Five Things to Know About Ugly Tomatoes

1. Tomatoes split and crack as they grow because of fluctuations in soil moisture, according to "The Vegetable Gardener's BIBLE," by Edward C. Smith.

2. These ugly tomatoes are still edible. Their looks are what’s been diminished, not their taste.

3. This can happen if you forget to water your plants for a few days and try to make up for it by drowning them or if you skip watering because you think you’ve gotten enough rain to do the job.

4. Such splitting and cracking is especially common with tomatoes grown in containers, but it can happen to tomato plants that are in the ground too. (Case in point, the tomato from the Emmaus Patch garden, pictured here.)

5. The reason for the cracks is that the tomato pulp grows faster than the skin. Think of them like the tomato’s version of stretch marks.

Are you growing your very own ugly tomato? We'd love to see it. Email your ugly tomato picture to jennifer.marangos@patch.com. We'll feature it on our Emmaus Patch Facebook page.