Whatever you do, home grown cherry tomatoes taste so much better than shop
bought.

I am maxing out on tomatoes and burpless tasty green cucumbers at the
moment, although I nearly lost the cucumber plant today due to lack of
water.

HTH
Dave R

P.S. [to the OP] the logical part of me thinks that you should pick all
you tomatoes about 11 hours after they ripen ;-)

In article ,
(Janet Galpin) wrote:

I believe splitting is usually considered to be connected with
watering, especially irregular watering, i.e. plants drying out a bit
and then getting a real drenching.

I know the theory. I have carefully watered them little and often. The
only way anyone can make the soil more evenly moist would be with some
sort of sensor and feedback loop.

Can you just pick them slightly before fully ripe and eat them the
next day when they've finished ripening

I suppose so. Don't know what the taste will be like.

I find Sungold is quite prone to splitting but haven't experienced
much on my Gardeners' Delight. (My watering is very hit-and-miss).

What sort of soil do you have?

Steve Harris - Cheltenham - Real address steve AT netservs DOT com
A useful bit of gardening software at http://www.netservs.com/garden/

The message
from (Steve Harris) contains these words:


Can you just pick them slightly before fully ripe and eat them the
next day when they've finished ripening

I suppose so. Don't know what the taste will be like.


I think the taste will be fine if you're just picking them slightly
before fully ripe.

I find Sungold is quite prone to splitting but haven't experienced
much on my Gardeners' Delight. (My watering is very hit-and-miss).

What sort of soil do you have?

My soil is what I think you'd call fen silt but my watering (polytunnel)
is by a rather battered sprinkler system which I use only about every
four days or so - unless it's very hot. There are areas it doesn't
reach, which very occasionally get a watering from a hand-held hose, and
areas which get a double or treble dose. Somehow, and rather
miraculously, the tomatoes survive and even do rather well.

Janet G