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Garden Gate:  Tricks to setting tomatoes  |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
 Posted - Jul 01 2011 : 11:27:18 AM
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Hey girls,
My Bush goliath tomatoes are doing great, but I have an heirloom plant that just doesn't seem to be setting fruit. It's a "Mr Stripey" that I bought from Walmart as a plant here locally, and I just want a few fruits off of it so at the VERY least I can extract some seeds to try again next year. It's next to the other tomatoes and I have bunches of bees so I dont think pollination is the issue... It gets about 8 hours of sun during the day and it's shaded in the afternoon and I've composted it about every 3 weeks since I had it. Any other ideas to give it a little push?
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
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oldbittyhen
True Blue Farmgirl
1511 Posts
tina
quartz hill
ca
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2011 : 1:17:36 PM
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if your compost is "TOO" rich, i.e. nutriants/fertilizer, the plant will spend all its time growing roots and folige, and not bloossoms/fruit, you need to reduce the n & f, and use steady/even watering, OR, it may just be a "bad" plant...good luck
"Knowlege is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad" |
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CMac
True Blue Farmgirl
1074 Posts
Connie
Ashland City
TN
USA
1074 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2011 : 1:28:04 PM
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Tina may be right about the compost And it could also be that they just bloom a bit later than the other tomatoes you have. If they look healthy hold off on the fertilization/compost and give them some time. Some varieties won't set in high temps. You would think it would work in AZ since you bought it there but you never know with Wally World.
Connie
"I have three chairs in my house: one for solitude, two for friendship, three for company."
Author: Henry David Thoreau |
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Nanniekim
True Blue Farmgirl
206 Posts
Kim
Arizona
206 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2011 : 7:32:25 PM
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I was told not to fertilize tomatoes until they start to bloom or you may only get bushy plants and no fruit. Also, when we lived in Arizona, this time of year was way too hot for many tomatoes. My mother-n-law sometimes got some fruit in the summer but it wasn't easy. I never planted Mr. Stripey in Arizona but they did great 2 years ago here in Utah. Considering Walmart, they probably don't pay attention to what grows in what area. If you can keep the plant healthy until the weather cools, maybe it will then set fruit. Good luck!
Kim |
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Aunt Jenny
True Blue Farmgirl
11381 Posts
Jenny
middle of
Utah
USA
11381 Posts |
Posted - Jul 01 2011 : 10:18:52 PM
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I grew Mr. Stripeys last year (from seed) and they did great (middle of Utah) but I agree that too much fertilizer, or even compost, too early can cause the big bushiness early on. I bet you will still get some tomatoes though..mine were huge plants and they did bloom late. HOpe this helps.
Jenny in Utah
Proud Farmgirl sister #24
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
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Melina
True Blue Farmgirl
435 Posts
Melina
USA
435 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2011 : 07:46:57 AM
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I gardened for years in the Phoenix/Glendale are and found that some of the tomato varieties won't set fruit after the temp gets over 90 degrees. If the Mr Stripey is a younger plant than the others, it may not have had a chance to set before it got really hot. Also, tomatoes are pollinated by wind more than insects, and the flower is self-pollinating. Just give the plant a gentle but vigorous shake daily while it is flowering. That will cause the pollen to go on down into the throat of the flower. Short story; had a friend who's tomato plant by the back door wasn't producing. One morning she gave it a couple of slaps with a rolled up newspaper as she walked by, uttering a couple of curses at it. In a few days, she saw it had begun to set on fruit! The slap had evidently done the pollinating for her.
The morning breeze has secrets to tell you. Do not go back to sleep.
Rumi |
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Dusky Beauty
True Blue Farmgirl
1108 Posts
Jen
Tonopah
AZ
USA
1108 Posts |
Posted - Jul 02 2011 : 10:25:15 AM
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LOL Melina!
The plant does have a couple tiny blossoms, Jenny is probably right, it's just a later variety. I think keeping the mister is helping with the other tomatoes so I'll keep it where it is right next to them. I've had a lot of people from the area tell me that "ALL tomatoes burn up and die" and that it's "impossible" to get corn after may, But I've got bushes of tomatoes and 20 ears of corn set and maturing, so I must be doing something right that my neighbors are not
"The greatness of a nation and it's moral progress can be judged by the way it's animals are treated." ~Gandhi
"After eating an entire bull, a mountain lion felt so good he started roaring. He kept it up until a hunter came along and shot him. The moral: When you're full of bull, keep your mouth shut.” ~Will Rogers |
Edited by - Dusky Beauty on Jul 02 2011 10:29:27 AM |
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Garden Gate: Tricks to setting tomatoes |
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Tricks to setting tomatoes
