If I leave them till they are nice and red they mostly split and the only way to avoid this is to pick them orangey/red. Is this normal or is there a reason for it? I give a lot of my produce away and like to have things looking nice.
Mine do it, they're in pots, and I put it down to irregular watering because the pots simply dry out too fast when the sun hits. So I pick unripe too - AND it saves the fruit being stolen by the blackbirds!
mark_g,
Feb 20, 1:22am
Yes. Irregular watering is most often the cause of most fruit splitting. They have a dry spell and the fruit don't do much. Then they get watered and the fruit put on a growth spurt. but the problem is that the skin of the fruit can't keep up with the growth rate of the pulp of the fruit so it stretches and splits.
trade4us2,
Feb 20, 1:47am
I planted mine in the ground this year and put a bit of water on if there's a dry spell. Almost none are split. Last year I had the plants in bins and it was a pain watering every day so I rigged up a drip from a hose. In the ground is better!
charie4,
Feb 20, 1:57am
It,s amazing how far the human skin can stretch and never splits.
mark_g,
Feb 20, 2:53am
Yes, from a watering standpoint, it is. There is no doubt that any given plant in the ground will need less watering than the same plant in a pot/tub.
mark_g,
Jun 12, 1:46am
Vicous stretch marks though.
Since the public registrations are closed, you must have an invite from a current member to be able to register and post in this thread.
Have an account? Login here.