# Tomatoes flower and that's it



## coates776 (Sep 4, 2015)

We have a bigggg seed collection now and have tried our first go at veggies. My tomatoes are growing well and I brought the heirloom ones as they looked good but no fruit yet they flower and that's it, I read on the internet that heirloom tomatoes fruit much later??

At this rate we'd are not passing the grow your own food bit but did have a whopper zucchini


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Could it be too much fertilizer or does that only pertain to fruit trees?


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

Did you have any bee's to help with pollination?


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

I find it hard to beleive that temperature is the problem but down here in AZ, when 
temps get above 90F, the pollen is incapacitated and fruiting stops.


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

You might find this useful:

http://www.prepperforums.net/forum/...-storing-harvesting-seed-saving-tomatoes.html


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

If its anything like growing weeds..when it starts trying to put on fruit it needs different nutes.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

You do need pollination. You can do this yourself on a small scale with a Q-tip.

The other thing is magnesium and phosphorous. Try adding some bone meal and dolomitic limestone (watch your pH).


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

My meager attempts last year had similar issues. Lots of buds, but they would break off. 
Good luck. 
Are you using a green house, and what is your climate???
It is frozen and snowy here.


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## Mule13 (Dec 30, 2012)

i think mad trapper nailed it probably a calcium deficiency. i buy bags of lime from the garden dept of any store and sprinkle a small amount around the plants. another good thing for tomatoes and peppers i epsoms salt. i dont remember the amounts so you'll have to search youtube. but i did that to may tomatoes and egg plants actually. tomatoes perked up the egg plants went crazy lol.
for your problem first id try the calcium though.


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## Mad Trapper (Feb 12, 2014)

Mule13 said:


> i think mad trapper nailed it probably a calcium deficiency. i buy bags of lime from the garden dept of any store and sprinkle a small amount around the plants. another good thing for tomatoes and peppers i epsoms salt. i dont remember the amounts so you'll have to search youtube. but i did that to may tomatoes and egg plants actually. tomatoes perked up the egg plants went crazy lol.
> for your problem first id try the calcium though.


Dolmitic limestone provides both calcium and magnesium carbonates. Epsom salt is magnesium sulfate. The formers change the pH too so check that.

Another source of cheap fertilizer is wood ash from the stove. Mostly potassium hydxoxide (KOH) but also Mg and Ca. That is VERY basic so watch pH with that too.

I have ben using my parents garden established > 70 years ago. The farm was blessed with aluvial topsoil 5 feet deep. Each year we add wood ash, a little dolmitic lime, yards of cow/horse manure, composted leaves. Extension service was amazed at the last result of the soil survey, nothing needed or lacking, pH 6.7 off the scale on N P and K. They wondered if I spiked the samples with fresh fertilizer.


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## sideKahr (Oct 15, 2014)

Tomatoes wind pollenate (a very minor amount by bees). If greenhouse grown, shake the plants or hand pollenate.


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## coates776 (Sep 4, 2015)

Just an update, they all finally took of and went crazy, hundreds of huge tomatoes, great to feel in abundance and give a few away, my latest, 20 butternut squash &#55357;&#56476;✅


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

Great news! So it was a patience thing, not a lack of any specific mineral.


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## coates776 (Sep 4, 2015)

I googled it an read heirloom tomatoes fruit later than others and they were spot on. We got tomatoes bigger than the palm of my hand.

I got my thermuomix and made 30 batch of Spag Bol sauce for freezer


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Great news on that Sir. Think I was just fixing to mention to give them a switching.


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## waggie (Nov 12, 2012)

Have you tried Blossom Set?


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## coates776 (Sep 4, 2015)

I really didn't do anything basically planted from seeds in sept and flowered and fruit late feb


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