Blossom Drop
I know that very high temps. cause bloswsom drop and our temps have above 90 for about a month. My tomato plants have a good crop of early tomatoes but the new blossoms are for the most part droping. However on two of my plants I have several very small tomatoes these came about well after the really hot temps. (high and mid 90"s) began. How were the plants able to produce at these temps.? Exactly, what can I do to combat blossom drop due to high temps? Also, I would like to try some fall tomatoes. Should I try to keep my plants alive through the summer or start over with new plants? If I need new plants, how late can I plant - I live in central Louisiana. My stuff is in a raised Square foot garden and I am giving them lots of care and water. GuyG
Try a shade. Yes, tomato's like sun, but they don't like hot sun. And if that doesn't work, try a different type of tomato (see this forum: [url]https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25416&highlight=tomato+blossom+drop[/url]
I would do both. Provide a shade for the current one and hope it works, and go out and buy a new tom plant. Don't forget to provide the appropriate water and nutrients.
I would do both. Provide a shade for the current one and hope it works, and go out and buy a new tom plant. Don't forget to provide the appropriate water and nutrients.
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rainbowgardener
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Agree with above, some row cover/ shade cloth to filter the hot sun should help. Then you can mist the shade cloth and provide some evaporative cooling.
The people in places with long growing seasons like yours (read some of hendi_alex 's posts in this (tomato) forum ) report that they get better late season production by starting over with new plants, that the old ones are pretty stressed/ worn down by then.
Re how late can I plant, did you mean seeds or started plants? If you were starting over from seeds, I'd probably start them pretty soon, to have time for them to germinate, grow to maturity and produce for awhile. If you are going to be planting well started plants, basically you want to wait until the heat breaks some, so they don't have to go through the heat stress. Maybe some time in August? Or at least by the beginning of Sept. Looks like you can have tomatoes from your garden until into November.
The people in places with long growing seasons like yours (read some of hendi_alex 's posts in this (tomato) forum ) report that they get better late season production by starting over with new plants, that the old ones are pretty stressed/ worn down by then.
Re how late can I plant, did you mean seeds or started plants? If you were starting over from seeds, I'd probably start them pretty soon, to have time for them to germinate, grow to maturity and produce for awhile. If you are going to be planting well started plants, basically you want to wait until the heat breaks some, so they don't have to go through the heat stress. Maybe some time in August? Or at least by the beginning of Sept. Looks like you can have tomatoes from your garden until into November.
Thanks much guys! Regarding the cloth to filter the sun, do I shade the plants all day or just the hottest part of the day? Will the shade hurt the production of my bell peppers, eggplants and cucumbers? I probably need to get the plants in the ground by mid- July - we probably get frost sometime in Nov. Guys I know that try for fall tomatoes usually lose the tomatos to frost well before they get ripe unless they plant real early in the summer. Again thanks.