desertgirl
Garden Ornament
All of my maters have flowered, but only a few have fruit. Do I need extra fertilizer? If so, what do you reccommend (note-I don't want to use chemicals)?:happy_flower
Getting tomatoes to set fruit?
- Thread starter desertgirl
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hoodat
Garden Addicted
How are your nigh time temps? Unless it is staying above 55 at night only a few tomato varieties will set fruit.desertgirl said:
journey11
Garden Master
Isn't it potash that affects a plant's flowers? Maybe your levels are off?
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desertgirl
Garden Ornament
Temps are well above 55 here in New Mexico. Potash...no idea....
patandchickens
Deeply Rooted
Try hand-pollinating them. Pick a flowering sprig from one plant, then tap it against all the other flowers on that plant and on the other plants. (If you have a lot of tomato plants you'll want to grab a fresh new pollinator-sprig at intervals)
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
Good luck, have fun,
Pat
herbsherbsflowers
Garden Ornament
How high are your temps during the day? When it gets over 95 which it is supposed to do here today, they also will not set fruit. Bone meal is a good addition for tomatoes.
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- #7
desertgirl
Garden Ornament
Really? That is our average, has crept up to over a hundred degrees recently. Will they set when it "cools" (not that it is back in the 90's)?
davaroo
Garden Ornament
- Plant tomatoes in groups, not in rows.
- Stake them up, dont allow them to sprawl on the ground. -
- Dont allow them to grow longer than 6 feet.
- Keep suckers pinched out.
Keep them close to one another and vertical, and they will pollinate better. If in doubt, use a small makeup brush and hand pollinate them.
If you can obtain some clean dry wood ashes, side dress with it when the first flowers appear. This is a classic technique with tomatoes.
Unfortunately, most municipalities are typically shortsighted, and wont allow burning of garden waste. They generally lump all burning together as "bad", and blindly condemn the practice. My city has stopped issuing burn permits, altogether.
Damn shame, IMHO. What the shortsighted wankers dont know is that wood ash is one of the best supplements to be had in the garden. When practiced safely and kept contained, burning of garden waste presents no hazard.
Luckily, most cities dont object to backyard barbeque grills, braziers or fire pits (wink, wink, hint, hint . .
)
- Stake them up, dont allow them to sprawl on the ground. -
- Dont allow them to grow longer than 6 feet.
- Keep suckers pinched out.
Keep them close to one another and vertical, and they will pollinate better. If in doubt, use a small makeup brush and hand pollinate them.
If you can obtain some clean dry wood ashes, side dress with it when the first flowers appear. This is a classic technique with tomatoes.
Unfortunately, most municipalities are typically shortsighted, and wont allow burning of garden waste. They generally lump all burning together as "bad", and blindly condemn the practice. My city has stopped issuing burn permits, altogether.
Damn shame, IMHO. What the shortsighted wankers dont know is that wood ash is one of the best supplements to be had in the garden. When practiced safely and kept contained, burning of garden waste presents no hazard.
Luckily, most cities dont object to backyard barbeque grills, braziers or fire pits (wink, wink, hint, hint . .
)
hoodat
Garden Addicted
There's your problem. The pollen dies at those temps. Next year try to concentrate on heat tolerant varieties. There are several heirloom tomatos that can take the heat. Arkansas Traveler is one but there are some even more heat tolerant than that. Heat tolerant tomatos tend to be smaller than the slicing varieties but at least you will get something for your effort.desertgirl said:
obsessed
Deeply Rooted
I think I am having the same problem. We have been in the High 90s but the heat index has been 110 with all the humidity. So I only have a few tomatoes going. But I will nurse the plant along through the summer heat and it will come back into bloom when the summer cools a bit ( in September for me)
