I have never taken dead blossoms off the blossom end of infant fruit, if you will, b/c they fall off naturally.Yes, you can see pictures, as we have here recently, of blossom remnents near the stem end but IMO that's not common, actually I'd say unnatural, and no doubt happens after rains or spraying or whatever.

Carolyn

Does seem to be very unusual IME. Is it a common problem with your tomatoes of just now and then? Are you perhaps watering with sprinklers or other overhead type of watering?

Either way yes they have served the purpose so it doesn't hurt anything to remove them. But I'd still wonder why it was happening.

Dave

Whoops, were you asking about peas or tomatoes?

I don't take blossoms off peas either, I mean who has the time to do that for either peas or baby tomatoes?. Not me. ( smile)

Carolyn

I wonder if it is blossom end rot which is completely diff.

I was asking about Tomatoes mainly, but really blossoms in particular. I live in the snow belt, of NY, which also means we get a lot of rain all summer. We can also get very humid periods. Today for instance, rained overnight and is still a light drizzle, it is supposed to get into the 80's with high humidity. We also usually get winds associated with our rains in the form of thunderstorms, so it's not inconcievable that a wet blossom gets adhered to the side or botom of a fruit. They stick like celophane to a peice of glass.

For the peas, I would say 1 out of 10 peas had damage due to the blossom sticking to the developing pod and causing a black spot (mold?) underneath. Last year the tomatoes had it at about the same rate. I also had one pumpkin and several zuccini with the same problem. It wasn't fruit abortion from lack of pollination because I had that also and know what it looks like. Also that is usually begenning of the season stuff. This happens throughout the season.

I have 48 tomato plants so it's not an insurrmountable task, I inspect my garden daily and would have no real trouble wiping off blossoms when I see them. I am not even looking to get 100% of them, but if it doesn't hurt, and I can get 90% of them and in the process save 9 out of 100 tomatoes, well it's probably worth my time.

I'll definately be doing it for the pumpkins and melons, since the total amount of fruit is considerably less in number, and losses there are felt much more than the peas or tomatoes. And I probably wouldn't bother doing it with the peas either Carolyn. There was WAY too many this year for me to worry about losing some.

Got it.

And if by snowbelt you mean the Buffalo area and a bit to the south of that where the winds and snow come off the lake like forever, my condolences and yes, I know what you're talking about. ( smile)

Carolyn, looking for rain here and right now the radar shows something that may come this way but it seems to be fizzling out. Sigh.

Haha, nope, not the Lake Erie snow belt, ther Lake Ontario Snow belt. From Oswego to Syracuse up to Lowville and all throughout Oneida county.

Did a small college stint in Oswego, that place gets some snow let me tell you.

CH

I know very well where you are now, and for sure mountains of snow in some years.

I spent 4 years in Ithaca up on the hill and it's said that two thirds of the worst weather passes through there and when asked where the other third is, the answer is it's there all the time. LOL

Driving the Thruway home from Syracuse back to the Albany area all those years was often a grueling task in the winter. But as my father oft said, a heavy snow cover is the poor man's best fertilizer.

And so it is.

Carolyn, who doesn't want snow right now but sure could use some rain for it's very dry here right now.