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IT IS HUMID, MUGGY, UNCOMFORTABLE all ready at 8:00 AM. Humidity is at 90%, but the temperature is only 79 degrees. With all of this it feels like 86 degrees. Hard to breath, and just uncomfortable. Hard to work a long time outside in the gardens, stay safe, drink water, and cool down when you can.
Just filling in on what I have been doing the last 2 days. I feel like an IT technician working on computer stuff, credit card stuff. The company that had my domain name for the website Beckysgreenhouse.com is not offering the service after Sept 1st. So, looking for a new host for that. You don’t know how small you are till you talk to companies that do over 500,000 dollars for websites and hosting. I don’t think that would fit this small greenhouse business. I have found one that will host my beckysgreenhouse.com. Now just getting it transfer over today. So many technologic names that are used it is confusing, and I know the ones I talk to think DON”T YOU KNOW….but I just ask lots of questions. I will let you know when this happens and should not affect the website at all for you looking at it or my blog page I post.
We have had 2 inches of rain since Thursday the 5th. Looks like we are on the edge of another storm watch today for more rain, wind, hail and bad weather. Close to us, like 25 miles they received 9” of rain Sunday night now that is too much at once. Hopefully they will miss this rain, and can dry up some.
I don’t know if this is a problem with your tomatoes. BUT if you have lots of blossoms and no fruit here is the information on that.
WHY ISN'T MY TOMATO PLANT PRODUCING FRUIT?
LOTS OF FLOWERS, BUT NOT ENOUGH FRUIT ON TOMATO PLANTS
Are you seeing lots of flowers on your tomatoes but not enough red fruit? From lack of pollination to extreme heat, there are some reasons why this happens, but also most are addressable. See our article (with video demo) to find out how to get more tomatoes—and reap the fruit of your labors!
LACK OF POLLINATION
While other fruiting vegetables like squash produce separate male and female flowers, tomatoes have flowers with both male and female parts. This means they’re self-fertile and can pollinate themselves. But while that’s technically the case, you’ll get much better fruit set if pollinating insects – and especially bumblebees – enter the mix.
Bumblebees ‘buzz pollinate’: Their wings flap up and down at a frequency that creates their famous low, audible buzz–and it’s this buzz that produces a vibration, so that when they visit a flower the pollen is shaken free from the male part to drift down onto the waiting female stigma. We want more bumblebees, so make sure they can get at the flowers!
*If you’re growing under cover, open up greenhouse or tunnel vents, windows and doors. And encourage more pollinators into the area by planting nectar-rich flowers among your tomatoes!)
You can also improve fruit set by hand pollinating. Now you could go from flower to flower with a small artist’s paint brush like this – and that would work, but a far more practical solution to dislodge the pollen to fertilize the female parts of the flower is to simply twang or tap on plant supports. By vibrating the flowers, you are mimicking the actions of a bumblebee to greatly enhanced pollination success!
EXTREME HEAT
Many gardeners struggle with extreme summer heat–and so can our tomatoes. When it gets too hot pollen becomes sterile, especially if nighttime temperatures fail to drop below about 77 Fahrenheit.
All you can really do is hold out for temperatures to fall away again. If your plants are under cover help them keep their cool by leaving windows, doors and vents wide open and perhaps adding blinds, cloth or greenhouse shading paint to filter out some of the sunshine.
HIGH/LOW HUMIDITY
If getting just the right temperature wasn’t enough to contend with, sometimes it can be a bit too humid… or dry for our tomatoes! Those close, uncomfortable conditions that come with high humidity can make pollen sticky, so that it clumps together and fails to drop onto the female stigma. Very dry conditions have the opposite effect–the flowers just aren’t moist enough for the pollen to properly stick, so it simply rolls off.
There isn’t much you can do about high levels of humidity other than ensure adequate ventilation and plenty of space between plants to help along airflow.
Pruning off some of the lower leaves can help air to circulate better too.
If bone dry air is your issue, however, be sure to keep plants properly watered and the humidity around your plants should remain more stable as excess moisture evaporates. Ensuring enough water will also give plants the resources required to fully swell their fruits, while reducing the risk of them simply dropping off.
If you’re growing under cover, splashing water onto paving– known as ‘damping down’–will also help increase humidity.
NOT ENOUGH LIGHT
If your tomato plants have lots of lush foliage but few flowers then consider light levels. Tomatoes love a sunny spot and will only do their thing if they receive a minimum of six hours direct sunshine a day. Dull weather presents a temporary challenge, but if you’ve planted them in a less-than-sunny position you may be best moving your plants to somewhere sunnier, because more sunlight means more energy to grow those fruits.
INCORRECT NUTRITION
Finally, check what you’re feeding your tomatoes. Once the first flowers appear you need to be applying some sort of organic fertilizer that has a good level of both potassium and trace elements like magnesium. This will help to encourage exactly what we’re after: more flowers and better fruit set.
Use a product such as a liquid tomato feed or seaweed concentrate. This will help to promote healthier plants, reduce the risk of blossom end rot, and will up the final nutritional value of the fruits themselves. Most feeds are applied about once every two weeks by measuring out and diluting the concentrate according to the packet instructions, then watering it on at the base of the plants.
