Blossoms being eaten

hald · July 19, 2006

The blossoms on my tomatoes are being eaten by something. The fruits that are developing aren't being affected. Each day I notice more and more blossoms being eaten with just the stems left. The blossoms aren't falling off - The tomatoes are being grown in a hydroponic ebb & flow system and I haven't seen any blossoms in the nutrient solution or in the flood trays.

What could be causing this? I think it is happenning at night as I haven't seen any insects or critters during the day. The one thought I had was maybe a rat is doing it, except I would expect a rat or mouse to eat the fruit too. I would also rule out tomato worms as I diligently pick them off.

Any thoughts? Help! Otherwise the tomatoes are healthy, setting fruit, etc.

Polar_Lace · July 19, 2006

Is your hydroponic garden in the basement? Slugs & snails are nocturnal feeders; and they love wet/damp places.

hald · July 20, 2006

No, it is outside in a shady area of my yard.

Whatever it is isn't touching the sweet peppers at all. They have lots of blooms and nothing is eating on them (or the pepper plants).

I put out a rat trap tonight and baited it with sunflower seeds and peanut butter. I'll check it in the morning. No tomato worms at all today. I did notice some white moths flying around. They looked to be about an inch long with good sized wings.
-Hal

Polar_Lace · July 20, 2006

Hal, I don't remember what bug it is that likes to eat the blossoms only. They just may be getting blown away in the evening wind gusts

But do check the plants under the leaves' for further damage. It could be a "clear looking" bodied bug. It could be nothing else rather than plain old blossom drop.

Quote:

it is outside in a shady area of my yard.

eeeekk! yeellck! Tomatoes need Full Sun! That could be another cause.

Hopefully someone else can come along to help you out better.

**coronabarb** · July 20, 2006

I've never had the blossoms eaten on my tomato plants.

I have had rats take bites out of the tomatoes, but they were very near ripe.

Polar_Lace · July 20, 2006

Thank you for that link - kc -; I was looking for something like that in google. Apparently I didn't phrase it the right way.

supergirl · July 22, 2006

In the shade, the slug/snail idea is still a possibility. We have loads of them, and I find they have very discriminating palates. I could totally see them deciding they prefer the tomato blossoms and eating those. Sluggo is supposed to be a non-toxic bait that wouldn't be bad to use around food.

hald · July 27, 2006

Thanks. The link was helpful and the photo looks exactly like my toms. It must be blossom drop from the high day and night temps. The suggestion about the wind is probably right - the blooms are getting blown away. We've had 15 days over 105 degrees.

In the llink page about blossom drop there was another link to heat resistant tomato varieties, but the link didn't work. Does anyone have alink to heat resistant tomato varieties? Thanks in advance -
Hal

P.S. So far the variety called "Stupice" is performing the best. It is outdoing celebrity and sweet 100.

July 19, 2006	#1
hald Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 23	Blossoms being eaten The blossoms on my tomatoes are being eaten by something. The fruits that are developing aren't being affected. Each day I notice more and more blossoms being eaten with just the stems left. The blossoms aren't falling off - The tomatoes are being grown in a hydroponic ebb & flow system and I haven't seen any blossoms in the nutrient solution or in the flood trays. What could be causing this? I think it is happenning at night as I haven't seen any insects or critters during the day. The one thought I had was maybe a rat is doing it, except I would expect a rat or mouse to eat the fruit too. I would also rule out tomato worms as I diligently pick them off. Any thoughts? Help! Otherwise the tomatoes are healthy, setting fruit, etc.

July 19, 2006	#2
Polar_Lace Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Z8b, Texas Posts: 657	Is your hydroponic garden in the basement? Slugs & snails are nocturnal feeders; and they love wet/damp places. __________________ It's not how many seeds you sow. Nor how many plants you transplant. It's about how many of them can survive your treatment of them.

July 20, 2006	#5
coronabarb Tomatoville® Recipe Keeper Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Roseburg, Oregon - zone 7 Posts: 2,821	I've never had the blossoms eaten on my tomato plants. I have had rats take bites out of the tomatoes, but they were very near ripe. __________________ Corona~Barb Now an Oregon gal

July 20, 2006	#6
Polar_Lace Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Z8b, Texas Posts: 657	Thank you for that link - kc -; I was looking for something like that in google. Apparently I didn't phrase it the right way. __________________ It's not how many seeds you sow. Nor how many plants you transplant. It's about how many of them can survive your treatment of them.

July 27, 2006	#8
hald Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Fresno, CA Posts: 23	Blossoms being eaten Thanks. The link was helpful and the photo looks exactly like my toms. It must be blossom drop from the high day and night temps. The suggestion about the wind is probably right - the blooms are getting blown away. We've had 15 days over 105 degrees. In the llink page about blossom drop there was another link to heat resistant tomato varieties, but the link didn't work. Does anyone have alink to heat resistant tomato varieties? Thanks in advance - Hal P.S. So far the variety called "Stupice" is performing the best. It is outdoing celebrity and sweet 100.

July 22, 2006	#7
supergirl Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Palo Alto, CA Posts: 107	In the shade, the slug/snail idea is still a possibility. We have loads of them, and I find they have very discriminating palates. I could totally see them deciding they prefer the tomato blossoms and eating those. Sluggo is supposed to be a non-toxic bait that wouldn't be bad to use around food.