Howdy all,

this is my first time growing tomatoes (or anything, for that matter). I've got them in containers on the roof of my shed; I started them from seed ( a little late in the season) and have two heirloom varieties: green zebra and black krim. Plants are very healthy-looking, about 2' tall and blooming. Problem is, the blossoms are drying out and falling off, and I'm not getting any fruits. From a quick search online, I suspect that the flowers are not getting pollinated, hence the flowers are falling off. Should I help them along with Q-tips? Can anyone confirm this, or give me other input?

thanks all,

maiaia

ps - I'm harvesting my first cucumbers today. Loads of fun!!

Hi Weezie,

thanks for getting back to me.

The dirt I'm using is Miracle Gro Enriched Potting Soil - it has Miracle Gro plant food in it (little beady looking green things). In addition to that, I've given it Miracle Gro Tomato Plant Food (18-18-21) twice since I've put the plants in their final containers.

My watering habits vary depending on the weather. If it's foggy half the day and temps stay below 70, I water about every other day. If it's sunny, dry, and hot (high 80s or low 90s) like it was today, I water them 2x/day. I was watering everything with a bucket until today, when I started using the hose.

What do you think? I read elsewhere in this forum that someone else had a similar problem; her great grandma told her to take a broom and whack the bushes. She did, and it worked. So today I gave the containers a good shake. =) I inspected the flowers and couldn't really see any pollen, though.

thanks again,

maiaia

Weezie,

thanks again for your reply. I poked around the internet some more and found this, from:

http://faq.*********.com/faq/lists/cornucop/2000073525003506.html

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"Blossom-Drop" is a condition suffered by tomatoes, peppers, snap beans, and some other fruiting vegetables where the plant blooms but fails to set fruit, the blooms die and fall off. It may be caused by the use of excess nitrogen fertilizers or dry windy conditions, but the most common cause is temperature extremes. Tomatoes, peppers and beans are especially picky about the air temps when it comes time to set fruit. If the night temps fall below 55 or rise above 75 or if the day temps are above 90, the pollen becomes tacky and non-viable. Pollination cannot occur. If the bloom isn't pollinated, the bloom dies and falls off.

Control: Water the plants deeply once a week, mulch heavily to maintain constant soil moisture levels, establish windbreaks as needed, avoid using excessive amounts of nitrogen fertilizers, and wait for temperatures to moderate and stabilize. Earlier timed planting can help attain fruit set prior to the on-set of high temps, and the use of protection can compensate for cool nights. Some recommend attempting hand-pollination with an artist brush or a gentle shaking of the plant/cage/support prior to the hottest part of the day will also help. Fruit set will resume when temperatures moderate. Hormone sprays, such as "Blossom Set", may prevent some blossom drop due to LOW temperatures. However, the resulting fruit are often misshapen. But studies prove that hormone sprays do not prevent blossom drop due to HIGH temperatures.

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So I will hold off on the fertilizer, like you said, and watch it. Temperatures around here should drop off over the next week, so maybe that'll do the trick.... We'll see. I'll keep you posted.

maiaia