Do you mean that they don't have ANY tomatoes or not ripe one ?

The all should have green tomatoes but Cherry varieties ripen early.. It normally takes larger tomatoes longer time to ripen.

BTW: when did you plant them out ?

Sey

I put them in the ground in April. The other two have no fruit at all. The plants are healthy and the are all about the same size. I have already harvest many dozens of Cherry tomatoes, but there is not one tomato on the other two plants. I am wondering if the cherry tomato is self pollinating and the others are insect pollinated?

Thanks.

This an old gardenweb acccount that was moved over. I just assumed all my profile information came over in the move. Guess not. I can find no place in my houzz profile to select a zone. I am in Zone 7.

The Solar Flare does have few blooms on it but not many. The beefsteak has quite a few. The cherry is covered with blooms.

jungleexplorer, can we some a few pictures ?

Hi Explorer,

Yeah, the transition had a few hiccups which I'd forgotten by now. Try this link which gets you into your profile's "advanced" settings (LOL, sounds basic to me). If not click on your profile in the upper right and find the advanced settings on the left. But if you are signed into your profile (like is needed for posting) this link should do the trick, the zone is way down near the end so scroll a bit. I put my state and zone ... FL 9a ... since that is doubly helpful, and some people add their HZ when it is a big issue like in California and plenty of other places where heat is extended in the mid-90's or higher in summer.

Link for Advanced profile setting you can use when signed in

If those two plants just started blooming (you haven't said if they've been dropping blossoms) you still might be ok and they just may be a bit behind the cherry, but do the toothbrush anyway if you can as it will be helpful to get fuller fruits in that environment, whether it is absolutely needed or not --- and they are only two plants :-) Best time is early, after the humidity/condensation burns off plus a little bit, usually around 11 here in Florida.

Welcome back to GW!

Cheers

PC

In a GH in zone 7 this time of year the heat is far too high for most plants - even with automated cooling systems up and running - and blossom drop is common - some cherry types being the exception.

Check out the FAQ here on Blossom Drop and note the temperature rages required for fruit set to happen. Outside that ambient temp and humidity range the pollen becomes tacky and non-viable so even with the pollination assistance normally used when GH growing the plant won't set fruit.

http://faq.gardenweb.com/discussions/2766768/why-are-the-blooms-on-my-tomato-plant-dying-and-falling-off

Dave

Thanks for the link Pupilla. I would never thought to look under advanced settings. Year ago I cut the tip off a cheap electric toothbrush and taped a Q-Tip to the end to pollinate an indoor pepper plant. I guess I can do that again for these tomatoes. Might lead to some cross pollination, but I don't care as long as I get some maters. These plants are wal-mart hybrids so seed saving is not a concern. Next year I will be planting heirloom seed and then it will matter.

By the way, I have 150 different varieties of heirloom seeds. Is there a forum on here where I could maybe get some help working through this huge seed list and narrowing it down to seed that are better for my climate? Just trying to get my game plan going for fall and next spring.

Here are some photos of my GH and the plants to give you an idea of what's going on.

My GH. 40'L X 20'W x 12"T. Home built out of mostly re purposed materials.

Watering system. Drip tape buried under a layer of 3.5 inches of wood mulch.

Inside.

Not a very good picture, but these are my tomato plants. The cherry is in front and is loaded with flowers. The solar flare is behind it so you can't see it in this pic, but the beefsteak is over on the left and you can see it behind the branches of the cherry. This pic is over a week old and the plants have grown since then

I went out and look but did not find any blossoms on the ground underneath either of the plants.

Thanks Dave for that info. I agree that it is getting hot and that could be the current cause, but it has actually been unseasonable cool in my area this year and we just got into the 90s in the last 10 days. We have yet to hit 100 this year (usually happens in early May). Every other kind of fruit baring vegetable in the GH is still putting on fruit. My Banana, Bell and Chili peppers and zucchini (and okra, of course) are all still putting on fruit. This is my first time ever to use a GH or do any serious gardening, so I really don't know much and am just learning. Thanks for the advice.

BEAUTIFUL greenhouse, but so MODEST tomatoes support / trellis...

Some pruning is necessary, imho.

<but it has actually been unseasonable cool in my area this year and we just got into the 90s in the last 10 days. We have yet to hit 100 this year (usually happens in early May).>

What are the air temps inside the GH? 70's outside easily turn into 120's degrees inside. In our greenhouses this time of year we have to run the swamp coolers, all the exhaust fans, use the 80% shade cloth coverings and the misting systems to keep it the 80s.

Dave

I made a little experiment in my little greenhouse (6' x 4')
I took out all the plants from the greenhouse - I put them on a 3 level support - and while outside there were 70' F, in 15 minutes I had... 130' F inside the GH.

That's why my GH' roof is detachable.

With the door opened and the roof "on" the temp inside the GH, was around 95-100' F.

[ For some reason the system does NOT allowed me to post 2 picture in a post... STRANGE ! ]

Dave. It is currently 96 degrees where the tomatoes are at 1:00PM, which is the same as the outside temps. It is 85 degrees in the opposite end of the is closer to the evaporation wall.

Daniel. I am just starting out. I only completed the GH less then 3 weeks ago. I am still working on it. The tomatoes are plants that I had growing before I got it covered. It is not easy rounding up enough people to stretch out a 40 foot wide 70 foot long piece of plastic and getting them all together on a windless day in my area is almost impossible. If you have pictures of better ways to support tomatoes, I would love to see them.

Like I said in my previous post, your GH is very nice.

It just needs a little better organizing - hudson will give you suggestions soon.

Regarding your GH' roof, I'm sure it was not easy job.

