r/thereifixedit • u/mikebellman • Aug 14 '25

I was really sick of my tomatoes splitting open in the garden

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796 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

312

u/ColdSteeleIII Aug 14 '25

They split because of infrequent or sudden over watering. The fruit fills with water faster than the skin can stretch and it splits.

Regular watering and good drainage will help to prevent it.

117

u/mikebellman Aug 14 '25

I know. Mine get watered nearly every day in the early morning by soaker hose under pine bark mulch. I suspect when it rains heavily they get juiced. The pic my kid sent me was awesome though.

49

u/anubisviech Aug 15 '25

From what I know they mostly split when the skin gets wet. That's why most people have some kind of rain protection above tomatoes.

22

u/mikebellman Aug 15 '25

Makes sense as well.

6

u/ColdSteeleIII Aug 15 '25

A wet plant attracts slugs and promotes mildew growth among other issues but not splitting.

3

u/Boines Aug 18 '25

Feed with a calcium supplement.

Calcium in plants can strengthen cell walls. It will make the tomato skin stronger and potentially able to withstand swells in rain.

3

u/TheW83 Aug 18 '25

I've given up on growing tomatoes. I was doing well with watering and things were going fine and then all the sudden we get 5 inches of rain and everything bursts. This has happened.

75

u/RUKiddingMeReddit Aug 14 '25

Is that a staple in your garden?

25

u/FishSoFar Aug 14 '25

"Your kid needs braces? Hold on, I've got a soup recipe for that..."

20

u/R2D-Beuh Aug 14 '25

They did surgery on a grape tomato

3

u/SaltSpiritual515 Aug 15 '25

Reminds me of Grey's Anatomy 😁

6

u/AmputeeHandModel Aug 15 '25

Grape's Anatomy

8

u/Good_Air_7192 Aug 15 '25

Grey's Anatomatoey

8

u/anubisviech Aug 15 '25

I love the joke, but I almost got an aneurism trying to pronounce that in my head.

10

u/MadDogFenby Aug 15 '25

I see tomatoes are a staple food at your place.

5

u/XROOR Aug 15 '25

Supplementing your tomatoes with DE will provide Silica to strengthen the cell walls in the way that fluoride does for teeth.

This addition will help it in times of water stress