Maybe they didn't get pollinated? I try to plant flowers that attract bees so they will pollinate my plants. The best attractor plant this year was Holy Basil. I have tons of seeds if you want some. They grow like a weed and they made a nice tasting medicinal tea. Supposed to be good for lost of ailments.

Tomatoes are self-pollinating. They don't require bees.

The most common cause of no fruit developing is called Blossom Drop. I linked the FAQ all about it below. It is primarily weather/air temps/humidity related and California this time of year is usually not favorable to tomatoes.

Your plants looks rather anemic and in need of a good feeding of a well balanced fertilizer. Compost only works as a source of nutrients if you have an active soil food web in the soil. That takes time to develop. If you want only organic fertilizers there are many available. The yellow leaves near the bottom are from over-watering.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Blossom Drop FAQ

Thanks! i didn't know that. Curious why my heirlooms did so poorly. I planted them at the right time in well composted soil and watered them regularly.

Agree with what Dave says. Also have comment with questions:

That bed they are in looks awfully small. What is the soil like about 2 feet down? I ask because I have seen sidewalk beds that have next to no dirt in them, the concrete footing from a building on one side fills most of the space. I've seen others that have the cement truck "over run" in the bottom of them.

Is there anything growing behind the fence? If there is, it could be competing with your tomato plants for nutrients. In that case you might have to feed heavier than usual for the tomatoes to benefit from it.

Also, soil tends to be compacted under sidewalks, so that bed may effectively be a container, and you might need to feed your tomato plants like they were in a container.

The plants also appear to be mighty close together.

How much sunlight do they get?

Betsy

This post was edited by bets on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 23:01

Hang in there. I live in Texas and I'm getting serious blossom drop right now because it's so darn hot. Tomatoes like warm weather but not too warm. I've noticed when night time temps stay above 80F, they don't produce well. Also, some varieties are more heat tolerant than others. I'll bet if you stick with it for another month or two, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Blossom drop can actually be a good thing. It means that the plant will put more energy into the green foliage which means more blossoms later. Come October I bet you'll have a nice little harvest.

The yellowing on the lower half of the plant concerns me a little. Without knowing exactly how much you water and how rich the soil is, it's tough to diagnose because it could mean 1 of 3 things. Too much water, too much nitrogen or not enough nitrogen. If you're using compost, the nitrogen should be good. So I think I agree with digdirt. I think it's over watering. Tomatoes are pretty hearty and can survive well with little water. Let them dry out a little and see if that works. If that is the problem, you should notice a difference in about two weeks.

I do disagree with digdirt on the fertilizer. The top half of the plant is very healthy looking which makes me think that the NPK numbers are good. Also, too much fertilizer can cause blossom drop as well. So if it were my plant, I think I would stop fertilizing too. The compost should be plenty rich enough.

That's my two cents. Keep in mind, i'm not an expert. I'm only telling you what I would do.

Good luck