I am of no help on the toms but as to the blueberries.....a common mistake some make is picking the berries too soon after they turn blue. The berries are ripe 4-5 days AFTER they look ripe so if you pick them the day or the day after they appear ripe they will be tart. Next batch try just tapping the bunches and sample only the fruit that falls off on it's own. My bet is you will find them sweeter.

I second the previous poster about the blueberries. I found out last year that blueberries taste sweeter the longer you leave them on. I have a sunshine blueberry and I would say they can get at least as sweet as the grocery store blueberries (but better tasting obviously).

As for the tomatoes, who knows? They are prissy little plants. Is it planted in the ground? If so I would suspect nematodes. In a container I would suspect over watering or a root or steam fungus. Usually foliage diseases have some spots or marks or something other than just yellow leaves. This is a guess. I think you would need to post a picture and get a tomato expert to make a certain.

It's pretty much at the end of tomato season here in Broward. The blooms won't set as the temps rise. I have a few tomatoes I hope will ripen but the vines are shot. They'll be in the compost bin by the end of this month.

sheri, if i had to guess, you're overwatering the tomatoes, esp if your medium isn't very loose and chunky. tomatoes cannot bear wet feet, and yellowing/fruit drop is a sign of overwatering (or a perched water table).

it's a tough balance--i find myself overwatering, then underwatering... i've taken to sticking a bamboo skewer deep into the bucket and only watering when it's dry. then, i water heavily, until water comes out of the holes. it depends on how big your plant is, how dry the air is, how hot it is, etc etc...

Thanks guys, for the ideas. The tomatoes are in containers and I find if I don't water them to where the soil is very moist, they wilt. As I say, they were gorgeous all along with very little pest problems until the other day when I noticed several stems and leaves chewed off. Suspected a tomato hornworm and sure enough, there it was munching away. I picked it off (with a piece of stocking) and carried it way down the street. Couldn't bear to squish it! lol

I know the tomato season is drawing to a close till the fall in zone 10b. Maybe I'll try to let up on the watering (although we have been having soaking rains anyway), and see if the plants' condition improves.

Regarding the blueberries, someone else last year said I should wait several days after they initially turn blue before picking. You're right, it does help improve the flavor. I actually have gotten a few that were quite sweet with that real blueberry flavor! Sometimes they look so yummy, it's hard to wait, but worth it for the better flavor.

Thanks again everyone for the helpful suggestions. :)

Tomatoes in Zone 10 are at the end, it's getting just too hot and any in containers, unless larger than 10 gallons, won't handle the soil heat.

The squirrels got all my Sunshine Blues outside the pool cage. The one container plant inside the cage still has lots of berries on it but I've had to leave them on the plants for at least two weeks after turning dark blue before they are sweet....

Tom

Sheri prob didn't overwater, We just had 3 days of drenching rains here.

Yes! to don't 'pick' blueberries - they should fall off into your hand @ a light touch when they're perfectly ripe.

This blog is wonderful. Thank you to all who participate.

My question: how close together can tomatoes be planted to where blueberries will be going in (in different holes) in Dec?

I want to put the tomatoes (3 plants) in the ground as the root system gets to almost 5ft long.

I am short on sunny space as the days are getting shorter. So would like to use this now empty space for tomatoes as they will be gone (I think) before Dec.

Thank you so much for any help you all can give.