Member discussion regarding the methods, varieties and merits of growing tomatoes.
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#1 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 413
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Put plants in early, made it through one night of threatening frost, and plants were about three or four weeks ahead of last year...a few greenhouse-purchased plants flowered about a week earlier than mine and are covered with fruit, but by the time mine were covered with flowers we had a streak of heat and humidity...thought they made it through ok but plants that should have 20-25 fruits on them have 3 to 5, with nothing but stumps where flowers used to be. No changes to soil this year, almost no fertilization at all compared to prior years because of how nice the early growth went. Anyone else in southern Ontario have a lot of blossom drop to date? At least the few fruits I have should be able to hog the photosynthesis and grow large and tasty.
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#2 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
Posts: 5,931
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Fertilize, get them growing fast, they will bloom again in a week or ten days. Still plenty of time to set lots of fruit yet if they are indeterminate
KarenO |
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#3 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Welcome to Texas.
Worth |
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#4 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 413
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KO I just gave them a feeding of mega bloom but I believe the plants were already in the process of putting out bouquets of flowers in reaction to the massive blossom drop. I think I recall one beefsteak variety a few years ago putting out one flower branch with more than 30 flowers on it after a bad blossom drop.
Worth...HA! Fingers crossed timing is in my favour in the next week or two but looks like flowers are just going to be ready for pollenization just as some more heat and humidity hits early next week. |
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#5 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Ontario
Posts: 3,891
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I had some blossom drop here in SE Ontario, but I put it down to the high winds. A lot of the big dwarf blossoms were lost..... I noticed that the tiny tomatoes that formed on Dwarf Arctic Rose were damaged (cat faced?) and the lower leaves curled. DAR is on the end of the row, so probably received the brunt of the winds.
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#6 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Northern Minnesota - zone 3
Posts: 3,231
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Curious, I've noticed more blossom drop than usual here in northern Minnesota too. Can't quite put my finger on it. Weather has been relatively stable, not too much rain, good heat. I do have many plants, if not most, with good fruit set, some up to near tennis ball size, but still am noticing some dried up blossoms where I would not expect them. Very odd year.
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Dee ************** |
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#7 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7
Posts: 4,916
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Blossom drop has more than one cause.
One of them is that if you let it grow whatever foliage, sucker it wants then it wont be be able to grow/suppot many fruits. If you have 12 kids probably cannot send all of them to college. Plants have limited resources and energy to spend and it has to be shared with all parts. JMO Gardeneer. |
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#8 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Vancouver Island
Posts: 5,931
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disagree. foliage produces the resources a plant needs. No tomato plant sets every bloom. Some blossoms will drop regardless. Contrary to popular opinion, heavy pruning reduces, not increases the overall yield, especially n a northern climate.
KarenO |
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#9 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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Prey tell how I ended up with dozens of tomatoes on one Cherokee purple plant all at once.
Without foliage you take away the energy pump needed to make things grow. Worth |
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#10 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7
Posts: 4,916
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BTW: my well pruned CP has close to 30 tomatoes on it. YMMV Gardeneer. |
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#11 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Den of Drunken Fools
Posts: 38,539
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How are you guys liking your heat wave. ![]() Worth |
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#12 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7
Posts: 4,916
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We like it, as tomato gardeners but others don't. Too hot for comfort.
![]() The only hardship is watering more often. Our heat wave is no where near what you get down in some parts of Texas. When the day highs are in low 90s, the night lows are 60F or even lower, very low humidity ( about 40% during the day) . It is just unheard of around here. Thats all. Gardeneer |
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#13 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 413
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They would taste a lot better if you hadn't pruned. Photosynthesis!!! And pruning can also allow tomatoes to be exposed to sun, which is not good.
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#14 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Toronto
Posts: 413
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#15 |
Guest
Posts: n/a
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We just set a record of 11 consecutive days with temps over 100--one day it was 111. It will stay that way at least until Friday when maybe we will be in the upper 90's- a cool wave! All my plants- vegetables and flowers are burning up, and we are on water restriction on top of that.
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