Tomatoes aren't rippening

[Sonny120]

Hi from Sonny120,

I am about 25 miles north of NYC.

What's happening out there this year with the tomatoes?

I have had great success in past years. But this year is dismal.

My tomatoes are hard as a rock and they are not ripening. I picked one a week ago, and there are two that are just starting to ripen. Same with my brother and friend in central Jersey. They're not getting a good crop either.

I already pulled one plant out which was wilting. Not yellow, no signs of blight, but just wilting like it could not take up the moisture in the ground. I usually start seed in the house. This one was from Home Depot.

Has anyone else in this area experienced this? Can anyone suggest a solution. I have heard about taking a spade and severing the roots around that stalk. But is seems too early in the season to do that.

OK. Any reply/help/comments would be appreciated.

Sonny120

[dustdevil]

Blame it on the weather. When conditions are right, they will start turning. You still have plenty of time left, so don't do any root severing.

[luigiwu]

I'm in NYC. Everyone says tomatoes are late this year. This is the first year I'm gardening and I'm doing SIP global-bucket style. My plants also came from Home Depot and are SUPER healthy (knock on wood.) In the terrible 96-degree days in July, I wasn't sure they were going to make it but they seem to have fully recovered. The plants are putting out lots of healthy green leaves, lots of blooms but I'm worried the fruit won't be ready before the frost get here.

[SunnyK]

I am in SW CT....and I grow all my tomatos from my own seed. And I have had 5 or 6 plants just wilt away...I have some yellow leaves on some plants which I figure is the blight I see every August, but the wilty plants are as green as any when they wilt. Plus I am not seeing.as large a crop.as usual, and they are.a few weeks behind on ripeness as well.
Thought it was just my garden so I am glad to know I am not alone.

[brokenbar]

I think the weather was goofy everywhere. my Son in Wyoming says they are just now starting to combine some of the barley fields which are normally done in the first two weeks of July. A lot of the silage corn there is not as tall and really slow making cobs. They had a freezing cold May and then the weather went to well over 100 (111 one day he says) for three weeks. He had ripe tomatoes early in July which is just about unbelievable and he says he has the biggest pepper crop ever. However, he says vine crops (pumpkins, melons, etc.) are all slow to set fruit and do not have nearly as many as usual...Mother Nature is a hag...

[Doug9345]

Spring was very late and it stayed cold and wet until very late. We had frost in May which is very late.

[Crissyb]

My tomato season in Wisconsin is lackluster as well. So many plants and so few tomatoes!! It was too wet and cool here, but I am finally seeing some turning colors. My tomato leaves look horrible as well; I can't remember having such horrible results in years.

I have had luck with the smaller sized tomatoes ripening, an early variety i started from Double Helix farms called Quedlinburger Fruhe Liebe. If it wasn't for that tomato I would be sadly lacking in tomatoes

[edweather]

Same exact thing here. Beefsteaks are 4 weeks behind. Only 1 ripe Cherokee Purple so far. Lots of really big Brandywines, Cherokee Purples, Rutgers, and Hawaiian Pineapples. Probably 20 per plant, but all green. Thank God for Stupice. That plant has kept me in ripe tomatoes since late June.