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Blossom drop

18 years ago

Ok. Ive got 3 Better Boys loaded with flowers but no fruit. They are certainly experiencing blossom drop as theyve had the flowers for a few weeks now and no fruit. Meanwhile adjacent to them are grape and cherry tom plants that are producing fruit. I dont get it why the BBs are not fruiting while the ones right beside are? My question though is this, if Im experiencing the "drop" is it fatal or will the plants ultimately recover? I understand the affliction is weather related and this week we had a break where the overnight lows got down into the mid 60's and the highs were in the high 80's and low 90's. Should that be enough to recover? Anything I can do to help?

Comments (13)

  • 18 years ago

    My plants started out that way i started going out every morning before it got hot and giveing them just a little shake about a week i started setting fruits i am also raising better boys and some heirlooms

  • 18 years ago

    In my experience the smaller fruited varieties like the cherry and grapes are much more tolerant of BD conditions than are the large fruit varieties. But no, it isn't fatal. They will set fruit assuming it is the weather that is causing it rather than excess nitrogen etc.

    Many swear that the early morning cage rattling helps with fruit set so you might give it a try. I know when I am in the garden and the air temps are in the "good pollen" range I give a good finger flick to any bloom clusters I pass. Whether it helps or not, I can't say. It seems to and it also makes me feel better. ;)

    Dave

  • 18 years ago

    Following Dave's lead I do the same flicking to the blossoms and have lots of fruit forming on Neves Azorean Red. I secondly agree with Dave in that too much nitrogen can cause failure to fruit. I add none to the tomatoes at all and they do just fine.

  • 18 years ago

    I have Better Boy R1 and R2 plus some Delicous Tomatoes.

    So far I have picked 33 pounds of tomatoes, but now I have some blossom drop. The weather here in Atlanta, Georgia has been 91, and 92 degrees with drouth for a month or two.

    The tomatoes in partial shade are doing better.

    Karyl
    =====

  • 18 years ago

    Blossom drop can be prevented by calcium water spray. Soak cleaned egg shells in water over night, strain water into a spray bottle and spray the blossoms with it.

  • 18 years ago

    Blossom drop can be prevented by calcium water spray. Soak cleaned egg shells in water over night, strain water into a spray bottle and spray the blossoms with it.

    Sorry daylilydayzed but if it were really that simple then tomato growers wouldn't still be losing millions of $$ in crops annually. ;)

    There are hundreds, if not thousands, of these "guaranteed cures" floating around and they hang on despite the fact that no scientific research data supports any of them and disproves many of them. This one is usually offered as a cure for BER (blossom end rot), not blossom drop.

    Still, if it makes you feel better to do it, then by all means do so.

    Dave

  • 18 years ago

    Alright, well this morning was mild so I went out early and gave them a gentle shake. Maybe we'll see some fruit this week?

  • 18 years ago

    You can shake plants and vibrate the blossoms all you want to but if blossom drop is the result of pollen that's be destroyed by high temps and/or clumped by high humidity no amount of shaking or vibrating can make ineffective pollen self pollenize the plants b/c it's inactive.

    The normal blossom cycle is about three weeks and since appearance of blossoms is asynchronous, as soon as temps are back where they should be for normal self pollenization, then fruit set can occur.

    Carolyn

  • 18 years ago

    several of my plants(different kinds) and roses have leaf curl.I think maybe spider mites,but not sure how to rid problem,I need help,don't know for sure what's going on.

  • 18 years ago

    On large fruited varieties, many flowers will abort after about 27 fruit are set. Once harvest starts, fruit will continue to set as plants are relieved of oldest ripe fruit.

    Weather also plays a role as mentioned above.

    Tim

  • 18 years ago

    "You can shake plants and vibrate the blossoms all you want to but if blossom drop is the result of pollen that's be destroyed by high temps and/or clumped by high humidity no amount of shaking or vibrating can make ineffective pollen self pollenize the plants b/c it's inactive."

    *Checks the weather*
    94 and rainy
    93 and rainy
    94 and rainy
    94 and rainy
    94 and rainy
    *bangs head on wall*
    I guess now is a bad time for all my Big White Pink Stripes to start flowering. Arg. Time to form a plan.

  • 18 years ago

    First time veggie gardener here in zone 10 (so cal). I had blossom drop for 2 weeks due to temps in the high 90's and 100's.
    I do the 'rattle' each morning when I go out and check them, and now I have tomato's forming.
    I really think it was the heat though. 109 degree's is NOT good for anything, let alone tomato plants!

  • 18 years ago

    hmm...guess I'll shake my momotaro now, since I ahve bd, too...

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