Hi Jacci. Congratulations on having lots of tomatoes in your first year growing them. Too bad that we have a very unusual year that is causing problems for many of us.

Pray for the rain to stop. Yeah it is O.K. to cut the cracked part off and eat the rest, unless it has gone sour or something like that. If they have not sat there on the vine holding water for quite awhile they will probably be just fine to eat.
Bill P.

I solved my tomato splitting somewhat by growing them under the roof overhang. They get regular weekly watering and bi-weekly foliar spraying only from me and they are in a framed raised bed which also helps with drainage.

There are three kinds of splitting and not all are due to too much water.

Radial splitting is a star like pattern that radiates out from the stem and is quite normal for many varieties. the splits normally scar over, but with too much water they can reopen and initiate a rotting process.

Concentric splitting is shown as a series of concentric circles around the stem and this too is normal for many varieties and the normal scarred shut splits can also reopen due to too much water.

Horizontal splitting, which means splitting anywhere's else on the fruit, is the one which occurs when there is too much water and when the fruits are at their maximum size. The fruit epidermis can no longer expand so the fruits split.

Carolyn

Carolyn, my feeling that the first two cracking conditions are also water related, although more affected by moisture forming on the fruit than soil moisture. In a high tunnel, where dew or rain is not as likely to form on the fruit, I've seen very little radial or concentric "marking" in any varieties that normally are laden with the "markings" if field grown. My conclusion is that all of these cracks are environmentally influenced.

I've found that a regular watering schedule has worked in regards to non-splitting tomatoes ...

My conclusion is that all of these cracks are environmentally influenced.

*****

They are to a certain degree, but a genetic association of radial and concentric cracking with certain varieties has been noted.

So much so that it's sometimes possible to ID a variety by the particular form of one or the other. The spiral concentric split of Black from Tula is a case in point.

How about growing that one in the greenhouse and see what you get? ( smile)

Carolyn