16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
A fruit eating pest that can hide in the husk itself could be any one of a number of small pests such as ants or small beetles. But honestly tomatillo pests are rare.
Potato beetles will go after them if nothing else is available and so will striped and spotted cuke beetles. Mexican bean beetles have been reported in a few cases although I have never had them bother mine. But the beetles tend to damage the leaves and the husks rather than the fruit itself.
There there are tomato fruit worms (hornworms are 3-4" so not husk-hiding size) that can do some damage but the type of damage they do is very specific to both the husk and the fruit - a round puncture hole in the husk and the fruit.
So you are going to have to do some serious plant exploring and eyeballing and open some husks to determine exactly what the culprit is. Meanwhile some questions to consider.
Is the husk still intact, still green, but there is no fruit at all left inside? Or is there damage to the husk as well as the fruit? Is the fruit only partially eaten? If so can you describe the damage in detail?
Dave
They are sitting in my balcony and get sun all day. very nice spot actually. I think it might be some kind of a worm because it left long trails of poop. I couldn't stand to look at it and flicked it off my plant before the pics were taken. I'll try the ziplock bag method. am planning to wake up tonight and go check on it. I hope I dont wake my husband. He'll think I've gone nuts and I think am almost there. I checked the plant and the surrounding plants too. I couldn't spot a thing.
And I am buying BT kurstaki today. Thanks missingtheobvious. Didn't know there were different kinds of BT. I use spray containers. The person who lived before me left a loooong hose pipe. I have no clue what she used it for. I have problem enough trying to stop when the trays are full. Half the time they drip down and thankfully the nice lady living downstairs hasn't said a thing . Just smiles at me. I'll have to get her a nice bottle of wine this christmas.
Some varieties do that more than others. It is mostly a response to stress, and may be related to heavy pruning.
So if you could read its mind, you'd find your plant is thinking, Hm. Things aren't going so good. Must make more seeds to ensure the next generation!
Now maybe the plant isn't thinking too clearly -- but that's what it's thinking.
We have had 3 very hot and humid days in a row. The tomatoes are still growing and actually look better. I don't think they were overwatered. I don't water everyday and we have had 2 days of rain since they were planted. I think it was just their own unique reaction to the weather and the cages. Thanks for all the advice.
My san marzano redortas have been doing the same thing, as well as the ones I gave away to some friends. Only that variety, perhaps it has something to do with the paste varieties? It almost seems like the plants are trying to turn thier leaves upside down. ???
CH
I cut the suckers off of my better boy and it went into shock. It stopped growing completely, the few tomatoes it had stopped ripening. I ended up pulling it and planting a different one.
Thus the advice above - do it gradually, not all at once. Some people get carried away hacking all of them off - which isn't called for rather than just removing a select few and doing it over a several day period.
Dave
With the risk of losing the plants because I don't know how they'll react to even slow pruning, I'll probably try to construct better supports around the plants this weekend, and try to help them grow up instead of out.
I do like the pvc idea. I assume they can be disassembled and stored quite compact.
Can't tell from the original post, but the person may only have planted on type of tomato.
In my experience, neighbors make three mistakes:
1) Plant tomatoes too close together
2) Don't keep bottoms of plants clear of branches which allows wilts and blights to move up the plant faster
3) Only plant one variety of tomatoes.
I plant five or more types, some heirloom, some not, and some cherry tomatoes. Something also does well, and others have a poor year. I'd rather plant three plants each of three types, rather than plant twenty of the same kind.
Actually four mistakes.
4) Water too frequently.
I planted two different types of plants. Over the last few days I was shocked to see most of my plants start to blossom flowers and one more is now showing two tomatoes. It seems like I really do just need to be more patient. I do fear that I did plant too many tomato plants too close to each other.
I do remove leaves and such from beneath the plants enough so there are never much there. As for watering, I think when I first started I was watering too much. I now water every other day, or even sometimes every third day.
Oops, sorry DL, I just re-read your original post and was reminded that you want to try this for next year.
Do you want me to try to do this experiment this year, since my transplants haven't been in long, and let you know my subjective opinion? I'm not sure I could really get a good statistical sampling polling my customers, don't know how many people would respond and if people are picking dry-farmed vs conventional to buy or vice versa they might be prejudiced that way - I can't sell them and track them in a blind manner. I could try a very small blind taste test with just my family.
Hi DL,
Not sure your exact definition of dry-farming tomatoes. If you mean growing tomatoes without watering, then that's what I have done. I only water once at the time of transplanting. My tomato plants are now 6 ft tall and only show slight wilt at the top during the 96F heat last two days.
I am blessed with the bountiful rain fall in this area and my excellent soil. I double dug my garden right after I bought my house and a few years later built a raised bed on top of it. So the garden has about 3 ft of really good soil. I haven't seen or heard from anyone with such a deep soil garden.
Also, I do not mulch the bed, only hoe the top few inches of soil to break/stop the Capillary flow of moisture upward.
The tomatoes taste good with no cracks. Good harvest too.
Hope this info helps.
Read the directions. Even then you might encounter problems. The neighbor two yards over has plants as big as mine, but no fruit while my first cherry toms are ripening now. (Zone 6)
He claims he followed the directions on the MG red tomato food and used it three times. I use compost, compost tea, and maybe one dose of slow-release tomato food. Told him a too rich diet of nitrogen is also thought to increase Blossom end rot too, and maybe some seaweed extract spray on leaves might be a good idea (Rodale book).
where are the leaves located? if the leaves are at the bottom those could be just old leaves. Are there anything else you have notice about the leaves? Any brown spots? How often do you water your plants? I am using containers to grow mine, And I have found out that container plants need more water and feed than ground plants. The containers leaks out food so you would need to fertilize them and water them more than usual. If you add mulch this could help stabilize the soil and keep it moist longer. Also depending on the size of the container this could prevent tomatoes from growing to the average size of the better boys.
What do you mean by "they have literally stopped growing."?
Another question, how large is that container?
Since you have "10-12 golf ball size or a little larger, tomatoes" on your plant you're doing something right.
Lower leaves yellowing are part of the aging process of tomato plants.
Can you post some pics?