No tomatoes

 

   Just one small tomato and one plant that looks like it has some
"buds", many flowers still. My gardening neighbor has many fruits on
his. We have some of the same varieties.

   That makes me wonder why, and what I might change.

   Here is where we differ. He gets an extra few hours of direct
sunlight. Mine probably get more even watering (drippers) and have
gotten some fish emulsion fertilizer. He has many more pollinators. My
yard is cooler than his, so it's not that the temps are too high
(although that may be on the way!).

   I've heard some anecdotal talk that high N and watering can suppress
fruiting. I have seen plants in terrible shape that have lots of fruit,
so it seems that stress helps set fruit. I would think the N would have
more to do with smaller or fewer fruit, not none.

  So, I think I should hold off on the Fish Oil and shake the plants,
but should I do anything else?

   Cukes are looking good though, and I've got squash on the way. I've
been the go between with the flowers.

   Jeff

 



 I'd hazard a guess the placing of all your eggs in one basket may
matter. By this  I mean if you had 30 plants you may cull some of them
for looking like they want to be culled. Small numbers of plants can
yield false data as the plant is just one of a distribution of Y.  
   Some Die    most OK   some unbelievable  

  upside down U graphic here.

 Musing

--
Bill  S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden
     What use one more wake up call?  
http://ocg6.marine.usf.edu/~liu/Drifters/latest_roms.htm

 



I think you answered your own question:
1) He gets an extra few hours of direct sunlight.
2) My yard is cooler than his.

The fact that you have flowers means that you haven't over watered and
fertilized. Too much water and fertilizer, and plants sometimes think it
is "eternal summer", and don't get about preparing for the future, but
you have flowers. That said, I'd lay off on the fertilizer, and be sure
that the soil is dry down to one inch before you water.

I'd pinch off the adventitious buds that pop out between the branches
and the stems, to try and direct the plants energy into producing fruit.
You may want to check the soil temperature to make sure it is around
70°F, but I don't think that is your problem in Atlanta.

I get 5 hr. decent sun, plus some broken sunshine, and we usually get a
good yield, not as good as if we got 8 hr. of full sun, but part of
gardening is squeezing the last bit that you can out of your garden.
Anybody can have a great garden with a long season, full sun, and good
soil. If your garden lacks any of these qualities, then you need a
gardener;O)
--
- Billy
"Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the
merger of state and corporate power." - Benito Mussolini.

http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/Zinn/HZinn_page.html

 

wrote:


http://www.gardeners.com/Fertilizer-Basics/5161,default,pg.html
--
USA
North Carolina Foothills
USDA Zone 7a