BlackWidow51
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Location: Winter Haven, FL

Do I have a problem???

I planted tomato plants ( in central florida) in the middle of May, have tons of blooms. It is now the 5th of July and I haven't seen one little tomato at all ! Am I rushing things or is something going wrong? Its been a long time since I had a garden.

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rainbowgardener
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Not rushing things... What has your weather been like? I imagine in FL HOT (maybe even as hot as it is up here in Ohio, 95 today!).

There's a sticky at the top of this forum on blossom drop, when the flowers fall off without setting fruit. It's a stress reaction and one of the causes of that stress is high temps. Once it gets above 90 tomatoes have trouble setting fruit and the existing fruit has trouble ripening.

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Gary350
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Watch and see if there are bees coming to your plants.

TZ -OH6
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Its probably the heat, which kills pollen. Growers in the hot south and southwest often have to grow two crops on either side of the summer months, one started early in the danger of cold, and one started in late summer with the danger of heat which can easily kill young plants.


There are several hybrids, and some heirloms designed for setting fruit in the heat, many developed in Florida.

LindsayArthurRTR
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What are the names of the heat loving tomatoes and which ones are hybrids and heirlooms?

Please :()

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lakngulf
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TZ -OH6 wrote:Its probably the heat, which kills pollen. Growers in the hot south and southwest often have to grow two crops on either side of the summer months, one started early in the danger of cold, and one started in late summer with the danger of heat which can easily kill young plants.There are several hybrids, and some heirloms designed for setting fruit in the heat, many developed in Florida.
There are hot temps that are great for developing fruit, but not for "setting". It is a struggle even to get some plants through the HOT times, but the post quote above is right on.

TWC015
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You should probably plant much earlier next year. In central Florida, you could probably plant in early to mid-March. That way you would get fruit set before the temperatures are too high.

You will probably still get tomatoes a little later this year after the weather cools some.

BlackWidow51
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Location: Winter Haven, FL

Thanks for all the info, I have never tried a garden in florida till this year, I am used to Oklahoma weather. Yes its been hot and for the last several days no sun at all and tons of rain. So, hopefully later I will get some production, if not I could plant again later this year or will definitely earlier next year. I knew something was wrong when I had tons of blooms with no fruit. Thanks guys for all your helpl.

garden5
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If its humid, the flowers may have a hard time pollinating themselves. Periodically shaking (gently) the plants helps this. Another thing to try is some shade-cloth during the hottest part of the day.



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