Sunday, November 15, 2009

Tomato plants-when will they have fruit?

I bought two tomato plants at the grocery store and planted them in my yard. The plants are growing very quickly, but there are no signs of flowers, or the beginning of tomatoes. Should there be something starting at this point? A friend of mine has cherry tomato plants in her yard, and there are some little green tomatoes on her plants already. Is it possible that my plants would seem to be thriving, but not produce fruit?

Tomato plants-when will they have fruit?
Heirloom tomato's in Jersey probably will not bear fruit until Mid to late August possibly even early september. These varieties tend to take quite a bit longer than conventional round red tomatoes to reach maturity. Just be patient. The 1st crop of heirlooms out of Mexico has finally reached maturity and has just started shipping to retail locations in the states. Give it another 1-2 months. Your reward will be great tasting tomato's.
Reply:I think it depends on where you live and what variety of tomato you planted. Down here in the South, once the nightime temperature is over 70 degrees F, most tomatoes won't set their blossoms. You should also be pinching off the sucker shoots from the "V" where branches come off the main stem. This keeps the plant from putting a lot engery into growing branches and not putting out blooms.
Reply:Depends on the type of tomatoes you have. Some bush types ,like the little cherry style grow and produce lots of shoots followed by flowers and fruit. Other styles, usually the larger fruited varieties should be grown as cordons, that is the side shoots pinched out and the plant tied and supported by a stake or cane.. In pinching out though be careful you do not remove flower shoots. You need to know what you are doing. When you get flowers ,if there are not a lot of insects about to pollinate give the flowers a spray with fine clear water, using a hand sprayer.Keep he plants well watered. Do not feed until the first truss has set, or the plant will make growth at the expense of flowering..
Reply:Well, if you fertilized those plants with Miracle-Gro or some other monstrosity like that, they're probably overloaded with nitrogen. So they'll put out leaves.





Feed them bone meal and when you see little buds coming out, trim off each and every leaf and stem that will not have flowers, so the plant focuses on the fruits.





Another thing is, you don't say what type of tomatoes you got. But if your friend has hybrids, they're putting out fruit already. If you got an heirloom variety, you'll be harvesting closer to the end of August, or early in the fall
Reply:put some miracle grow on them.. they even have some for tomatoes/veggies. I did it every other week and mine were so big and juicy last year!!! good luck.
Reply:Do they have little yellow flowers on them yet? The fruit usually appears after the flowers have bloomed.
Reply:Usually, the toms will bear red fruit within 70-75 days after planting. So, somethig should be starting soon for you.





BUT ...





inspect the branches CAREFULLY. Any signs of some of them being nibbled away? Japanese beetles, for example, are top feeders and work their way from the top down and the outside IN. Therefore, because they (and other pests as well) are chomping at the very tips of things, you might not see anything missing. Also look for a big green tomatoe worm -big caterpillar thing. Pluck it off. Everyhting else continues to grow fast and lush while the pests are at work, so just a cursory glance doesn't tell you the whole story.





Now look around the BASE of the plants. See any dried up littel shred of leaf down there? That could indicate either pest damage or a nutrition problem for the plant. If so, you'll need a consult with a garden center or just scan the web.





But if everything looks good, get ready for the white bread and mayo!





If not so good, c'mon over to my house. In about 10 days I'll have countless tomatoes and will need all the hlp I can get!
Reply:It all depends when you planted them. If they have been planted since May they should already have small/ medium green tomatoes on them. You may want to add a little plant food when watering.
Reply:You havent given enough info. What State, How long planted. They will start very quickly when they do start. Do you have them in full sun? They need that also.


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