[sharky]

I grew ten tomato plants this year and I have about 4 tomatoes in total and hundreds of unpollinated flowers. They have just not set fruit and I have them everything they could possibly need. Also I have seen very few bees this year so that might be an explanation so I will compost them soon. What about everyone else's?

[p00rstudent]

8 tom plants, 3 gardens delights have lots of green toms on them, 3 beef stake plants a few green toms on each of them and 2 cherry tom plants only on eof these has little green toms on whilst the other jsut has flowers, not too bad i would say, none are ripe enough to pick yet though.

[GrannieAnnie]

Are the flowers still on there sharky?  Don't compost them yet.  My tomatoes went in very late, and although they are not tall yet, there are loads of flowers on them.

I've only got about 50 odd plants this year though, so they won't see me all through the winter like they normally do!

[polly nator]

Plenty of fruit but none ripening yet.  One under glass. Several in polyhouses and one or two outside. Plenty of bees here. But then although I have only a small garden I have lots of bee attracting flowers, lavender, other herbs, honeysuckle, painted sages etc. What else is growing near your garden/plot?

[Sadgit]

aye if the flowers are still on, defo don't get rid just yet. Mine were late as well and just need Mr sun to come out to ripen the green ones I have. The flowers will set and you will have loads of fruit later in the season...............................

[Skip]

G'Day Sharky!

Sorry to hear you are doing it tough with the toms!  Tomato blossoms are self-pollinating so don't require bees to set fruit.  However, hot and humid temperatures, as well as damp and rainy conditions, can cause what is known as pollen clumping - the failure of the pollen to fertilize the ovum in the flower.

What a lot of the more experienced tomato growers, and professional growers, do is work thru the tomato patch (outside, but especially in the greenhouse) armed with an electric toothbrush.  Simply vibrate the branches that have flower trusses on them.  This will assist the transfer of pollen from the male part of the flower to the female part and aid fruit set.  There’s no need for you to go out and buy an electric toothbrush specifically for this task.  Try your local op and charity shops first, or even post for one on your local freecycle site.

[sharky]

Thanks for the replys, so I will leave them a month or so longer then, otherwise should I blame it on the weather?

[PinkTequila]

G'Day Sharky!

Sorry to hear you are doing it tough with the toms!  Tomato blossoms are self-pollinating so don't require bees to set fruit.  However, hot and humid temperatures, as well as damp and rainy conditions, can cause what is known as pollen clumping - the failure of the pollen to fertilize the ovum in the flower.

Bees give a great hand to tomatoes, without a helping hand either with bees or an electric toothbrush we would get very few tomatoes. A lot of pro growers in the UK now bring in bees to their glass houses to ensure a good crop.

[diggerjoe]

glad i looked at this thread - Ive toms in thre garden and the greenhouse and loads of flowers but nothing the cues in the greeenhouse are still about 1inch long - even though i have pinched side shoots on toms theres still loads of leaves would i best to sort of thin these out :?

[jennyb]

have i been lucky then?  i think we're going to have more tomatoes than we can eat.  my beefsteak have at least 1/2 a dozen fruit each already and the other ones which are small, possibly a kind of cherry but on a longish vine (like you buy in the supermarket on the vine) and each plant has 2 or 3 of these vines each.  the packet simply said "tomato"

[peterjf]

hi there ,  YOU COULD POLLINATE YOUR TOMS YOURSELF,

TAKE A COTTON BUD AND GENTLE RUB THE INSIDE OF EVERY FLOWER , THAT WAY YOU WILL GET PLENTY OF TOMATOES

[corndolly]

Tomatoes in greenhouse,we have started eating and very tasty they are too.

When I am sideshooting or tying to stakes , I give the cane a shake which gives the plant a shake , pollen drops onto the flowers below and helps germination.

Outside grown plants will probably be late this year due to lack of warmth, sun and  light. Germination was so poor last year on our outside plants that I did nt bother this year , have about 30 plants in greenhouses. Tigerella, Gardeners Delight, Alicante and Moneymaker.

[mashbintater]

I'm quite pleased with my tom plants, all 17 of them in pots outside, been braving the elements since the last week in May. They're all strong & sturdy, all in flower, and most developing fruit now. Most of their labels have been eaten, but the one's I can identify are San Marzano 2. The others are gardeners delight, golden sunrise & St Pierre, so I've a mixed bag. There are a couple of dead flowers, some have reached 3rd truss, others fast approaching, one a 4th truss with another plant fast approaching. They're watered daily if no rain & fed weekly. Happy so far  

Btw, I did read that it's a good idea to remove all leaves below the first truss to max fruit production didn't I? Some of my plants have a lot of foliage below the first truss, so thought I'd check first.
Thanks.

[rainie]

Mine havent come to anything either. : (

Binned the ones in the greenhouse due to blossom end rot. Wish I had taken better care of them.

Was going to remove outdoor ones but shall I leave them for a few weeks?  Can they be transplanted so I can put some in the greenhouse or is it too late?

Last year I had more than i could eat and give away so froze a lot. Still got one bag left for tomorrows lasagne.  

[Hawthorne]

I've got nine varieties on the lotty, and three on the patio. Got the first few ripe ones from the patio this week (but I did plant them out far too early).

On the lotty, I have 2 plants with fruit forming - Marmande and Roma, and the other 7 are just flowering, but with no fruit yet.