16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Pollination rates have been unusually low here in the PNW for at least the last two years, probably because of our unusually cool spring and summer. You can help fruit set by shaking your plants to improve pollination. You can either shake the tomato cage or the stake or lightly tap the trusses with open flowers. I live in Seattle, and I transplanted my plants in early June under hoop houses. I kept them covered until early July, and when they had flowers, I would shake the plants to improve pollination. Based on my count today on 25 plants, I have just over 600 fruit, about half cherry tomatoes and the other half larger black and beefsteak tomatoes.
Because of the cooler weather in the PNW, tomatoes usually take much longer to grow and ripen even if they're grown under hoop houses for the first few weeks. For example, last year Sungold took about 70 days to break, and larger tomatoes like Cherokee Purple and Black Krim took about 90 days. This year my Sungold took 37 days to set fruit compared to 31 days last year, so it's was about a week longer than last year. The larger tomatoes took 40-50 days to set fruit, about the same as last year. Given our cooler weather, I've only been watering about every 2-3 weeks and fertilizing once a month with Dr. Earth or Organobloom, but that's also because my planting mix is pretty rich and retains moisture.
Yes, I am willing to bet it's weather issues. If it was nutrient issues, you'd know it, and would be talking about the condition of the leaves, not fruit set issues. Plants will grow a lot of foliage if they don't have fruit set, the reason some are saying they have large plants without fruit. This is normal for most plants in that energy normally put into fruit go into leaves. Like the person in Ohio, I am having a bumper year like I've never seen before. It's all in the weather.
Bonide's 3-in-1 is supposed to be good for fruitworms, and since I sprayed last week, the count has plummeted, although I did pick 3 or 4 off this morning. I also found, on the underside of a leaf, about a dozen tiny eggs laid out in a diamond shaped pattern.
They went down the garbage disposal.
I had fruit worms on the fruit that laid on the ground, on the part that touched the ground. I'll try better cages next year.
I have read that horn worms glow under a blacklight at night. I might buy a cheap handheld blacklight next year and try that trick.
Don't worry about it Lesuko. It wouldn't be viable anyway. You can't keep pollen alive long enough to ship it through the mail.
This person spammed this post all over the forums in any discussion even related to tomatillos but I doubt he will return to read any of the replies explaining why his post not only violates the forum guidelines but isn't possible in the first place.
Dave
Sorry I wasn't more specific. I am new to this. I live northwest of Denver, CO but still on the east side of the Rockies. The previous owners of my house had a garden but obviously didn't amend the soil. It is pure clay. I added compost and leaves but it will take a number of years before it is reasonably fertile. I was teaching an intensive college course during June so everything got in the ground late as I had no time. Actually, I only put in 2 tomatoe plants as I live alone. My "Sweet Million" is doing fine as usual. I have a volunteer paste tomatoe that has some tomatoes and the single "Pineapple" tomatoe with blossoms but no tomatoes. I didn't realize that extreme heat affected fruit set. I appreciate the information! :)
I misread your post. You said 5 feet not 5 plants. There are some high producing open pollinated tomatoes but some of the big ones are late and only have a few tomatoes. I have good luck with medium sized tomatoes that mature fairly early. The big ones are exciting and impressive, but not good if you only plant one plant. I don't know what grows best in CO but others here do.
Removed surgically?
Give me a break b'c with what I went through in Feb of this year and some prior experience with scalpels being used on me I don't want to go near anyone with access to a scalpel. LOL
Did you look at any of the pictures I linked to above and saw nothing that resembled what I think you're talking about. The catalouping was interesting and I'm assuming that was a kind of netting feature, which isn't that removed from the weather checking one can see on tomato fruits on the shoulders.
So I'll look forward to seeing what your pictures look like.
Carolyn, who in Feb had 7 stiches put in, butterfly stiches at that, with BLUE whatever, so she looked like a punk rock star with those stiches, just above her right eyebrow. The Dx was a critically low K level which was responsible for her rather spectacular fall at home b'c she was absolutely paralyzed. The cardiac unit was nice, though, after she got transferred out of the ER. At least in the cardiac unit they buffer the KCL going in whereas in the ER they put it in straight and by G that hurts.LOL
My neighbors think i'm crazy for going outside to spray at night, as late as 11:00pm, after the rain subsides.
This year i'm rotating between 3 different fungicides, copper sulfate, serenade bacteria and Triticonazole. Next year i'm going to swap out the Triticonazole with Daconil and heavy mulching.
I definitely favor the Serenade because it can be used often, is the least intrusive and seems to work well as a preventative. The lower branches on my tomato plants are still all green with hardly a blemish and no mulch on the ground.
Just thought I'd bump this.....another good day to spray in the NE. A widespread wet system is in the works for tomorrow. I already have one container tomato infected with something. It's all fun and games until I see lesions on the branches. Hopefully it won't spread.
A few late blight tolerant varieties will be available next year. I strongly suggest getting some of them and giving them a try. So far, I have a good red beefsteak and a comparable green when ripe beefsteak. I have a pink but it may not measure up in terms of production. I am working on getting a good yellow or orange for next year.
DarJones
I will be on the lookout for those, but I just cannot abandon my heirloom favorites. More storms expected here on Friday which will spread the fungus, no doubt. Still I am harvesting well, though. Keeping my fingers crossed that at least a few plants make it to frost. Another fellow in town who got about 100 plants from me at the start of the season is also suffering a lot of blight loss. It is widespread in my area now.
I shouldn't expect too much more from these plants, right?
I didn't say that. Your question was about plant appearance - "plants getting sparser" - not production and that was what I addressed. And without knowing what varieties or at least the type they are no one can say.
There is a FAQ here about the difference between determinates and indeterminates that explains how they grow and produce. Indeterminate tomato plants will keep growing and producing until killed by frost and as long as they are healthy and have enough water and nutrients they will keep producing fruit until they are killed.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: tomato type FAQs
Thanks Dave. They are early girls and better boys.