blossom drop

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Ken4230

My tomatoes are in 18in. raised beds. I'm pulling tomatoes off now that are 4 in. and larger. I was in tomato heaven until the heat wave started. I still have plenty of tomatoes but no blooms, not one.

Last year, someone on here suggested trying to drown your tomatoes during a heatwave. As an experiment, I built a small 2ft. x 5ft raised bed and buried it 6in. in the ground.

I put in 5 unpruned tomato plants and two squash directly in the ground. There is no mix in the box. I try to leave two in. of standing water on them twice a day. You can't believe how many tomatoes and blooms are in that little bed. It looks like a jungle.

I have seen the light and intend to change my gardening ways next year.

Once you get a decent fruit set you need to return to a more normal watering pattern. I have had good luck by just doing the over watering for a day or two then skipping a few days and doing it again. I've never tried watering like that twice a day except with container plants.

I have no trouble getting tomatoes to set even with temps above 90 every day. The biggest problem is getting enough water to the plants so they will set. According to the scientific info on pollen and humidity I don't see how I ever get any tomatoes to set. I even had a Brandywine Sudduth set a nice cluster of fruit on the two days where it was well over 100 and the humidity was nearly that high. I doubt I will be able to keep the plant alive long enough to get any fruit from it but at least I now know it can do well in the heat if I can just figure out a way to keep the fusarium away for a while longer. The only other pink beefsteaks that have set for me in those terrible conditions are Hege German Pink, Terhune and best of all Stump of the World. I have always had decent luck with many of the black or purple tomatoes setting in the worst weather but it is nice to find a few more to work with in the heat. My all time favorite tomato to excel in the heat is Big Beef which also is more fusarium resistant than most of the heirlooms. The second best would have to be Indian Stripe.

[MissS]

Originally Posted by koshki

Patti, how on earth did you find out what was going on? LOL!

I was out looking UP at my tomatoes and my neighbor came out. He askes me what was going on with these plants. "Just look at all of these blossoms and not one tomato. These plants are HUGE". I said, "well, It looks to me like my neighbors are peeing on my tomato plants. You see these flowers in front of these plants look rather anemic. They need some nitrogen. Now look at the tomatoes in back, they are so green they are blue. I have not fed these plants any nitrgen".
He says, "I haven't peed on the tomatoes. I pee over there".........
That night I went out and guess what I saw? LOL

Worth, if this is the way you garden in Texas, I don't believe that I would like to dine at your house.

[lakelady]

Originally Posted by MissS

I was out looking UP at my tomatoes and my neighbor came out. He askes me what was going on with these plants. "Just look at all of these blossoms and not one tomato. These plants are HUGE". I said, "well, It looks to me like my neighbors are peeing on my tomato plants. You see these flowers in front of these plants look rather anemic. They need some nitrogen. Now look at the tomatoes in back, they are so green they are blue. I have not fed these plants any nitrgen".
He says, "I haven't peed on the tomatoes. I pee over there".........
That night I went out and guess what I saw? LOL

Worth, if this is the way you garden in Texas, I don't believe that I would like to dine at your house.

LOL Patti! I think he meant the blossom drop was typical of gardening in Texas, not the urinating

B54Red, you have my deepest admiration for all that you do to raise those tomatoes. I tip my hat to you sir. You never give up !

Tightenup, I am watering like crazy and I think it helps a lot. I did however, see many blossoms dropping all the same this weekend. Turn yellow and die off. Thankfully I do have decent fruitset on many plants except a few which totally have me stumped..

[Ken4230]

Originally Posted by b54red

Once you get a decent fruit set you need to return to a more normal watering pattern. I have had good luck by just doing the over watering for a day or two then skipping a few days and doing it again. I've never tried watering like that twice a day except with container plants.

I have no trouble getting tomatoes to set even with temps above 90 every day. The biggest problem is getting enough water to the plants so they will set. According to the scientific info on pollen and humidity I don't see how I ever get any tomatoes to set. I even had a Brandywine Sudduth set a nice cluster of fruit on the two days where it was well over 100 and the humidity was nearly that high. I doubt I will be able to keep the plant alive long enough to get any fruit from it but at least I now know it can do well in the heat if I can just figure out a way to keep the fusarium away for a while longer. The only other pink beefsteaks that have set for me in those terrible conditions are Hege German Pink, Terhune and best of all Stump of the World. I have always had decent luck with many of the black or purple tomatoes setting in the worst weather but it is nice to find a few more to work with in the heat. My all time favorite tomato to excel in the heat is Big Beef which also is more fusarium resistant than most of the heirlooms. The second best would have to be Indian Stripe.

b54red; I'm not wanting that bed just for the tomatoes, but also to see the results of what would be considered excessive watering under most circumstances. Only time will tell, but right now it looks pretty decent. I will back off once temps stay below 90. Just a guess, but there are probably 75 to 100 1/4in to3 1/2in tomatoes on 4 plants. We have consumed at least a dozen of the big ones.

I am trying "two days water/ three days rest" on another small bed without a great amount of luck.

I've had a pretty good year so far(first ripe Early Girl Imp on June 7) and have enough tomatoes on the vine to get me into mid August, if they keep growing.

[b54red]

I only have a few bearing plants left and a few small ones growing since most of mine have already died from fusarium. If I don't get another tomato this year I will have had a great season; but I just like to keep a few plants going so I can have that BLT or hamburger with the thick slices of vine ripened tomato for as long as possible. Last year I was able to have fresh tomatoes til January. This year may be a bit tougher with the fusarium so bad. I am planting more Big Beefs than usual because of their resistance but even they will get fusarium if it is bad enough. Most of what I am planting for fall is black tomatoes like IS and hybrids like Big Beef. I wish now I had started more seed for Neves Azorean Red since they have withstood the fusarium nearly as well as the Big Beefs this year.

[Ken4230]

Some of my tomatoes(Early Girl, Big Beef and KBX) are starting to bloom again even in this 106 deg. weather. They are in the beds that I have been watering heavily. My experimental bed hasn't missed a lick. My son in law pulled 23 tomatoes this morning with the smallest being 10 oz. It's still making babies and loaded with blooms and tomatoes.

[carolyn137]

My suggested summary re blossom drop.

There are two major causes.

1) Sustained temps above 85 to 90 F, it varies with the specific variety, causes the pollen to become denatured, mening it's destroyed. So no pollenization, hence blossom drop. The normal blossom cycle is about three weeks, and it's random, so when temps return to lower temps self pollenization should resume.

2) Sustained high humidity causes the pollen to clump, as was mentioned above, and such clumped pollen is not that effective in self pollenization.

Heaven help those who garden in high heat, high humidity areas.

Those are the two causes of blossom drop and no toothbrushes or Blossom Set stuff or anything else can help .

I know of no relationship between blossom drop and nitrogen levels, nor amount of water used, etc., although those kinds of variables do play into the induction of BER which has been discussed here in many threads.

Hope that helps.