Many of my plants yielded very few tomatoes this year

Elliot · November 4, 2015

I spake with the nursery where I bought my plants and they felt I used miracle grow potting soil which is too rich in nitrogen. I spoke with a local farmer who had amazing beefsteaks. He felt that I did not fertilize enough. A third expert felt that it was our hot northeast summers which did not allow for adequate germination of the flowers. Any ideas for next year?

b54red · November 4, 2015

Use whatever potting mix you want just so it is not too packed and the container is large enough and keep the surface mulched heavily so it doesn't dry out too fast. When the plants put on their first blossoms start feeding them a good soaking of Texas Tomato Food every week. If the plants get too dark a shade of green then skip a week but this rarely happens in container plants in my experience. I did this in some five gallon buckets two years ago and the plants produced very good and I have never had such heavy production with container grown plants. I also kept them to just a few stems which seems to increase the fruit set and size of the fruit. Don't let the soil in the containers dry completely out especially if you are wanting blooms to set fruit as this will cause the blossoms to drop really fast in hot weather. I grow almost exclusively in raised beds and have found the weekly feedings of Texas Tomato Food greatly increased my fruit set for every variety that I grow. I do have to skip feedings during times of too much rain but other than that I try to feed my plants weekly with TTF until I get tired of caring for them in the fall.

These little steps should help you even though our climates are dramatically different. Containers require more watering down here where the temps are high from April through October so it should be easier to maintain them in more moderate climates during the summer. One thing for sure is inadequate watering while plants are blooming will greatly decrease fruit set especially when it is hot.

Bill

Bill

Elliot · November 4, 2015

Bill, Where do I get Texas tomato food?

**carolyn137** · November 4, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elliot

I spake with the nursery where I bought my plants and they felt I used miracle grow potting soil which is too rich in nitrogen. I spoke with a local farmer who had amazing beefsteaks. He felt that I did not fertilize enough. A third expert felt that it was our hot northeast summers which did not allow for adequate germination of the flowers. Any ideas for next year?

Elliot, are you still buying plants from that Nursery in Hicksville for I know we've talked about this before.

Why would anyone blame our hot NE summers when this past summer it was COLD and rainy in both June and July.

Some of my varieties grownout in the backyard in containers had decent production this past summer, some did not b/c of the conditions in June and July. Not all varieties respond to weather conditions in the same way

So my feeling is that production was low b'c of the lousy weather we had most of the summer.

Actually it's one of the first summers I can remember when I never had to turn on the fan here in my bedroom to keep cool and wasn't swatting at mosqitoes either.

Carolyn

feldon30 · November 4, 2015

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elliot

I spake with the nursery where I bought my plants and they felt I used miracle grow potting soil which is too rich in nitrogen.

Use potting mix in containers, not potting soil.

sdambr · November 4, 2015

Hi Elliot, I live close to you in Nassau County and had a very slow start. First, all plants were affected by some local herbicide spray, then the weather was a bit cool in June and July, August incredibly hot and humid as usual so had to battle all sorts of things on the leaves.. I also had very poor production early on, but recovered in September with many later varieties, some proved to be beasts. Pink Titan and Neves Azorean Red in particular. That said, planting a variety helped because some did so well and others bombed.

Gardeneer · November 5, 2015

Some of my plants did not do well either.
We had a COLD April, May. Then suddenly unusually HOT July and August. So I think it was mainly a pollination problem. The pollens just did not stick on certain varieties.

Gardeneer.

November 4, 2015	#1
Elliot Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Hicksville, New York Posts: 503	Many of my plants yielded very few tomatoes this year I spake with the nursery where I bought my plants and they felt I used miracle grow potting soil which is too rich in nitrogen. I spoke with a local farmer who had amazing beefsteaks. He felt that I did not fertilize enough. A third expert felt that it was our hot northeast summers which did not allow for adequate germination of the flowers. Any ideas for next year?

November 4, 2015	#6
sdambr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 421	Hi Elliot, I live close to you in Nassau County and had a very slow start. First, all plants were affected by some local herbicide spray, then the weather was a bit cool in June and July, August incredibly hot and humid as usual so had to battle all sorts of things on the leaves.. I also had very poor production early on, but recovered in September with many later varieties, some proved to be beasts. Pink Titan and Neves Azorean Red in particular. That said, planting a variety helped because some did so well and others bombed. __________________ Sue "There are only two ways to live your life: as though nothing is a miracle, or as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein

November 4, 2015	#2
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	Use whatever potting mix you want just so it is not too packed and the container is large enough and keep the surface mulched heavily so it doesn't dry out too fast. When the plants put on their first blossoms start feeding them a good soaking of Texas Tomato Food every week. If the plants get too dark a shade of green then skip a week but this rarely happens in container plants in my experience. I did this in some five gallon buckets two years ago and the plants produced very good and I have never had such heavy production with container grown plants. I also kept them to just a few stems which seems to increase the fruit set and size of the fruit. Don't let the soil in the containers dry completely out especially if you are wanting blooms to set fruit as this will cause the blossoms to drop really fast in hot weather. I grow almost exclusively in raised beds and have found the weekly feedings of Texas Tomato Food greatly increased my fruit set for every variety that I grow. I do have to skip feedings during times of too much rain but other than that I try to feed my plants weekly with TTF until I get tired of caring for them in the fall. These little steps should help you even though our climates are dramatically different. Containers require more watering down here where the temps are high from April through October so it should be easier to maintain them in more moderate climates during the summer. One thing for sure is inadequate watering while plants are blooming will greatly decrease fruit set especially when it is hot. Bill Bill

November 5, 2015	#7
Gardeneer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: NC - zone 8a - heat zone 7 Posts: 4,915	Some of my plants did not do well either. We had a COLD April, May. Then suddenly unusually HOT July and August. So I think it was mainly a pollination problem. The pollens just did not stick on certain varieties. Gardeneer.