Crack resistant varieties

[jimtown]

I started growing tomatoes for market last year. I grew mostly OP and found a few great one's and many others that will be left off this year's list. My two major enemies were anthracnose and cracking. I live near Knoxville ,TN where we tend to have dry spells followed by very heavy rains. I'm interested in knowing what varieties you folks have found to be crack resistant. Any info would be much appreciated.

[zipcode]

Roma is one that I found to be quite immune to cracking, and I believe the same is true for most plum shaped paste types. Not sure there's much market for these however. Another one in the range of small-medium round type is matina, but it's not terribly productive for me (well, nothing really is, I live in a very rainy region).
Can't think of any of the big ones that don't crack after a few days of rain, but you could try picking them when not fully ripe, and they don't have cracks yet.

[travis]

Glamour is an open pollinated variety that has crack resistance plus some degree of heat tolerance.

[dustdevil]

They're not large slicers, but Eva's Purple Ball and Marglobe are crack resistant.

[jimtown]

Thank you all for the response. I'm going to give this a try in the general discussion forum. I am interested in some large slicers if you have any ideas. Thanks again.

[feldon30]

Pick earlier. JM2C IMHO YMMV

[goodwin]

Yes, you can pick earlier like feldon does - especially if you know you're in for a wet spell. I've found the large hearts like Wes and plum types like Lillian's Red Kansas won't crack even in the worst weather. Maria's is fine and Chapman is as well, though it's been a couple of years since I grew that one. Of course, it's pretty dry here until the monsoon starts in July. We also grow Tappy's and Thessaloniki and have had good luck with them, but you should try Wes for sure. I'm just thinking about what reds to plant for next year, and that's what comes to mind. Good luck!

[JackE]

Tomatoes with a thick skin - like Roma -are crack-resistant. Most modern production varieties are bred to withstand rough handling which also provides a degree of crack resistance. In our experience, Solar Fire cracks less than any other we have planted - it's also a large slicer and tastes pretty good for a production tomato -- but maybe not good enough for the markets you are targetting.

One way to whip Anthracnose is to green-pick and artificially ripen - but that won't work for you. If you're organic, weekly sprays of Copper Hydroxide (Kocide, Champ Dry Prill etc) will help some. . If you're conventional, use Bravo Weather Stik (chlorothanil) or the real fungis powerhouse, Quadris (too expensive). You can also plant somewhere else - the Anthrac stays in the soil and spreads by rainfall or sprinklers - or anything that brings soil in contact with ripe tomatoes.

Our seed supplier does not list any Anthracnose-resistant variety, but there may be some - unlikely anything but production toms, though.

Jack

[gourmetgardener]

Cobra has demonstrated excellent crack resistance for a beefsteak. Granadero works well for a crack resistant plum or roma tomato.

[surf4grrl]

Hi,

I don't think tomatoes that are crack-prone should deter you from growing them and bringing them to market. You should pick when they first blush - & here's why -

There's no discernible difference from picking when they first blush (and letting them ripen someplace safe) and letting them vine ripen. The brix is about the same. The longer they are on the vine - they more likely they are to meet a critter, cracking etc.

To be honest, I usually pick when they first blush - plus you get a little lee way between fresh market and wholesale time.

Once a tomato is ripe, the clock starts ticking.

Just my 2 cents and experience of what has worked best for me.

[JackE]

We prefer to pick them at first blush - but the ladies at our vegetable stand (we're a non-profit volunteer project) keep demanding - vehemently - that they must be ripe and red! They say they can't even give them away if they're not ripe. (But a lot of that has to do with our particular clientele - probably not a problem in other types of markets.)

Jack

[JackE]

"Surf Girl" - a pop-up appeared indicating a private message from you - I think, it was very brief. I couldn't open it. Why not just post the message here for all to share?

Jack

[surf4grrl]

It was mainly a question directed for you - but nonetheless, I've done the rebar - it doesn't stand up at all - not enough heft to keep them upright. I like the fact that you are trying things - and I'm glad to see another grower here. That's all, I think.

[surf4grrl]

Oh, I did forget - picking at first blush - we don't sell them unripe - we let them ripen in a safe place (cool dry - barn, basement etc) - I get more unblemished fruit - way way more - and I have control over saleable quantity and have a good idea of what I'll have when. Letting them ripen on the vine until they are absolutely ready/ripe forces you to work within a small time frame with too many variables.

I couldn't sell unripe fruit - unless it's the end of season.

[JackE]

Well, the 4' x 3/8 rebar is minimal to be sure. It's adequate and that's about all I can say for it - does the job well enough. However, the 5' x 1/2" rebar is absolutely solid and the extra foot allows a deeper set. I gave-up on the heavier stakes because of cost, harder to cut, drive/pull, transport etc. And it seemed like overkill. No use to make a lot of extra labor just for a neater appearance, IMO.

We had to use a 2-man post-puller to get the 1/2" stakes up at season's end! For t-posts, I had to use the tractor hydraulics to pull them - and bent and ruined a lot of them. The shorter 3/8 comes up easily and the person pulling or driving can carry a lot of them at once. We definitely don't want to leave any laying in the field - for the tiller to pick up!!! LOL

I assume we are both talking about compact, bush-type determinates, right? The only other realistic staking option I can think of is treated wood - and you can't use that in an organic operation (I don't think it transfers to the crop in any systemic way, but it's an organic no-no - and the extra price people pay for that produce gives them the right to be fussy.)

We don't have any place to ripen tomatoes. We began picking before daybreak and load directly onto a trailer in the field and go to market about 9:00 AM - no washing. We pack them double layer into cheap laundry baskets. We've bought a lot of bread trays and other plastic containers, but we keep going back to the laundry baskets. - we put plywood between layers of baskets on the trailer. What kind of containers do you use. I would give body parts for a few of the cellular, single layer, stacking tomato trays Wal-Mart uses - no honest way to get them without buying thousands!

I always prefer to keep the discussion on the open forum - unless it involves a truly personal matter (like commenting on the remarks of another member or etc). We can share our "lessons learned" with more people that way.

Jack

PS - by edit - If you do decide to use t-posts (but I can't understand how they would be better than 1/2" rebar for bush varieties), be sure to cut the spade off the bottom with the grinder. It's there for strength when cattle lean against the barbed wire fence, and will only make them harder to drive, handle and pull. There used to be another kind of cheaper metal post on the market for poultry fencing - called, I think, "u" posts. I still have a few of them and they were great for individual tomato stakes - cheap, light, strong - but I don't think they make them anymore.

I just thought of something else - Tractor Supply sells a real lightweight t-post for around $5 - kind of a flimsy looking thing though! I urge you to reconsider the rebar with an open mind. LOL