My tomato plants are blooming, but no tomatoes are forming.
Hardiness Zone: 7b
By Sarah DeLoche from TN
We live on the north shore of MA and have had a lot of rain. We are having the same problem. I found out that because we had so much rain the bees were not able to pollinate the flowers thus no fruit.
Nancy Mc (07/26/2009)
I feel your pain. I live in FL but would imagine the circumstances are the same. One, it could be lack of pollination, in which case, take a small artist brush and pollinate the flowers yourself. It could be too much rain, it could be nighttime temperatures are too hot, or too cool. For a desert plant tomatoes certainly are temperamental. Hope this helps. (07/26/2009)
By terry
I live in Oklahoma and have had tomato plants in my gardens every year for what seems like forever. If I don't plant them in the veggie garden, I plant them in bare spots around my house foundation. There are a few things that have worked well for me over the years.
One is that when the plants bloom, but the tomatoes don't set on, you can take a broom handle down close to the main stem and do what my grandmother always said: "Beat it with the broom". You don't beat it so hard that you'll break the main stem or even any leaves. You just basically give it a few good thumps. I don't know what it is or what it does to the plant, but it works.
The 2nd is to keep them watered, but don't water them so late in the day that the leaves don't have time to dry before the sun goes down, otherwise you eventually get a mold and rot. And lastly, I know that when the weather gets super hot (we were in the 110's a few weeks ago), no matter what I do to them, the plants will not set on fruit. Don't worry though, because once it cools down a bit, I'm going to have more tomatoes than I can even give away.
A little secret for having bumper crops of tomatoes: Plant tomatoes in hilled rows that have been covered with straw and allow to grow on the ground. Plant carrots between the tomato rows and you will have sweeter carrots and tomatoes to sell when the neighbors get tired of them and you've put away so many that you're sick of them. (08/02/2009)
By Juanita
First, no tomatoes will set fruit if the temps are above 90. Tomatoes are self pollinating so all you need to do is shake the plants once in a while to pollinate them.
Once every 2 or 3 months give them a shot of Epsom salts, 3 TBSP in 1 gallon of warm water, you can add it to Miracle Grow or use plain; it is also great if your leaves are yellowing and you can add the Epsom salt treatment to everything that grows, from grass to trees.
Don't use too much cow manure, a little is good, but too much will make the leaves grow at the expense of flowers and fruit. Goat or rabbit manure is better.
When you plant the tomatoes in the ground remove all the bottom leaves, I only leave maybe 2 sets of leaves on the top and plant the stem up to the leaves. I also dig down below where the roots will rest when planting and add manure and mix well, the plants will hit the manure eventually and give them a boost. Making "manure tea" is also a great way to fertilize them.
For larger tomatoes, remove the suckers as you see them, they are the new sets of leaves that appear in the crotch area between the stem the leaf joints, if the sucker gets very big use scissors to cut them off and you can root them in a glass of water and start your own new tomato plants.
To help fight dirt borne bacteria always stake the plants and don't let them lay on the ground. Last but not least, water the plants very deeply, a little sprinkle will encourage the roots to grow up to get the water and some tomato varieties can send roots over 20 feet down. (08/26/2009)
By Virginia
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