In my case - see picture # 2 bellow - it was not easy at all for ONE PERSON... ME, to lift that 16 ft. wide x 12 ft. high, frame. But, as you can see I did it.

I like frames, as you can see bellow, but for those that prefer to use cages, I recommend the sturdy one in picture # 3.

I suggest you to check hudson's thread Show your Greenhouse !!

Thanks Daniel. Although you cant really see them (they are painted green) I do have some square cages around the plants, similar to those in the bottom picture you posted. At this point though, I am really trying to figure out why only one is producing. I have never had good luck growing tomatoes, no matter how hard I try. It really bugs when I go to someones house and they have a tomato plant covered with a 100lbs of tomatoes and I ask them how they did that and they respond by saying, "Oh, I just threw a rotten tomato up against the back fence and grew up." I just want to choke people that can grow things without even trying. I try so hard and never get great results.

Just
wondering if you fungicide ?

Well, try
harder, and plant MORE than 3 tomatoes.

Some here
plant 30 tomatoes, some 300, some even more.

I don’t
believe those who say: "Oh, I just threw a rotten tomato up against the
back fence and grew up." Imho, it was an ACCIDENT, that they had “100 lbs
of tomatoes.” Usually, those tomatoes got diseases, and produce little or ZERO. I want to see pictures to convince me of the contrary.

With a little
care and A LOT of reading I was able to have the jungle you can see bellow.

One last
thing: be a little more optimistic !

Things
take time.

Hey! I built a 40 foot greenhouse, how much more optimistic to you want me to be? LOL! I eat everyday off my new GH now. I just finished a nice meal of scrambled eggs (from my birds) made with, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil (you have to see this basil plant, it's 3 feet tall!), fresh green onions and fresh banana peppers and fresh okra. It was so Yummy! Yesterday I had a mess of greens with Kale and Collards. Man was that good! I just want more tomatoes.

As far as planting more tomatoes, honestly, I don't want too many, just enough for daily consumption. Once I find a good plant that does good in my GH I will just plant that. I have 20 varieties of heirloom tomatoes seeds. Surly one of them will be good for my climate.

> how much more optimistic to [sic] you want me to be?

Well, that “I try so hard and never get great results” made
me think that you’re a little sad / upset, so I tried to encourage you.

> As far as planting more tomatoes, honestly, I don't want too
many, just enough for daily consumption.

I highly doubt that ONLY 3 tomatoes will be enough for you
(and your family.) Of ANY variety. In any moment 1 or 2 or all 3 can get disease, and… If you
have 100… Beside you might have neibors, relatives… who will be happy to share
your tomatoes. And it's fun to try different varieties: cherry, large, colored...

What's your location, btw ?

I live in Zone 7, north of Abilene Texas. I agree that three is not enough. I was just trying out the three varieties that Walmart had to see what they would. The truth is that I started all my plants in February in anticipation of getting my Gh covered in March, but then my daughter had difficulty in childbirth and my wife and I had to go and care for our new grandson for two month while our daughter recovered. I left my older son at home to care of the new plants but he works as a paramedic and pulls shifts from 24 to 72 hours and comes home dead on his feet. Needless to say, the starter plants were not cared for and died. By the time I got home it was April and I just bought what ever Walmart had growing and stuck it in the ground just to have something growing until I could get the cover on the Gh. So, long story short, I am not where I wanted be at this time and am just trying to make do until better weather. The only planting space I have is the GH, and I want more then just tomatoes, so I have to proportion my space. I have never been able to grow vegetables in the open here because of the harsh and extreme weather and extremely limited water resources.

This is a learning year for me. I appreciate all advice and assure you that it is all going into my head as I devolpe my planting plan. My hope its to put this GH unto full-time production at some point (for personal and family food). I know I have a lot of learning to do before then.

Back to your problem:

I think Dave nailed it. Some varieties won't set fruits at temps in 90s (and higher) and probably not even in high 80s either.

There could be other causes. In my case, out of close to 30 varieties I have about 5 that have no fruits, or very few tiny ones. While some of them producing ripe tomatoes. And I have planted out all of them around mid to late April. Mine are in the garden, not in GH. We have had a very hot June/July. I think it must have been partially to blame. Another cause (possibly) can be wide temperature swing between the day and night. Ours has been about 35 degrees a lot of times. That is just too much of a shock. ( 92F -57F, example) .

Sey

.

Thanks. Your probably right. Oh well, nothing I can do then until fall. Where do you live and What varieties are doing best for you?

Just wanted to report back here and state that my Solar Flare tomato plant that did not produce in the spring or summer, is now loaded with tomatoes. My beefsteak has produced about 10 tomatoes so far and has a couple new ones on it. My cherry tomato produced a limited (2 or 3 a day) but continuous amount of tomatoes until I pruned it back in late September because it was all over the place. It has since grown back about 5 feet and has blooms on it. I planted 6 other varieties of tomatoes for a fall garden, but got them in the ground late. So far the Arkansas Traveler and the Sun Gold are the only ones to put on fruit. There is not a whole lot of time left before the first freeze, so I will see what happens.

There you go .

So it was weather /environmental problem then, as I did mention.

Sey

Yes. I guess the solar flare is not so much as a heat tolerant plant as the name implies. But hey, I am getting tomatoes, and that is what matters. I am really looking forward to see what my Arkansas Traveler does. From all my research this year, this variety should be the best for my area. Next spring and summer will be the real test though.

The Solar Flare is really putting on fruit. And now the Beefsteak is too. Crazy plants! I hope the freeze holds out. How long does it usually take for tomatoes to mature?

Solar Flare

Beefsteak