By Alene
United States
I have a fairly size area with 6 tomato plants and have only got 3 tomatoes off and they were very small. They stand about 3 ft but have no flowers. What could be wrong. I did use some tomato plant food but that didn't help.
- 4 Aug, 2016
Answers
Thanks, this is the first time asking for help. I live in the north east corner area by Tulsa, OK.
4 Aug, 2016
Have you checked the quality of the soil Alene? Just checked the climate of Tulsa - I reckon your tomatoes will need a lot of water. In a greenhouse they can easily drink a litre each a day, possibly more. In your climate they may well need quite a bit more.
4 Aug, 2016
More water, less often, in the ground, Stera. In Tulsa, I would water once a week, but a good 10-15 gallons for each plant. Deep water reserves are essential in a hot, semi-arid climate. Lack of flowers is usually a sign of lack of direct sunlight, or, occasionally, a lack of potash. Actually, the tomato food should have dealt with that. If the new growth produces flower trusses, but the buds fall off without opening, it usually means that it dried out too much between waterings.
5 Aug, 2016
Would overhead spraying help Tug?
It helps setting in my gh when its hot and dry
5 Aug, 2016
Outside, it would only help for about 5 minutes. If Alene had flowers, and sprayed early in the morning, the drops hitting the flowers would help pollination, but no real help otherwise.
5 Aug, 2016
Can you use anything to increase the humidity around the plants,
Tug, tomatoes contain a lot of water.....
Maybe the bush ones would be better being smaller?
5 Aug, 2016
Gosh Tug, that's a lot of water! Giving advice to a different country is often useless!
5 Aug, 2016
Pamg, tomatoes bloom just fine here in late spring, with relative humidity lower than 15%, so humidity isn't necessary for bloom and bloom set. Higher humidity helps slightly with the survival of young fruit, and helps keep the skins tender--toms here can be a bit, umm, "chewy". Fortunately, Tulsa is normally a good deal more humid in summer than we are.
Stera, most of the interior U.S. is a good deal warmer and drier in summer than the UK is. Your advice is often good for the coastal areas, though, especially the Pacific Northwest, and the Mid-Atlantic States.
6 Aug, 2016
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Perhaps your ground was too poor - the plants look very undernourished. And have you given them plenty of water - they need a lot, at least once a day in dry weather.Tomato food is only useful once the fruit has begun to set . Before that you need general fertiliser. But really the ground needs good preparation before planting. You have not added which part of the US you live in to your profile so can't comment on climate and weather conditions.
4 Aug, 2016