Hi everyone! I have 6 tomato plants, one is thriving and is doing really great, big, bushy, lovely shade of green! Lots of blossoms, but, only 1 tomato...And, I only have two other plants (not doing as well) with 1 tomato each. What are some things that could cause this? It is lack of pollinators? I rarely see any bees, and when I do, they don't look quite right, moving very slowly and are small...maybe weather?
Hiyah Mel...Haven't heard from you for a while. Hope all is well. Any deliveries lately? Ok, now down to business-- I am not exactly clear on what you are asking, but it looks like you asking two questions: why are there so few blossoms and why are there so few fruits?--If I misunderstood, just set me straight. #1 -Too few blossoms: When toms begin to make buds and the first blossom appears, you need to from that point on begin giving the plants water and lots of it on a tight schedule(always the same amount and always at the same time[for instance, every other day...or even EVERY day during extended dry spells]). You also need to begin feeding your toms on a regular basis, like every other watering. There are special liquid or water solvent powders of tomato food that you can buy either on the internet or at garden centers. It is my opinion that this is essential, as I find toms a very thirsty and hungry plant. They do not perform for me either if I do not water and feed them as I outlined above. #2 -Fruit not setting: Insects and wind can help pollinate your toms, but I help out a bit by spraying (a light misting)the blossoms and then shake the blossom stems every morning (before 10 a.m.). It seems that this is the best time to do it. Some pros say that it is critical to do it at this time. Once your tom plants get going and producing as they should, you can stop spraying the blooms. Having said that, I would still give the flower bloom stems a little shake a couple of times a day until the end of the season. Good luck with those maters. Fingers crossed that things improve. Just don't give up.
If you have flowers but few fruit, it is a lack of pollination. Like Sjoerd said, go out there and shake the plants. Maters do not need insects, they self pollinate. There are not many honey bees around. Or other types either. They are dying off in record #'s. Colony Collapse Disorder is becoming a serious problem.
It's a problem here too, FP...in fact our allotment club is going to set up some bee hives on our complex to help get those numbers back up...and to hopefully aid the allotmenteers with their flower, fruit and veg pollination. The gradual disappearance of bees has been noticed by us here the past few years, but now it's become a bit alarming.
Thanks for the information, it's very helpful! I didn't know I needed to shake the plant, and feed so often either. I'm still new at all this and learning something new each time I try growing something! I have been very busy, so that's why I haven't been on here lately. My little one is crawling everywhere like a little spider! So, not much time to sit down and post.
Well you are missed, but not forgotten. Of course you have it busy...just say hello when you get the chance. Good luck with those tomatos, miss!
I transplanted my tomato plants outside early this year when they already started blooming and the weather is still cold. Flowers start falling due to lack of pollinators (absense of bees). Some types of tomatoes can be pollinated well by wind or shaking, but others do not. They release pollens in responding to viberations at a certain frequency only, which is usually the frequency of the bee's buzzing (bumble bees are the best pollinators to tomatos). When I see this problem, I use an electric toothbrush (I use a type of Sonic Oral-B with three viberation modes and the middle mode is close to the frequency of bee's buzzing) to gently touch the flowser stems. During the viberation, I can even see pollens bursting out from the small hole of the flowers. Since then, no flowers fall, and magically, each turns into a fruit. I've already got some turn to red! To encourage blossom, you need to feed them with fertilzers in high potassium and phosphorous. If you are looking for fertilzers specially made for tomatoes, you'll notice that they conatin high ratio of potassium and phosphorous. Also, you'll need to pinch off suckers at bottom and sides to force the plant to provide more fruit on main branches. They will put less energy into growing vines and more into producing flowers and fruits. When you water your plants, run the hose at the base of the plants. Do not water tomatoes overhead. Do not allow water to splash from the soil to leaves. Overhead watering or splashing can creat blight (fungus) on your plants. Water thoroughly and then hold off for several days before rewatering. Lacking for water may stunt the plants and discourage blossom and fruit forming. However, too much water and too much nitrigon will result a lush foliage growth with less blossom and fruits, and produce less tasteful fruits and cause slow ripening. This is the typical mistake that many home gardners make. Cool soil could also be the problem. Try to use black plastic sheet to cover the ground when the whether is still cool. Avoid watering in late afternoon. Instead, water them in early morning, so the soil can warm-up during the day. When the weather becomes hot, cover the ground with straws ot multch to prevent over-heating. When use commercial sparying product to enhance fruit setting, be careful. Use it very sparingly. Too much spraying on the flowers may cause the fruits deformed. You can also try to plant fragrant plants or flowers near tomatos to attract bees to aid pollination.
hello from Florida. I am stil new here as of today but one trick my uncle taught me was the paintbrush method. You get a very small very fine hair paintbrush like at walmart or something and you gently brush all the flowers that are on the plants. He said it helps move all the pollen around. He used to do it about 8 in the morning every morning for a week or so. I do the same thing and my tomatoes are in pretty good shape.
Tomato pollen is not in the exterior like most flowers, rather it resides internally and then released through pores in the anther. Paintbrush are good for peppers and squash, but it cannot to the trick for tomatoes. Motion is required to release the pollen, and the greatest quantity to be released is by sonication in certain frequency. Tomato is originated in the highlands of the west coast of South America where a species of halictid bees were their native pollinators. As tomatoes were moved from their native areas, their traditional pollinators did not move with them. Domestic cultivars of tomato have been selected to maximize the trait of self-fertility, i.e., the capibility being pollinated by alternative ways such as in wind or shaking. Shaking by wind will release pollen. But not all types of tomatoes respond to wind the same. Most commercially chosen types to grow for open air will respond to wind very well. But if you are growing those rare-to-find species, wind may not be enough (that is why they are not selected for commercial production). The most effective pollination is to be vibrated at a specific frequency by the native halictid bees. Honey bees are unable to vibrate the tomato flower in this way, but bumble bees and some other native species can. The size of the fruit is dependent on the number of ovules fertilized. So we want to get pollination as full as possible. This is the reason the bee is best, it delivers the most grains of pollen, exactly where it is needed, on the sticky surface of the stigma. Even for species responding to wind well, according to research, bees can still significantly increase the productivity and you'll get bigger and juicier fruits.
Thanks for your explanation. If you happen to know of any links to this "research", would you please post them? I would be interested in reading up on this. Thanks
I compiled this from different resources, some from the Internet and some from the book I read. Here is a partial list of the sources ( I am sorry I do not remember all the sources): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomato http://www.xerces.org/Pollinator_Insect ... e_Bees.PDF http://pollinator.com/self_pollinating_tomato.htm
Nan, thanks for the research. I have bumble bees, but few blossoms on the plants. I'm going toothbrush shopping. Gardengater
Hi melissa! I have the opposite problem. I have a great deal of tomatoes but they all have holes in them. ughh
Nan, TY for providing the links. All those articles mention "research and studies", but they do not say who/ where did these studies. I think I will scout through the Cornell site when I get time tomorrow nite. See if they have any info on the subject.
