So I planted some tomatoes this year. I hope they turn out. But every year in the past they get almost ready to ripen and something starts turning them yellow and eating the tomatoes. Most never get a chance to ripen. Whats goin on here?
andrew cochran...there's several things that could cause what you described to happen. Let's start with your garden soil preparation.
Not knowing the soil analysis of your tomato garden, I would suggest applying fertilizer with 10(nitrogen)-10(Potassium)-10(Potash) or similar ingredients.
In late fall mix all the above ingredients into the soil with a roto-tiller, if possible, or hand spade it all under, along with all of your lawn grass cuttings, leaves and small twings that you can break into small pieces.
In addition, for each 100 sq ft of garden add one 35 lb +/- of pelletized lime. The lime does two things. First it neutralizes the normally acidetic soil back closer to a PH of 7, which is ideal and allows the plant to absorb nutrients necessary for top plant growth. PH runs from -7(Acidetic) to +7(alkaline) Secondly, lime "cooks" the soil, leaves, grass clippings, etc. ...or in other words, allows the soil to better mix all winter long with the above additives you've applied.
Next on the list of tomato growing techniques is selection of plants. I personally have learned that Jet Star plants are better in my garden because they have very little leaf rust(leaves drying out from the bottom upward prematurely). Jet Star is a hybrid plant that was developed specifically for this purpose. Other plants I've successfully used are Big Boy and Beef Eater.
Planting of tomato plants is important, too. Plant them deep. Get them as deep as possible in order to get those roots down deep.
Watering...tomatoes take plenty of water, and at regular intervals. Never let them wilt down much because their stem and leaf vessels lose their ability to transmit water.
Animal damage...squirrels have been my biggest problem growing tomatoes. My solution was to put out a live animal trap using kernals of corn mixed with sunflower seeds. This has been effective in catching those rascals.
Good luck now in growing those tomatoes. Remember, growing tomatoes starts before the spring of the year in which they're planted in soil...it starts with soil preparation in the fall and winter.
P.S. I learned my tomato growing skills from my wife's uncle who lives outside of Van Buren, Arkansas. He grows tomatoes and other vegetables commercially.
13/13/13 should work. That's close enough to the correct ingredients without knowing your soil analysis exactly. BTW, I noticed you're from AR. My wife's uncle is a commerical vegetable farmer near Van Buren and he and I discussed tomato growing several times. What I know about them is mostly from his advice.
Another thing you can do when your plants start produceing maters and the maters start rotting on the bottom is to Water the tomatoes real well and while the ground is wet sow a heavy covering of white sugar.
This will stop blossom end rot.
I wish my step Father was here right now because he and his Father grew tomatoes for market for years in Bradley county in Arkansas.
Andrew my step Fathers tomatoes did what yours are doing now so there dieing off due to a desease.
You might want to go ahead and pull them up. His were already produceing a good many of tomatoes when they were hit with the yellowing.
My squash plants started turning yellow when they started makeing squash so I mowed them down.
Some here are blameing a heavy rain we had here a time before the last heavy rain. LOL
Another thing you can do when your plants start produceing maters and the maters start rotting on the bottom is to Water the tomatoes real well and while the ground is wet sow a heavy covering of white sugar.
This will stop blossom end rot.
I wish my step Father was here right now because he and his Father grew tomatoes for market for years in Bradley county in Arkansas.
Andrew my step Fathers tomatoes did what yours are doing now so there dieing off due to a desease.
You might want to go ahead and pull them up. His were already produceing a good many of tomatoes when they were hit with the yellowing.
My squash plants started turning yellow when they started makeing squash so I mowed them down.
Some here are blameing a heavy rain we had here a time before the last heavy rain. LOL
13/13/13 should work. That's close enough to the correct ingredients without knowing your soil analysis exactly. BTW, I noticed you're from AR. My wife's uncle is a commerical vegetable farmer near Van Buren and he and I discussed tomato growing several times. What I know about them is mostly from his advice.
For the last couple of years, I have been planting and growing tomatoes with mixed results. I usually have a mix of plants ranging from Early Girl, Big Boy, Better Boy, and a few others. Other than the initial ripening being a few days or a week earlier there really isn't much difference.
My problem is why do my tomatoes seem to grow really well, form lots of fruit, and then the fruit only develop to about golf ball or slightly larger size when the variety should produce larger tomatoes in general?????
My brother thinks it is a pollenation issue. I tried hand pollenation this year. The intial fruit were larger than last year, but later fruit were smaller. Maybe I missed pollinating the blossoms on the later ones. Don't know, but I did it every few days once I started seeing blossoms. My first tomatoes were around July 1st this year as in most years.
Any ideas?
My garden is a small urban garden which is elevated above the surrounding yard. Every other year, I buy mushroom compost (essentially till in a layer about 6" thick) and add lime every now and then. Lime is probably not added frequently enough. I don't do any hand fertiliztion or use of insecticides.
I have a similar problem with bell peppers? The plants get fairly large, but they don't bear a lot of peppers. Any ideas?
Don't see many honey bees for the last few years. But there are other bees.
To much nitrogen gives you lots of foliage and small fruits.
Tomatoes love lime.
Put RED plastic sheets down in your tomato bed, punch a hole for the stalk of the plant. It does two things, helps to heat the soil and reflects a color spectrum that the tomato likes.
If your night time temps get to low, below 55 or so the flower well not set fruit. If your going to have cool nights cover your plants with a sheet of clear plastic.
I treat pepper about the same as tomatoes.
Have you ever used the "wall of water" to hold heat around your peppers and maters? I have found they make a big difference.
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