Setting fruit

15 years ago

Hello all,

I was wondering if anyone knew approximately how long it takes tomatoes to set fruit. I live in GA, and the temperatures here have consistently been in the upper 80's and lower 90's, and I don't foresee that changing.

Anyways, my different cherry tomato varieties are loving every second of the heat, and every few days I go out it seems like I have 10-15 new fruits. My larger varieties (Rutgers, Cherokee Purple, and some Early Girls) are really struggling to set fruit right now though. All of them have between 5-10 medium sized tomatoes currently on, and are flowering like crazy, but none of the new flowers is setting fruit.

I plan to help them out by introducing some eggshells to the garden for calcium. But I am still curious as to how long a blossom has to stay on before it will set new fruit. If anyone can offer insight or suggestions, I would really appreciate the help.

Thanks,

Brett

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Comments (2)

Bets
15 years ago
Hi Brett,

Temperatures in the mid to upper 90Ã¯Â¿Â½s during the daytime, or over 70Ã¯Â¿Â½F at night can cause tomato pollen the be denatured (become sterile). How is the humidity in your part of Georgia right now? High humidity can cause pollen to stick together so that the pollen can't fertilize the flower. Either condition can result in "blossom drop".

Shaking your plants can help cause the pollen to dislodge if the issue is humidity. If it is a heat issue, you will probably just have to wait until the temperatures get a bit cooler.

Betsy
digdirt2
15 years ago
Agree with Betsy that you have blossom drop issues and calcium isn't the cause nor even related. So the egg shells aren't of any benefit, they never are.

Cherry varieties are much more tolerant of blossom drop issues than are the larger varieties.

The article Betsy linked is a good one and there is also a FAQ here and many discussions on Blossom Drop or you can Google the term for even more info.

Dave
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