Posted on 08/17/2013 7:00:14 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
I MEAN the Tomatos are in Pots, I DON’T grow Pot(oh never mind)!
The daytime and nighttime temperatures are probably too low this year.
Northern California, inland. It was consistently too hot this year. Same problem....
Same here in Central Ohio. Too cold, plenty of green tomatoes....
Thed little yellow flowers need to be have cross pollination in order to set fruit....either you and a paint brush or the bees.
The tomatoes here in our area are not doing well in anyone’s garden due to too much rain and not enough sun. I finally got about 8 tomatoes to mature. My neighbor says this is the worst year ever for his garden.
"Big Beef" like its cousing 'Beefsteak' is generally a late season, large , sandwich sized tomato ( emphasis on 'late.
The cherry tomato will probably be the first to bear fruit ,as it is shorter season, with fruit in racimes (like wisteria).
The NPK ratio is:N(Nitrogen=green growth),P(Phosphorus= fruiting ,and fruit set),K (Potash = healthy roots).
In fertilizer for fruit/tomatoes,a ratio NPK of 10-15-10 is ideal. Also , can be used for flowers
For root crops(ie: carrots,beets,etc.) You might use 5-10-10 NPK ratio of fertilizer.
A well-balanced fertilizer is 10-10-10, and is the standard for use in the home garden .
Do NOT use lawn fertilizer 30-3-3 anywhere on your garden as it will only give you long, large greens, no fruit !!
Just a tip for planting tomatoes that I learner at Tomatomania. When planting seedlings carefully remove all leaves except the top 2 or 3. Then plant it deep enough so only the top leaves you left are exposed. The plant will put out roots along the buried stalk. You’ll get a much stronger root system. Also when planting remove all blooms so initial energy goes to roots.
As for why you aren’t getting fruit temperature is the best guess.
As it gets closer to cooler weather look at planting some of the Alaskan or Russian varieties. They have a shorter period before they start producing fruit and handle much cooler weather. It will really extend your tomato season.
What variety are you growing? Next year, try several varieties and see which ones do well in your garden. Just because someone swears by a variety three counties over, doesn’t mean it’ll produce for you. As others have said, tomatoes have to have the temperature just right. Tomatoes do their own thing and don’t need bees. If your plants are healthy, they don’t need fertilizer or blossom set and you’re wasting your time and money on those and messing with the plants’ natural ability to produce.
Just be patient. Hopefully the Fall will bring better results.
“Lots of fruit for me here in southern michigan but too cold for Tomatoes to ripen......”
That is what I have in central MN too. My one Early Girl plant is finally having some ripe small tomatoes. The others are Better Boys and their fruit is large and only now starting to get yellow and a tinge of orange. I estimate that the harvest is about one month later than usual.
I have a neighbor who has lots of foliage but little fruit. He claims he has not seen many insects, bees, etc. The best way to cross-pollenize the flowers is to have bees or wasps.
I start planting in early March here in SoCal then some more in June and late September. That provides fresh tomatoes from late April through January. I only grow the indeterminate varieties. That way the tomatoes rippen over a much longer period of time unlike determinate ones that rippen at once. I don’t can or make large quantaties of sauce.
sfl
No bees is your problem. Just shake them once in mid morning and once in the afternoon make sure temp is more than 50 but less than 90. You do not have to cross pollinate tomatoes. They self pollinate. Just need vibration. They sell vibrators for tomatoes but shaking works for me.
Oh, and it never hurts to threaten them a little while you do it.
no, but I did fill the bottom 1/5 with stones for good drainage, and I am always careful with watering
Under-watering is always a lot better than over-watering
I wait until mine are almost bone dry before I water them again, and I think it hardens them
Could be several things: If temperatures have been too high they won’t set fruit. There is a spray that you can get for this.
You may not have enough pollinators. You can try pollinating them by hand, and giving them a little shake now and then. I usually plant marigolds, cosmos, and basil with my tomatoes. I don’t use insecticides that might kill off the bees and other pollinators.
I do sometimes use hot pepper,onion, garlic,soap spray,and oil mix. I only do that very late in the evening when
the pollinators are not around, and when there are flowers not at all.
There is an insecticide that is advertised as working in the evening and wearing off by morning so that it is not harmful to the bees. I can’t remember the name though.
Since I grow my food primarily to avoid insecticide residue and E coli contamination, I usually don’t put anything on the plants.
When you have very nice green leaves, and not much else that can be an over abundance of Nitrogen balance compared to the other nutrients. Have you tested your soil for ph and nutrients?
Are you pinching off suckers? I have heard that helps, and I sometimes do that. This year I got busy and didn’t do it, and sometimes I am too lazy to do it.LOL
I am still relatively new to gardening, so that’s about the extent of my knowledge. Hope it helps.
another thing I tried was hanging bags
I bought some of those “green” re-usable grocery bags they sell at most stress, and cut some holes in the sides , put in a bunch of good dirt and potting soil, and hung them from a 2x4 nailed to two posts in the ground - got a great bunch of tomatoes without weeding or worrying about trellis or cages
it was cheaper than the ones you see on TV at $20 each too- I think they lie in the ad, though- I think they transplant full-grown plants into the thing (deceptive) because none of mine got that full grown look
I live in Florida in a condominium on the ocean. Fortunately I have a wraparound porch in the front and a large porch in the rear.
After I began reading your posting about ‘tomatoes’ I did some research and now know a proper way to raise tomatoes on those porches.
Strangest summer weather to happen in years.
I'm in Indian Trail, NC, the growing season has been terrible for my vegetable garden this year.
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