What's the problem? Tomato and pepper failure

[snewman]

I busted my butt this spring/early summer, determined that this year I would keep control over the weeds. So I mulched with cleanings from my llama barn. This was back-breaking, sweaty work, but I did it! Covered up/smothered the grass that always wants to take over. Now I have these huge, beautiful tomato and pepper plants...and almost no fruits. I don't even see many blossoms. The peppers are almost a total loss, as they for sure have no blossoms at this point. Perhaps they did, for a day or two, but not now. I see a few green tomatoes, and a few blossoms, but given the number of plants I put in I should be drowning in tomatoes. What's the problem? It's been hot, I've been watering, I see no obvious insect damage or disease, unlike most years, when things get away from me. I put my all into the garden this year and am so disappointed. Does some pest specifically target and destroy blossoms without leaving any other sign of damage? Rabbits? This is the first summer I've seen a bunch of them around. I think I might throw in the towel on the garden after this. It takes all of my time away from other interests, and I always held out the hope that it would be worth it, but if after all the work I put in this year I get nothing, forget it. I'll just frequent the farm stands that are everywhere.

 

[Sunsaver]

It sounds like too much nitrogen. Bone meal and oyster shell (poultry grit) are the only things you need to feed your tomatoes and peppers. Excessive cold or hot temperatures can also cause a lack of blossom set. But too much nitrogen, and a lack of phosphate and calcium are the biggest culprits in lack of blossom set, and blossom end rot. Asparagus, corn, greens and onions are the only veggies that need lots of nitrogen.
Try bone meal tea. Put a cup of bone meal in your watering can. Fill it with water. Sprinkle this milky liquid over the leaves and roots of your peppers and tomatoes. Whenever rain is predicted, scatter a handful of bone meal or triple phosphate around the base of your peppers and tomatoes. When plants are blooming, shake them to spread the pollen into the air.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Since you are in Wisconsin, I'll hope you are missing a lot of the heat many of us are having. You should cool off enough at night for this to not be a problem, but if it is too hot at night, tomatoes won't set on. I'm not sure about peppers. I don't think they are as sensative to heat when it comes to setting on, but I'm not sure.

What may have happened is if you get too much nitrogen, the tomatoes and peppers spend all their energy growing new luscious plant growth and do not produce much fruit. I'm not familiar with llama manure so I don't know how hot with nitrogen it is. What you want is a balance. Some nitrogen for plant growth, but not too much. And you need some pottasium, phospherus, calcium, and other nutrients for fruit set and growth.

I'm not saying for certain this is what happened to you, but you may be nitrogen rich.

 

[NwMtGardener]

And dont give up just yet even if your garden area is overwhelmed with nitrogen this year, by next season your garden may be just right. Don't you all think so, that by next year it will have mellowed out significantly??

 

[Sunsaver]

Heather is right. Next year it will be even better. It never hurts to add compost, manure, or other organic matter to the soil. But when it comes to the nightshade family of plants (Peppers, tomatoes, potatoes) rich soil that is high in nitrogen is your enemy. Too much nitrogen will cause potato scab and small or deformed potatoes. It can cause blossom end rot by preventing the uptake of calcium, and lush foliage with few or no blooms. For ten years now, I have grown tomatoes in barren silt with nothing more than bone meal and a heavy mulch to retain moisture, and always get consistent crops of large, crack free and tasty tomatoes. Bone meal seems to contain everything they need.

 

[cityfarmer]

I had this happen one year with my tomatoes as well. Now I know why. Don't give up--gardening is a lot a work with a lot of risks--hail, too much heat, too little heat, too much water, too little water, the stars not in alignment. What grows great one year doesn't do so well the next and the other way around.

 

[cityfarmer]

Heather is right. Next year it will be even better. It never hurts to add compost, manure, or other organic matter to the soil. But when it comes to the nightshade family of plants (Peppers, tomatoes, potatoes) rich soil that is high in nitrogen is your enemy. Too much nitrogen will cause potato scab and small or deformed potatoes. It can cause blossom end rot by preventing the uptake of calcium, and lush foliage with few or no blooms. For ten years now, I have grown tomatoes in barren silt with nothing more than bone meal and a heavy mulch to retain moisture, and always get consistent crops of large, crack free and tasty tomatoes. Bone meal seems to contain everything they need.

Is potato scab bumbs all over the potato that doesn't really effect the potato other than the way it looks? I don't want to hijack this thread but I am curious.

 

[snewman]

Hmm, thank you for all of your replies. So by trying to make the garden better and working like crazy to mulch it with the llama manure, I did myself in. That's sad. It sounds like exactly what happened. I am, at least, relieved that there is an answer and it's not just a strange mystery of gardening that I will never have an explanation for. Thanks everyone!

 

[momofdrew]

And dont give up just yet even if your garden area is overwhelmed with nitrogen this year, by next season your garden may be just right. Don't you all think so, that by next year it will have mellowed out significantly??

yes... unfortunately this year may be a bust... try having you soil tested at the start of the season next year to see what needs to be added before you plant anything...the test tells you what you need to add for nutrients...

 

[vfem]

I gotta say, last year and the year before I struggled with blight on my tomatoes and got very little produce... I also have 6' + tall plants green and lush and gorgeous before they got sick. This year, I did the bone meal & crushed egg shells at planting and my tomatoes are leggy this year, not at tall... but no disease and LOTS of tomatoes with very little cracks.

Next year, I'm expecting a back year with tomatoes, but a good year for melon since my melon did terrible! You can never win at everything I say!