Tomato blooms die

[zeuspaul]

Blossom Set. I don't know what the ingredients are.
https://www.amazon.com/Bonide-BND544.../dp/B002CA92NC

[slugworth]

Different flavor that the original I mentioned.
Probably safer.

[MrBig46]

Originally Posted by b54red

You are having the same problem that I had for years before I figured out how to optimize my fruit set to the point that it is often too heavy.

First you need to mulch the plants heavily to keep the moisture levels stable and slow down loss of ground moisture. I have found that a heavy layer of cypress mulch is optimum for my garden as it keeps the ground cooler as well as holding moisture better than any natural mulch I have tried and I have tried a lot of them over the years.

Second you need to limit the number of stems so that the plant doesn't get overloaded with blooms. I now grow most of my tomatoes as single stems in a lean and lower system. However some years I will plant a bed of tomatoes on a trellis and will try but often fail to keep them to two or three stems. I did that this year and had several plants with 20 or more set fruit by the time they were around three to four feet high.
I think that limiting the number of growth tips allows the plant to put more energy into setting fruit and making larger fruit.

Another thing that has helped with fruit set and also with tomato fruit flavor has been using Texas Tomato Food to fertilize my plants every 7 to 10 days if possible. I have tried numerous types of fertilizer but none have helped fruit set like TTF.

Prepare your ground well and add compost and fertilizer per soil test recommendations.

Use a good fungicide like Daconil and a copper spray every week or two to keep the leaves healthy and as disease free as possible down here. Prune off all lower leaves so there is at least a foot of air space above the mulch to the first leaves and prune off any diseased leaves or leaves chewed badly by insects. Also act quickly to remove pests or spray for them when they become a problem because they can really make a plant suffer in the heat down here.

Most important of all is never let the plant get to dry when you are trying to get it to set fruit. Blooms will drop like flies if the plant gets slightly too dry and nearly all of them will drop if it gets really dry in hot weather.

Bill

Texas Tomato Food is unavailable to me. Can it be replaced in any way? What is the composition of NPK?
Vladimír

[zipcode]

4-2.9-6.7 + 2.6 Ca + 0.7 Mg + kelp + worm castings + stuff

You could get something reasonably close by mixing Kristalon Orange + Calcinit + kelp + the rest.

[MrBig46]

Thank you. I have orange Kristalon, I also have calcium saltpeter. I don't have the others and so I will implement fertilization as follows: one week orange Kristalon, the next week calcium saltpeter and so on. Maybe I'll add some soluble potassium sulfate.
Vladimír

[Milan HP]

Hello Steve,
yes, and the same applies to temps under 50/51°F. Pollination doesn't take place. However, there is, imho, another factor at play: the plants have a way of knowing what they can develop and what not (trees do that regularly). In optimal conditions my plants develop the whole truss, but optimal conditions are quite rare, so I often get trusses with some fruits missing. I don't think it's a matter of pollination. Of course, I'm speaking about my garden as I have no glasshouse.

Milan HP