If you can keep the SWC water chambers filled with water, your tomatoes shouldn't crack since they won't be thirsty one minute and flooded the next. Cracked bland-tasting tomatoes are blamed on "over-watering", though I suspect it's too much water after relatively dry conditions over a period of time when the fruits are accustomed to whatever small amount water they do get. With a steady supply of available water, they'll take only what they need to replace leaf transpiration.

Have you tried shading the plants during the hottest part of the day? Somewhat cooler temps would slow down leaf transpiration and keep the moisture throughout the plant a bit more stable.

I've never had tomatoes crack in a SWC, though Southern heat is often humid, not dry, so they probably don't gulp as much water as yours.

anney,

Keeping the chambers full should be an easy enough thing to do. I'm out practically every day, if not, then my wife is. In fact this should make it even easier for my wife and daughter to water. Their idea of watering is top spraying everything for a couple of minutes and then calling it good.

Most of this raised bed gets fully shaded, by two umbrellas, around noon or so. I didn't feel like putting up the sun shade this year.

The more I think about SWC's, the more I want to try them. I'm thinking they would work good for peppers as well. I'm looking for ways to grow more stuff without having to create another raised bed.

I might be wrong about this but I think a tomato plant will adapt both its root system and leafs to the prevailing conditions. Roots grown in water will die off if planted in soil and vice versa. Roots adapt to a high moisture or low moisture environment, over watering a generally dry root system will lead to cracking. Dry out a wet root system and you'll get BER. Very general assessment but this is what I've seen in both dry growing environs and hydroponic gardens.

azruss,

Thanks for the good info. I've made up my mind that it's SWC's for me next year. Maybe I'll try them this fall if I can ever figure out what and when to plant.

Stupice is one I was planning to grow next year. What size container do you have this in? Also, do you plant 1 or 2 plants in your 18 gallon containers? I would like to go with 2 per so I might have to up the size some.

mister_gin, check your email. I think Stupice would be an excellent plant for fall. It's heat tolerant for now, and very cold tolerant for fall and winter. It will produce for you until the first killing frost takes it out. The fruits are small, flavor is good (not brandywine, but much better than supermarket). Two of these in an 18 gallon SWC would go gangbusters.

Russ in Marana