I'm in Richmond, VA (23233, if that helps). I moved here in 2006 and have been trying to grow tomatoes here since about 2009. I've tried tomatoes from seedlings purchased at both big box stores, local nurseries and local farms. I've tried growing tomatoes from seeds purchased online, from seeds given to me by farmers, and seeds given to me by successful friends. i've read everything I can get my hands on for gardening here in VA and I still can't seem to get a decent crop of tomatoes.

Here's what invariably happens:

I put the seedlings out (whether home grown or store bought) sometime in mid-late May/early June (depending on our weather... last year was really cold, really late, so they went in the last few days of May per the advice of a local "gardening guru"). They take nicely. I water/feed/etc. (I've tried both doing these things on a strict schedule, and winging it - and frankly, basically ignoring them) and I get the same result. The bushes flower beautifully. The fruit sets extremely well (lots of mini-tomatoes on the vine!) The fruit grows and grows. I anticipate the first Caprese Salad of the year and wait for the first tomatoes to turn red.

But they DISAPPEAR. I've seen a tomatoe that will be PERFECTION tomorrow one day, and gone out the next and it's GONE. Completely. (I've also had the dreaded critters take bites out of my tomatoes, leaving it on the vine or often, leaving it, half eaten, on the ground, but this is different.) My tomatoes literally disappear overnight.

I've had bushes with thirty green tomatoes on it and go out a few days later to find maybe two or three.

The only tomatoes I don't notice this with are cherry tomatoes (or any small tomato, perhaps because there's just so many of them?)

Like I said, five years of attempts with this same exact issue and I'm INFURIATED LOL!!! It's so frustrating to plant fifteen or twenty plants and get maybe 5 - 8 lbs of tomatoes off of them all for the entire season.

Any ideas??