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Tomato plant problem

Hi everyone,

I decided to grow my toms in the greenhouse this year after last years awful summer, they look very healthy with lots of growth but the flowers are dying without the fruit setting behind as it should be.

I have tried tapping the plants and spraying with tepid water but still no fruit.I am growing tumbling tom in baskets and sweet n neat in pots.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Posts

  • GillyLGillyL Posts: 1,077

    Sounds like tomato blossom drop,usually caused by temperature or stress.

  • BrummieBenBrummieBen Posts: 460

    yep, I'd probably go with temperature stress, you have any shading on the GH? I ask because when my thermometer is in the sun in the GH, the temp can go into the mid 40's. Even in the shade, if the gh itself isn't shaded last week the temps were high 30's. Just remember plants don't like huge fluctuations. It makes them have shock, for example not acclimatising your seedlings before planting out, what has happened to you is the opposite. Instead of taking shock from cold, they have taken shock from heat. First thing a plant does when shocked, is conserve all resources to ensure it's survival so it can recover and still set seed. Typically this means sacrificing flowers and fruit first, and also soft shoots and new leaves, which relieves the pressure on it's food and fluid transport system.

    This last week or so we've had has been some quite intense sun. I never burn, yet last week I burnt probably the worst I have for 20 years. (Took my t shirt off for just over an hour to even up my tan) I was still painful 3 days later, and when you consider I visit Malta 4 times a year and have done last 20 years +, it goes to show the intensity of the UV last week here in the UK. That is what has hammered your plants to the point where they have dropped their blossom before the fruit has set. Don't worry it'll set more, just be mindful of the temps in the GH, and also shading. Good luck.

  • ItalophileItalophile Posts: 1,731

    There's also the fact that not all flowers will turn into fruit. If they're not pollinated, they will wither and fall off.

    Temps, as mentioned above, can also be a factor. What sort of temps are they getting?

    Overfertilising and overwatering can also cause flowers to fail. How often are they being fed and watered?

  • grannykgrannyk Posts: 14

    Thanks for the replies, sorry to be late getting back to you.

    As it was so hot last week we did put up shading in the GH but we may have been a few days too late.

    As for watering I have the tumbling toms in self watering baskets and I have not started feeding yet as I am waiting for the 1st fruit to set.

    Hopefully they will recover as BrummieBen says, once again thanks for taking the time to give advice.

  • irishmanirishman Posts: 3

    I assume its the same reason why leaves are curling.  Do they recover and what is the best remedy?

  • ItalophileItalophile Posts: 1,731

    Leaf curling is very common, usually the result of minor plant stress caused by temperature fluctuations or even under- or over-watering. It does no serious damage to the plant.

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