Morning all,
I have some apparently very healthy looking Tumbler Tom bush tomatoes covered in flower, but very few are setting fruit.
Can anyone advise what I can do to increase the yield. I have tried misting the flowers, but this does not appear to work.
The plants are in a greenhouse, grown in peat free grow bags, and receive a Comfrey feed on a weekly basis.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give me.
have patience? ;D None of my toms have set yet.
QuoteComfrey feed on a weekly basis.
The answer might be here!!
You don't normally feed tomato plants until the fruit has set.
What you may be doing is producing 'leaves' at the expense of flowers!
Just a thought ::)
If they are healthy and covered in flowers it is obvious not the feed causing it. It sounds like lack of pollination .Try brushing the flowers with a rabbits tail or a blusher bush ..I doubt you will have em staked if they are tumblers, but if you have, tap the cane/steak to shake the plant to distribute the pollen about ....
Thanks all,
Your replies are appreciated!
Caroline - I have had flowers for 3-4weeks now so would have expected a few more fruits by now. Most of the flowers are fading/dying off without setting fruit.
TeeGee - The feeding only began when I spotted my first tomato, but I may hold off for a couple of weeks to see if that helps. But to my untrained eye the balance of foliage/flowers looks OK.
growmore - Have tried the tapping/shaking as well, just forgot to include in my posting. Looks like I'm gonna need to get that blusher brush
I don't even like the wretched things - just trying to grow them for OH
Quite right Growmore!!
I should have read the article more closely!!
Well we now know that it does not seem to be the feeding, and we know when feeding started and, attempts on pollination seem to have failed.
Steve; How many fruit are 'setting' per truss?
Are you growing them as a bush in as a cordon? (not that that should make a difference)
Are they in light or shade?
I am clutching at straws to try and find an answer.
Can you send us a picture by any chance?
maybe the air is too dry, damp down the greenhouse and mist the flowers and tap the pots to help polination ... thats was the vegetable expert tells me :)
My toms bought as young plants ( 1 Alicante, 1 Santa F1 and !1Golden Sunrise) had their first trusses set over a month ago and those toms are doing rather well, but until yesterday, when a few more Alicante flowers finally set - it's been all flowers and no more fruit. I read somewhere that the fruit will only set when night temperatures reach a certain hieght and it is interesting to note that the Alicante is against a wall so may be warmer at night then the others. My home-grown from seed plants were put out quite late but are looking healthy and have just got the tiny buds of first trusses.
Just found the following online:
Temperature and Humidity
Daytime temperatures above 90°F and night temperatures above 70°F will reduce the number of tomato flowers and fruit set. There is considerable evidence that night temperature is the critical factor in setting tomato fruit, the optimal range being 59-68°F. With night temperatures much below or above this critical range, fruiting of the tomato plant is reduced or absent. Low temperatures reduce the production and viability of pollen. High temperature, especially if accompanied by low humidity and moisture, hinders tomato fruit set through failure in pollination and/or fertilization.
I ought to have added tap/shake/brush in the middle of the afternoon when the plants are at their driest :)
TeeGee - The plants are grown as bushes, and if lucky I am averaging less than 1 fruit per truss, the plants are in a well situated greenhouse so no problems with light.
Interesting article LTP - I do have a couple of plants in hanging baskets outside that have not grown as well as those indoors (as you might expect), but have fruited slightly better, so maybe it has been due to excessively high temperatures (I never thought I would ay that about Perth)
I think I will try to increase ventilation and humidity to see if that makes a difference.
thanks again to all - what a great site this is!
I have some of these tumbling tomatoes, i think mine are called millions, anyway they are in my greenhouse in pots at the moment, I take it it is now warm enough to bring them outside onto my raised beds? Also truses are they the flowers?
yes, the flowers :)
I don't know anything about Tumbler Tom that you are growing, but this year for the first time I tried a variety that is supposed to be very early and cold tolerant called "Polfast" and grew also for comparison: Better Boy, Celebrity, Pruden's Purple and a plum of unknown variety. The Polfast not only flowered earlier outside, it set fruit in miserable weather much to my surprise giving us a few toms much earlier than we've ever had and with decent flavor though they'll never beat a Beefsteak. It made me realize it is worth seeking out different cold hardy varieties. The other plantset fruits but not a ripe one in sight.
try shaking the plants a bit and decreasing the humidity in green house
I think you only option is to treat them with the 'Blusher Brush', I would also damp down more often