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Old August 1, 2018   #1
mobiledynamics
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Default Cracking - Concentric/Radial

Now that it was really ever on my Wiki. I can't control mother nature.....
Some species do better than others re: cracking.

I just cut out the cracks when I eat


For all that grow in dirt, or pots for that matter, where to some degree, water is out of your control....whats you secret sauce in controlling cracking .

In that other thread, AK Marks thread, I'm just blown away by his pics,
He must be really good at Photoshop (I kid)
And or it never rains under his bubble dome

Last edited by mobiledynamics; August 1, 2018 at 06:37 PM.
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Old August 1, 2018   #2
carolyn137
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Originally Posted by mobiledynamics View Post
Now that it was really ever on my Wiki. I can't control mother nature.....
Some species do better than others re: cracking.

I just cut out the cracks when I eat


For all that grow in dirt, or pots for that matter, where to some degree, water is out of your control....whats you secret sauce in controlling cracking .

In that other thread, AK Marks thread, I'm just blown away by his pics,
He must be really good at Photoshop (I kid)
And or it never rains under his bubble dome
There is no secret since it is perfectly normal for many tomato varieties to have cracks of of one kind or another.

Radial cracking, cracks go out from the stem end in a radial manner, and usually heal over unless too much water and then the fruits start rotting.

Concentric cracking,circular cracking around the stem end,some times so specific they will ID a variety.Again,usually heal over unless too much water.

Horizontal cracking along the side of a fruit, usually doesn't heal over and is usually seen when the fruit is almost ripe and then too much water,natural or otherwise,the uptake of water swells the fruit so it kind of bursts open since the epidermis is also split..

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Old August 2, 2018   #3
zipcode
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Well, AKMark has selected over the years varieties that don't crack in controlled conditions. Because there are those that do, no matter what (maybe if you also have temperature control they wouldn't but I'm not sure).
In the rain things get problematic fast (direct water on the fruit is a big problem, besides the soil water overdose), but even there, there are some that hold well enough.
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Old August 2, 2018   #4
Fred Hempel
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Concentric cracking can be largely eliminated by picking fruit at the "breaker" stage. It is rare for fruits to crack from excessive water uptake up until breaker stage, and they ripen fine in boxes or on tables as long as the core has started to ripen.

We always harvest any fruit that has reached breaker stage, before we irrigate. If you have lots of summer rain though, it is hard to eliminate radial cracking with some varieties.
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Old August 2, 2018   #5
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I Agree with Fred and also that the variety as well as the shape of the tomato ( beefsteak with a sunken stem in particular) are factors especially in the dark healed radial cracking at the stem which is not specifically related to water like swelling and rupturing/splitting after rain in ripening tomatoes. Something I select for very specifically and you will see it in my photos is a small stem attachment that is not sunken and open as this feature contributes to cracking which while common and normal in many beefsteak varieties especially, is unattractive and a potential entry for fungus and rot in damp conditions.
Cracked fruit are fully edible of course but much of the tomato is wasted cutting off the damaged parts because wile edible it is ugly and scabby and it makes peeling them for recipes and canning very difficult I find. so I seek and select and grow varieties less prone. Smoother Hearts,pastes and more rounded beefsteaks are my preference over flattened or boat shaped tomatoes with a big open stem.

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Old August 2, 2018   #6
carolyn137
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Originally Posted by Fred Hempel View Post
Concentric cracking can be largely eliminated by picking fruit at the "breaker" stage. It is rare for fruits to crack from excessive water uptake up until breaker stage, and they ripen fine in boxes or on tables as long as the core has started to ripen.

We always harvest any fruit that has reached breaker stage, before we irrigate. If you have lots of summer rain though, it is hard to eliminate radial cracking with some varieties.
Fred, that's what you do since you are mostly commercial.

I want my tomatoes to be ripened up on the vine, and I can do that since someone else takes care of them now, as you also know.

A sure fire way to get rid of concentric cracking at the stem end is to take a knife and cut off the top affected part.And I've done the same for radial cracking as well

Works for me.

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Old August 2, 2018   #7
Fred Hempel
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We do sell tomatoes.

But over the years my experience also tells me that as long as a tomato has a ripening core, there is little-to-no difference in flavor whether it ripens fully on the vine, or in a box.

