tenplay
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Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Jun 11, 2012 7:04 pm
Location: Olympia, WA

No tomatoes at all - help please

Hi. I live in Western Washington state. Back in early May, I planted 3 tomato plants. Other than 3 small tomatoes a month ago, all 3 plants have no tomatoes, only a few nice yellow flowers. In years past I have always had more tomatoes than we can eat. Our two hanging strawberry plants have also been barren after producing for a month or so. The plants all look healthy enough with a lot of green leaves and get a lot of sun and water. Thanks for any suggestions.

tomc
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Posts: 2661
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 2:52 am
Location: SE-OH USA Zone 6-A

Has it been warm (to) hot lately locally? Temperatures above about 90°F cause pollen to clump and become sterile. This should abate in the fall.

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rainbowgardener
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Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Tom is right and a similar thing is true of your strawberries: Strawberries want to flower and come to harvest in cool to warm weather. The ideal temperature for strawberry growing is 60°F to 80°. In hot weather, they don't produce.

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applestar
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Posts: 30514
Joined: Thu May 01, 2008 7:21 pm
Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

Aldo unless they are ever bearing varieties (And they do mostly sell ever bearers in hanging pots) strawberries are June bearers and only fruit in late spring/early summer.

You may still beat the odds if you touch the top of the tomato floral stem with a humming (or ultra sonic) type of electric toothbrush during cooler times of the day -- up to 80°F. Although you can also try flicking at them, e-toothbrush is much more effective for inducing pollen release.



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