No-show tomatoes

[Spcovelady]

I have been lurking here for quite a while and have learned a lot, but now I need some help. I have three German Girl tomato plants that have lots of blooms but never set tomatoes. I have another tomato plant that did not have a tag when I bought it, but I have gotten several tomatoes from it already. These are smallish (slightly larger than a lime) but very flavorful and sweet.I planted this one about a month before the German Girls.My first guess is that it has already gotten too hot to set fruit. I live on the Alabama coast about 10 miles as the crow flies from the Gulf of Mexico. Any ideas? TIA

[basilisk]

I also live in Alabama, a couple of hundred miles north of you, I can't give you a definitive answer but I don't think heat is the problem. I have raised tomatoes for many years and successfully set fruit all through the summer. I have had large amounts of rain and I suspect you have also, I think your plants are probably in fertile ground with lots of moisture and they have up to now devoted their energy to foliage and may start setting fruit any time, time will tell.

Are the german girl tomatoes potato leaf or regular leaf tomatoes?

basilisk

[Spcovelady]

I looked at the tag on my plants again and they are "German Queen" Heirloom not German girl. The leaves on these plants do look a bit different than the ones on my other tomato plant. The plants are more leggy and the leaves seem to be more spread out on the limbs. I have them in 5 gallon buckets like my other plant.

[basilisk]

It's possible they are not getting pollinated, bees don't like to work in cloudy, rainy weather. Hopefully, you will start to see some fruit set soon.

basilisk

[Spcovelady]

Thanks, I hope you are correct.

[Steve Peek]

Tomatoes are self fertile and don't need insects for pollination, a gentle breeze should suffice. Steve

[basilisk]

Your right, they are self fertile, but it is possible in some varieties and some conditions for pollination to not occur.

basilisk

[Steve]

That's what I suspected; a lack of pollination. Here is a good post about helping that along in less than helpful weather.

[The Cook]

Tomatoes will not set fruit if the night temperature is lower than

55°F or the daytime temperature is over 95°F. I have also found that heirlooms tend produce fruit later than hybrids.

Don't worry about it. Plants produce fruit when they are mature enough.

[Lilah Morgan]

Seriously? Crap it's been in the 40s at night here and the tomatoes are blooming like mad...luckily they are still in pots...guess I'll just have to bring them inside at night

[Bigal]

Mist spray they with water. Does the trick with mine. Bigal

[Suzanne D.]

I have heard that if you gently tap the stems, the pollen will fall inside the flower and pollinate it.

--S.

[Special Agent Melvin Purvis]

On Jun 3, 9:25=EF=BF=BDpm, "Suzanne D." wrot= e:

I hve heard that, too. And it has worked for me before.

I have two suggestions. 1.) Five gallon buckets may be too small for tomatoes. The best size is a whiskey or wine barrel half. 2.) Do a Google for "tomato plant pruning" and read a few of the entries. I just did it to mine today and I will report the results as they occur. Perhaps someone else here has tried this method and will expound.

Good luck.

[sueb]

When I get frustrated with tomatoes not setting, I gently shake the plants. Usually works.

But, as others have said, heirlooms sometimes set late, and unfortunately, sometimes set lightly.

Susan B.

[Spcovelady]

Thanks for all the answers. We had a couple of cloudy, rainy days that kept the temps down a little and that must have done the trick. This morning there were several tiny tomatoes on each plant! I'm so happy Thanks again- Clivia

[Lilah Morgan]

Update, bringing them into the green room worked, I have baby grape tomatoes right now :-) Thanks for the info!