Flowers but no tomatoes!!??

[Curvy Vixen]

Hi all,

Am just back from a 2 week holiday and before I went I went through my 6 large tomato plants and took a lot of leaves and sideshoots off. They had been flowering prolifically for about a month so I expected that when I got back that I might see a tiny tomato or two...

But...nothing! Not one There are still lots of flowers and the plants look healthy but not even a teenchy one where the flowers have died and fallen off.

Am I doing something wrong?

[Two_Sheds]

Am I doing something wrong?

you must be

[Two_Sheds]

you've got flowers, but they're falling off?
too cold?

[SlugLobber]

Mine have been in flower for a LONG time and the tomatoes that have formed are some way off being ripe (two are orange at last check - ooh the excitement!). They've been outdoors most of the summer, so I think the weather is to blame. I have lots of flowers still on the plants, even with lots of tomatoes, so I'm hoping for a glorious September and a winter full of smugness (!!!!!!!!!).

[Flummery]

It can help to tap the plants. Most tomatoes are self fertile and the pollen needs to drop down the 'cone' in the centre to the pointy end. (Dead technical eh?) I usually give the stem a tap whenever I pass the plant. It helps.

The other problem can be either too hot or too cold. If they are outdoors and there's a particularly bad spell of cold weather the fruits won't set. Conversely, if they're in a greenhouse and the temperature soars to over 30 (and it has in mine a few time this year) they won't set either. You can damp down the floors in this case but they are still iffy about setting if it's too hot.

[Curvy Vixen]

I think I must be two_sheds!!!

I have no greenhouse so that's not an option...we've had lots of rain but it's been quite warm in Ireland so not sure that it's that. The flowers aren't falling off, they are dying back normally and then dropping off if you know what I mean...and then there should be a teenchy tomato where the flower was, but nada!

I've grown tomatoes easy peasy for the last 2 years.

I hate tomatoes

I'm tapping away at my sweetcorn so will do the same with the stupid tomatoes! My neighbours will think I'm insane

[Flummery]

My neighbours will think I'm insane

They don't already? Mine do!

[bluemoon]

I've had this problem too this summer and it's never happened before, even last year when the weather was far worse.

[Stacey Steve]

I had the same problem untill a grape advised me to go round tapping their canes, so I have been religously going round with a spare cane tapping away at the toms and peppers, like a railway wheel tapper.

Another allotment holder advised using a fine mist of water from a sprayer.

Now I don't know which method it is but I've now got oudles of green toms.

Likewise, I'm hoping for a late summer to allow for ripening.

[Lurch]

Hi, i use a small brush ( like one you would use for make up, for a small artist brush). What i do is to use the tip of the brush in the flower heads to pollinate.
It also works well with my chillies to which are coming on great.

[Flummery]

But you can get at the sexy bits of a chillie. Except with the big beefy heritage types, you can't get at them in a tomato!

[Lurch]

lol, i just use it to agitate, a tap on the cane would do the same. The plant willdo the rest.
It works a treat as my toms and chillis are in abundance.

[Curvy Vixen]

Right, I braved the hurricane last night and went out tomato shaking!!! I'll do it for a while and see what happens...it's such a shame cos the plants are huge and healthy looking and all.....just was planning on eating them rather than using them for flower arranging

Good news is that I have courgettes and corn!!!!!! So my corn shaking worked ~ thanks for that tip!

Oh and I have peas too and I suspect potatoes...if it's not raining tonight I'm going a-harvesting!