Tomatoes always late
 

I live in SE Washington state, can be 100+ for many days in the summer and
get to -10 in the winter.

Every year I plant tomato plants, not seeds, in late April, early May. And
inevitably, I end up with lots of tomatos that get hit by the frost, and not
many ripen during the summer. Now neighbors and so forth have bounties of
their crops all summer. My plants are about 4 feet high and lots of fruit
on them. My cukes went crazy as usual, and this year I planted
cantaloupe and right now have one, which is about 1/2 the normal size.
That's the only one so far.

The one thing I can think of as far as soil, is there used to be a pine
tree in the yard behind me. It is now gone, has been for 2 years. I
understand they can wreak havoc. The garden area gets lots of sun, I water
it daily. Just something that is wrong I've yet to correct.

I usually plant some variety of cherry and either an early girl or beefsteak
Any suggestions on what to try next?

TIA

Tomatoes always late
 

So you don't get any ripen during the season? Or are you concerned
about how many are still fruit when frost hits. Indeterminate plants
will grow & produce until the frost kills them. A determinate plant
will produce a flush of ripe tomatoes for a few weeks then peter out
and not produce much after that. (At least that is what my determinate
did.) I do have 3-4 dozen green tomatoes on the vine but I harvested
160 tomatoes since Aug. 1st. I should have pinched off new growth and
the smallest of the tomatoes a month ago to get the plant to focus on
the fruits it had. Now I doubt I will have any more ripe tomatoes.

If youre not getting *ANY* ripe tomatoes, I would have thought slow
growing would be a water/sun issue more than a soil/fertilizer one.
Lack of fertilizer components often causes disease and unhealthy
plants. Although I wonder if low nitrogen would cause small, slow
growing, and less productive plants. My 4th of July tomatoes came a
month late--I believe because of the excessive rains and coolness of
May-June. Have you fertilized them? I used a liquid one than was
10-15-10 plus liquid seaweed 0-4-4. I had mixed some fertilizer deep
into the root zone in May.


(bizee) wrote:

I live in SE Washington state, can be 100+ for many days in the summer and
get to -10 in the winter.

Every year I plant tomato plants, not seeds, in late April, early May. And
inevitably, I end up with lots of tomatos that get hit by the frost, and not
many ripen during the summer. Now neighbors and so forth have bounties of
their crops all summer. My plants are about 4 feet high and lots of fruit
on them. My cukes went crazy as usual, and this year I planted
cantaloupe and right now have one, which is about 1/2 the normal size.
That's the only one so far.

The one thing I can think of as far as soil, is there used to be a pine
tree in the yard behind me. It is now gone, has been for 2 years. I
understand they can wreak havoc. The garden area gets lots of sun, I water
it daily. Just something that is wrong I've yet to correct.

I usually plant some variety of cherry and either an early girl or beefsteak
Any suggestions on what to try next?

TIA

DiGiTAL ViNYL (no email)
Zone 6b/7, Westchester Co, NY, 1 mile off L.I.Sound
1st Year Gardener

Tomatoes always late
 

Get more details what your neighbors are doing, and do the same next
year. I like to plant at least 3 or 4 varieties to get a longer
havest time. Borage and dill are companion plants to tomatoes.

On 24 Sep 2003 06:12:26 -0700, (bizee) wrote:

I live in SE Washington state, can be 100+ for many days in the summer and
get to -10 in the winter.

Every year I plant tomato plants, not seeds, in late April, early May. And
inevitably, I end up with lots of tomatos that get hit by the frost, and not
many ripen during the summer. Now neighbors and so forth have bounties of
their crops all summer. My plants are about 4 feet high and lots of fruit
on them. My cukes went crazy as usual, and this year I planted
cantaloupe and right now have one, which is about 1/2 the normal size.
That's the only one so far.

The one thing I can think of as far as soil, is there used to be a pine
tree in the yard behind me. It is now gone, has been for 2 years. I
understand they can wreak havoc. The garden area gets lots of sun, I water
it daily. Just something that is wrong I've yet to correct.

I usually plant some variety of cherry and either an early girl or beefsteak
Any suggestions on what to try next?

TIA