What makes the difference?

[DonDuck]

Last year was the perfect year for growing tomatoes. The tomato plants didn't agree and only produced a few tomatoes. This year has been almost identical except we had more early season rain. The rain shouldn't have made a difference because my plants never suffer from lack of water. I have produced so many nice tomatoes this year, my friends and family probably don't want to see me coming with more tomatoes looking for a home. I'm seriously thinking about not growing tomatoes any longer because harvesting ripe tomatoes has become a job instead of a pleasure. How do two almost identical years result in such different production?

[Black Krim]

Did fertilizing change?

or location of plants??

[Volvo]

Originally Posted by DonDuck

Last year was the perfect year for growing tomatoes. The tomato plants didn't agree and only produced a few tomatoes. This year has been almost identical except we had more early season rain. The rain shouldn't have made a difference because my plants never suffer from lack of water. I have produced so many nice tomatoes this year, my friends and family probably don't want to see me coming with more tomatoes looking for a home. I'm seriously thinking about not growing tomatoes any longer because harvesting ripe tomatoes has become a job instead of a pleasure. How do two almost identical years result in such different production?

Here rain makes all the difference , can be watering your plants fer yonks and waiting to see a significant difference and dont , the a rain comes along and Wow!! what a difference ey.
So long as it isnt offcourse continuouse rain with heaps of overcast days ..

[edweather]

The last two years were good tomato years with not too many fungal diseases. This year was a total fungus fest. Fought as hard as I could, but all plants lost 90% of their foliage. What changed? I don't know, it's always hot, humid, and rainy. The stuff must have been in the air this year.

[brownrexx]

I think that temperature makes a big difference. Tomatoes don't like really cool weather but if it's over 90 then the pollen is damaged and fruits don't form.

[PaulF]

For me, the first week of August is the prime tomato time. This year we are going through an extended heat wave...the past two weeks of 90+ degrees F. Not much plant growth an not as much fruit set.

[decherdt]

Yeah, we got more slicers this year than last, from slightly fewer vines. Picking and dealing with nearly 100 tomatoes 3 or 4 days in a row can be a hassle, plus now I have to tear it all down for a Summer till cover crop (in one of the the hottest parts of the year). Planning for next season, have reduced total vine count, traded in some slicers for Black Cherry, and have increased the portion of earlier varieties like Anna Russian etc.

http://tomatoville.com/album.php?u=6756

[GoDawgs]

OK, here's a wild theory for you. Saharan dust. This year upper level winds brought the annual Saharan dust cloud a lot farther north, stretching over the southeast to Texas. This dust usually moves over the Amazon rain forest where it deposits phosphorus onto soil that doesn't contain much.

And rain. I read last year that rain actually deposits a bit of nitrogen, acting like a foliar application. I remember saying "So that's why everything out there jumps so much after a rain!"

Maybe more rain and Saharan dust is making 'maters jump? Except for edweather... toooooooooo much rain!

[slugworth]

Has to be a thunderstorm to get nitrogen included.

[Koala Doug]

Per my own observations, the biggest determining factor in deciding if a season is going to be 'good' or 'bad' is heat. Or, more specifically, an extended heat wave. Multiple ninety-degree-plus days really wreak havoc.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Koala Doug

Per my own observations, the biggest determining factor in deciding if a season is going to be 'good' or 'bad' is heat. Or, more specifically, an extended heat wave. Multiple ninety-degree-plus days really wreak havoc.

I certainly have to disagree since multiple days of 90+ degrees is just typical weather down here from mid May through September and sometimes later. Now when you get multiple days above 100 with really high humidity that can really put a whoa on the size of fruit and the numbers. Another factor is frequent rain showers day after day can bring a lot more disease and dying plants. Down here we like to go from droughts to floods and back again for a real challenge.

Bill

[DonDuck]

To my knowledge, nothing has changed between this year and last year except six inches of rain in five days in late spring. The plants are in the same holes they grew in last year. I've not added any fertilizer except some on the pepper plants. The plants I'm growing are supposedly heat resistant and one variety grows and sets fruit in temps over 100 degrees F. I may have added extra fertilizer last year, but not this year. I really don't remember. The plants last year were taller than the same varieties this year, but considerably less productive.



(nitrogen from rain requires lightning. The Sahara dust only arrived where I live last week.)

[habitat_gardener]

A fellow community gardener says the increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, especially this year and last year, are accelerating plant growth. On some 40-year-old shrubs, the leaves are twice the size they’ve been before.

[zipcode]

Interesting about the CO2, it could be, although I don't think the variations are that big?
My guess was that it's basically just the water. To get the same water saturation as rain with manual watering is not that easy, think how much it stays wet after a heavy rain compared to when you water it yourself.

[GoDawgs]

Everything around here, like shrubs, trees, etc, are looking really great this year and I chalk that up to the way above average rain we got this spring. The ground got super deeply watered this year and everything is appreciating it!