What's wrong with my tomatoes?

[nsbchickens]

I have a bunch of different types of tomatoes growing in my garden-cherry, jelly bean, beefsteak, romas, etc. However, almost all of my beefsteak tomatoes have what looks like stress cracks in the flash. It doesn't look like bugs, but like someone took a knife to them. Someone told me it was from the heat, is this true? They're in full sun, should I shade them for a few hours a day?

 

[Judy]

I always thought cracked tomatoes were caused by too much water at some point in their growth.

Shade wouldn't hurt, though.

 

[ranchhand]

You don't say where you are, but it could be heat or it could be irregular watering. I have trouble with it every year, because we alternately flood or dry up, and it mighty hot right now!

Have you joined the BYC sister forum? It's a lot of fun, too.

http://www.theeasygarden.com/

That's the link, and there's one at the bottom of post pages, too. Come say Hi!

There are some seriously good gardeners over there, and a lot of them have chickens.