Posted on 08/17/2013 7:00:14 AM PDT by US Navy Vet
Tomato plants don’t need bees to pollinate. Same with pepper plants, both are self pollinators.
That's why I'll plant my starters (South Kalifornia low desert) by September 15 -- they're done being harvested in late January....the neighbor gal loves 'em, because she makes her salsa for their Super Bowl party.
Tomatoes do nothing at night when it is under 56 degrees and in the daytime, they do nothing over 86 degrees. It has been cool here (I am East of you). Everyone is just starting to get ripening. Anyone who put their plants in the end of May ran the risk of early blight from the cool, wet weather.
You may be out of luck for this season. We have a warm week coming up, but less than 5-6 weeks til frost. You may try and cover them if we do have frost, because we will likely get warm days after that for another 3 weeks. Uncover them for warm days.
Every variety has a *time ‘til harvest*. We had wet, cool weather here the end of May, which is normal planting time, and mine went in 2 weeks late. Time is counted from when the starts go into the ground or final container. The starts spent an extra 2 weeks in a greenhouse. My 56-60 day cherry tomatoes are ripening now and the larger ones, which take 75+ days, have finally begun to yellow. We have at least 2 more weeks for the slicers and Romas. Since we are down in a valley, it could be three weeks. Your micro climate is important. Open ridge-top gardens can be 2 weeks ahead of those in a valley.
Tomatoes are wind pollinated, not dependent on bees. If you have flowers that don’t drop of, watch them. They should turn upside down, the flower dries and when it is gone, there should be a small green ball on the stem, which is the tomato.
If the climate really is cooling, which seems obvious and likely, to me, for next year choose varieties bred for early bearing (55-65 days) and look for ones bred for Northern climates. Start researching and ordering your seeds
in December and January. I used to start seeds in February, but this year it was way too cold until March. 2 months is enough for good starts, but keep them in their starter pots in a greenhouse w/some added heat, if below 56 degrees, until all frost warnings are past. Some folks choose larger starter pots and let the plants develop flowers before final planting. This will give you some earlier fruit.
Tomatoes are either determinate, meaning the plants only grow to a certain size and then stop putting out flowers and concentrate on fruit, or indeterminate, meaning they keep growing and flowering even while they have mature fruit. As soon as they set fruit, pinch/cut off the extra leaves/branches, called suckers, that are not bearing flowers. You can prune off the top branches of indeterminate plants, too.
I use Tomato-Tone plant food. It is low nitrogen and is applied every 2 weeks. Keep it away from the stem, as it can burn the plant. Search for high phosphorus tomato food and use it as directed.
If there is an early frost, you can pick any fruit that is showing even a tinge of pink (called breaker stage) and it will ripen in a sunny window. You can also wrap any pink fruit in brown paper lunch bags and place in single rows in a container in a cool dark spot. Check every few days. They will slowly ripen.
But, sometimes I have found that if one were to rub two of the blossoms together, then pollinization will occur. And, once it starts it continues.
Good post!
Might have too much nitrogen in the soil.
All vine no fruit.
Oh, yeah?
Try telling that to poor Dan Quayle!
You don’t know beans about tomatoes.
I get some that rot but I keep on top of them so I can get rid of any that look bruised every day. I usually put them in a box with layers of newspaper and dig though them every day.
They both(one “Big Beef” and One “Cherry”) are in large pots on our back deck so if there is a danger of frost I COULD bring them in and put them in the basement and put a lamp over them(like indoor Pot “farmers” do(or so I’m told)).
Any veggie that needs an E to pass themselves off a plural is up to no good.
Potatoes and Tomatoes, the gig is up.
This year I used Dirt Bags for the large fruit. 10 gallons and made of permeable landscape cloth, so the roots don’t rot and if they grow thru the bag, they can then be pruned.
I have 3 Super Sauce Romas with HUGE fruit in the bags, just starting to yellow. I staked them, but next year I will use stronger stakes, as they fell over from the weight of the tomatoes.
IMO, these are better than the 10-gallon pots I have used in the past. They are reusable and cost me $5/ea w/free shipping. I will get another 5 next year.
You picked too early. They MUST be, at the least, just past the yellow stage with at least an undertone of pink to ripen off the vine. You will sacrifice some flavor, though.
Tell your tomato plants that you love them.
We haven’t had tomatoes on plants on the Texas Gulf Coast for a couple of months-too hot.
Given that this is a political posting site I would say that the leaves you are getting are just Obama’s promises and of course there is no fruit for us in the long run.
I don’t want to know about beans, Just TOMATOS;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato
Are you growing in a pot or a garden plot? Do you live in Florida?
I have lost 4 trees to storms so far this summer and, if it stops raining, I need to fire up the chain saw and cut up the latest storm victim. Loved that tree. Always something else these days...
Mine are not good yet. It is mid-August, hasn’t really been hot here in Los Angeles to date.
Pot live in w/ Iowa.
I live in Minnesota and I am having the same problem. I figured it was too cool of a summer.
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