Cherry tomatoes are a little different, on average. They need to have color throughout the fruit to ripen to full flavor off the vine. But they can be picked when they are lightly colored throughout with no loss of flavor.

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Fred, that's what you do since you are mostly commercial.

I want my tomatoes to be ripened up on the vine, and I can do that since someone else takes care of them now, as you also know.

A sure fire way to get rid of concentric cracking at the stem end is to take a knife and cut off the top affected part.And I've done the same for radial cracking as well

Works for me.

Carolyn
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Old August 2, 2018   #8
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Rain can be largely eliminated by sloping the soil away from the stem and covering that soil with waterproof material like plastic mulch. Since it's very labor intensive, I only do it with a few selected varieties, like Brandywine Sudduth.

If you want radial cracking and concentric cracking on the same fruit, producing what looks like a pink disco ball, I recommend trialing Soldacki.
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Old August 2, 2018   #9
mobiledynamics
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Plastic mulch Yuck. Who want's their garden to smell like the Indy 500 on a hot summer day ! Unless you meant plastic sheeting in wording.

LOL. I literally throw up in my head when I pass by the aisles with rubber mulch. I can fathom why someone would want to lay that down (other than the fact that it never degrades so you get more for your money) on mulch life
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Old August 2, 2018   #10
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I meant plastic sheeting. The catalogs call it plastic mulch.
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Old August 12, 2018   #11
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If you want radial cracking and concentric cracking on the same fruit, producing what looks like a pink disco ball, I recommend trialing Soldacki.
LOL. I have tried Soldacki and cannot recall any significant cracking, however, I do remember the excellent taste. That variety should be more famous.
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Old August 12, 2018   #12
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LOL. I have tried Soldacki and cannot recall any significant cracking, however, I do remember the excellent taste. That variety should be more famous.
Thank you for having a good experience with Soldacki.

And I think it already is famous and if you do a search here at Tville (below) you'll find that out.And before Tville even started I was doing seed offers elsewhere and included it, so many folks have had the experience of growing it.

http://www.tomatoville.com/search.php?searchid=2993059

For those who might be interested,here is some background info about this variety. Since Tania's database is still not up,for information I went to the heirloom tomato book I was asked to write for info.

It's on page 218 and here are a few clips from the left hand page, the fruit itself being on the right hand page.

(....will develop concentric cracking the longer it stays on the vine.However many people put up with this habit because the taste and yield are superior.)

Now for the history from the back of the book

Original source (OS) Carmen Artino ( a fellow faculty member where I was then teaching)....whose family member brought them from Krakow,Poland in 1900. (MS),means my source.

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Old August 12, 2018   #13
NarnianGarden
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Carolyn, I am glad you say it's well-known. Sadly it does not seem very common at seeds sites, compared to many other pink heirlooms as Brandywines et al. (of course, everything is well known here among the Tville experts.) It is definitely not that popular here, while so many other pinks and reds are.
And yes, I do remember it was introduced by you, Carolyn.

Last edited by NarnianGarden; August 12, 2018 at 01:16 PM.
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Old August 12, 2018   #14
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Originally Posted by NarnianGarden View Post
Carolyn, I am glad you say it's well-known. Sadly it does not seem very common at seeds sites, compared to many other pink heirlooms as Brandywines et al. (of course, everything is well known here among the Tville experts.) It is definitely not that popular here, while so many other pinks and reds are.
Here is a long list of places that sell seeds for Soldacki and I know you'll know many of them, but not all.

https://www.google.com/search?q=seed...&bih=815&dpr=1

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Old August 13, 2018   #15
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Originally Posted by carolyn137 View Post
There is no secret since it is perfectly normal for many tomato varieties to have cracks of of one kind or another.

Radial cracking, cracks go out from the stem end in a radial manner, and usually heal over unless too much water and then the fruits start rotting.

Concentric cracking,circular cracking around the stem end,some times so specific they will ID a variety.Again,usually heal over unless too much water.

Horizontal cracking along the side of a fruit, usually doesn't heal over and is usually seen when the fruit is almost ripe and then too much water,natural or otherwise,the uptake of water swells the fruit so it kind of bursts open since the epidermis is also split..

Carolyn
Carolyn, agree that concentric cracking will ID a variety. My Black from Tula are identical to the picture in your book
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