And don’t forget to aim for exemplary soil health anyhow, by incorporating plenty of well-rotted organic matter into your soil at least once a year. This will build up a thriving community of soil life, which in turn will help to support all your plants, including those lovely tomatoes!
https://www.almanac.com/video/why-isnt-my-tomato-plant-producing-fruit
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net 641-794-3337 cell 641-903-9365
Just filling in on what I have been doing the last 2 days. I feel like an IT technician working on computer stuff, credit card stuff. The company that had my domain name for the website Beckysgreenhouse.com is not offering the service after Sept 1st. So, looking for a new host for that. You don’t know how small you are till you talk to companies that do over 500,000 dollars for websites and hosting. I don’t think that would fit this small greenhouse business. I have found one that will host my beckysgreenhouse.com. Now just getting it transfer over today. So many technologic names that are used it is confusing, and I know the ones I talk to think DON”T YOU KNOW….but I just ask lots of questions. I will let you know when this happens and should not affect the website at all for you looking at it or my blog page I post.
We have had 2 inches of rain since Thursday the 5th. Looks like we are on the edge of another storm watch today for more rain, wind, hail and bad weather. Close to us, like 25 miles they received 9” of rain Sunday night now that is too much at once. Hopefully they will miss this rain, and can dry up some.
I don’t know if this is a problem with your tomatoes. BUT if you have lots of blossoms and no fruit here is the information on that.
WHY ISN'T MY TOMATO PLANT PRODUCING FRUIT?
LOTS OF FLOWERS, BUT NOT ENOUGH FRUIT ON TOMATO PLANTS
Are you seeing lots of flowers on your tomatoes but not enough red fruit? From lack of pollination to extreme heat, there are some reasons why this happens, but also most are addressable. See our article (with video demo) to find out how to get more tomatoes—and reap the fruit of your labors!
LACK OF POLLINATION
While other fruiting vegetables like squash produce separate male and female flowers, tomatoes have flowers with both male and female parts. This means they’re self-fertile and can pollinate themselves. But while that’s technically the case, you’ll get much better fruit set if pollinating insects – and especially bumblebees – enter the mix.
Bumblebees ‘buzz pollinate’: Their wings flap up and down at a frequency that creates their famous low, audible buzz–and it’s this buzz that produces a vibration, so that when they visit a flower the pollen is shaken free from the male part to drift down onto the waiting female stigma. We want more bumblebees, so make sure they can get at the flowers!
*If you’re growing under cover, open up greenhouse or tunnel vents, windows and doors. And encourage more pollinators into the area by planting nectar-rich flowers among your tomatoes!)
You can also improve fruit set by hand pollinating. Now you could go from flower to flower with a small artist’s paint brush like this – and that would work, but a far more practical solution to dislodge the pollen to fertilize the female parts of the flower is to simply twang or tap on plant supports. By vibrating the flowers, you are mimicking the actions of a bumblebee to greatly enhanced pollination success!
EXTREME HEAT
Many gardeners struggle with extreme summer heat–and so can our tomatoes. When it gets too hot pollen becomes sterile, especially if nighttime temperatures fail to drop below about 77 Fahrenheit.
All you can really do is hold out for temperatures to fall away again. If your plants are under cover help them keep their cool by leaving windows, doors and vents wide open and perhaps adding blinds, cloth or greenhouse shading paint to filter out some of the sunshine.
HIGH/LOW HUMIDITY
If getting just the right temperature wasn’t enough to contend with, sometimes it can be a bit too humid… or dry for our tomatoes! Those close, uncomfortable conditions that come with high humidity can make pollen sticky, so that it clumps together and fails to drop onto the female stigma. Very dry conditions have the opposite effect–the flowers just aren’t moist enough for the pollen to properly stick, so it simply rolls off.
There isn’t much you can do about high levels of humidity other than ensure adequate ventilation and plenty of space between plants to help along airflow.
Pruning off some of the lower leaves can help air to circulate better too.
If bone dry air is your issue, however, be sure to keep plants properly watered and the humidity around your plants should remain more stable as excess moisture evaporates. Ensuring enough water will also give plants the resources required to fully swell their fruits, while reducing the risk of them simply dropping off.
If you’re growing under cover, splashing water onto paving– known as ‘damping down’–will also help increase humidity.
NOT ENOUGH LIGHT
If your tomato plants have lots of lush foliage but few flowers then consider light levels. Tomatoes love a sunny spot and will only do their thing if they receive a minimum of six hours direct sunshine a day. Dull weather presents a temporary challenge, but if you’ve planted them in a less-than-sunny position you may be best moving your plants to somewhere sunnier, because more sunlight means more energy to grow those fruits.
INCORRECT NUTRITION
Finally, check what you’re feeding your tomatoes. Once the first flowers appear you need to be applying some sort of organic fertilizer that has a good level of both potassium and trace elements like magnesium. This will help to encourage exactly what we’re after: more flowers and better fruit set.
Use a product such as a liquid tomato feed or seaweed concentrate. This will help to promote healthier plants, reduce the risk of blossom end rot, and will up the final nutritional value of the fruits themselves. Most feeds are applied about once every two weeks by measuring out and diluting the concentrate according to the packet instructions, then watering it on at the base of the plants.
And don’t forget to aim for exemplary soil health anyhow, by incorporating plenty of well-rotted organic matter into your soil at least once a year. This will build up a thriving community of soil life, which in turn will help to support all your plants, including those lovely tomatoes!
https://www.almanac.com/video/why-isnt-my-tomato-plant-producing-fruit
till next time this is Becky Litterer, Becky’s Greenhouse, Dougherty Iowa beckmall@netins.net 641-794-3337 cell 641-903-9365
