My tomatoe worries?
Question:I found out that less water makes my tomatoe plant wilted, and looks like it was dying, desperately...
I asked before about maybe if I was overwatering, but the answers here have proven to me that I am not watering enough...I gets over 110 here in summer, I watered less and there were so many yellow wilted branches by the next day that I pruned early, but now will try watering more.
Question, though, my first few tomatoes were cracked, will the rest of them look like that or is this just how they grow? The supermarkets always have round ones...my first few were cracked, lumpy looking, etc, do they choose which ones are for sale? Is it ok to eat mine? I didn't, since they didn't look like what I bought in the store.I planted it and hopefully have another tomatoe plant now...so far only weeds, but hopefully...
Answers:
Congratulations on some good detective work.
The new tomatoes should not be cracked as long as you keep the soil evely moist. However, all bets are off with 110 degree temps. Many desert gardeners forgo a vegetable garden in the hellishly hot months, preferring to plant once it is past.
As for being lumpy....it might be the type of tomato you are growing. Not all tomatoes are perfectly smooth and round. Some are indeed....lumpy. They have high parts, ridges and low areas. Here's a picture of what I mean:
http://www.burpee.com/product/vegetables...
If your fruits are not like this, but truly "lumpy" you might have an insect feeding upon them. I'd almost have to them to say. Better yet, contact your Extension Agent for more tomato culture help in your area (like what might be feeding upon them)
Have you tried adding some light shade over the plants? Cheese cloth stretched over the plants might help with cracking due to sun. The soil needs a thick organic mulch to help keep the soil cooler and retain moisture.
I love ketchup.
You can but select healthy plants.
Trim off all leaves and stems that do not have blossoms by now. Feed the plants bone meal and fish emulsion... then wait
Keep watering. Some types of tomatos are lumpy. It does not matter. They will be much better than what you buy at the store.
The ones you buy in the store are picked green and ripen on the trucks. Yours are ok to eat they just aren't as pretty but probably have more flavor. They crack if they get too much water. They may be getting too much sun if they wilt fast. You can make a little sun shade to put over them during the hottest part of the day.
Consider where the plant is. Did you plant in the ground away from the home? My best luck has been potted tomatoes with a bottom water feed. I put mulch around the stem of the tomatoe plant and water from the top. Then put water in the bottom tray so when needed it can suck it up. This is the same as growing patio tomatoes. After they are started well start adding miracle grow to the water. If you can put you finger in the soil and it's wet, it doesn't need water yet.
Cracking is usually caused by uneven watering - first too dry, and then too wet, so the fruit expands rapidly and cracks the skin.
Supermarket tomatoes are usually varieties that are bred to look pretty and ship well. Often the taste is not the greatest though, and since they are usually picked before they are fully ripe, they are never as tasty as homegrown. Yours should be perfectly fine to eat, even if they aren't perfect to look at.
When you plant tomatoes, you need good soil with lots of organic matter such as compost worked into it. You can plant your tomato plant deep in a hole, removing the lower leaves, and bury the lower stem. The plant will form roots along the buried stem, which will help it form a more extensive root system. Then when you water, water it slowly and very deeply. The roots will go deep into the soil where it is cooler and moister, and then it will survive the dry weather better. It's far better to give a deep soaking few days than to give it a shallow watering every day. I live where the temperatures usually don't go higher than the mid-80s, and I don't usually water my tomatoes more than once a week. I do have deep, rich, organically enhanced soil, and I leave the hose at a very slow trickle at the base of the plant for hours. I also have a 2-inch layer of compost around the plants to help keep the soil cooler and moister, and my plants are very healthy and productive. This way of watering will help with the cracking, too, since the tomatoes will have a more consistent amount of moisture.
Good luck, and keep trying! I have learned far more from my garden failures than I ever did when everything went right the first time.
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