TexasHomegrown
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Posts: 4
Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 6:16 pm
Location: S.E. Texas

Mortgage Lifter Blooms fall off

1st tear to grow a Mortgage Lifter and it is in a container. The problem is when the fruit hust sets, the “knuckle” right above the bloom cracks and then falls off.

S.e.texas, daily temperature averaging 90, watering daily if no rain. I have a roma that is continuong to set fruit, same soil as mortgage lifter

Any ideas?

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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)

I have heard from Florida gardeners that once temperatures soar and overnight temps are in the 70’s, tomatoes tend to not set fruits and blossom drop becomes the norm. Depending on where you are in Texas, I imagine you might be seeing such temperatures. It might help to provide shade cover to protect from fierce sun and mulch heavily to cool down the soil.

If watering, only water the soil and not from overhead, especially if you get daily rain. The blossoms need to be dry for pollen to shed. High humidity will also make the pollen clump.

Tomatoes are self-pollinating within the individual flower. To encourage pollination — after morning dew/plant has dried / air is dry — breezy Is OK and might help — when it’s as cool as possible, go out and touch the floral trusses at the top of the flower stem with a vibrating (not rotating) electric toothbrush to simulate buzzing bees landing on the flower. bees will actually clutch the floral truss and rapid-beat their wings to stimulate pollen shed. If your toothbrush is too powerful (sounds like a power tool rather than a gentle Bzzzz) touch the plant with the BACK of the toothbrush rather than the bristles.

This works with peppers and eggplants as well.

imafan26
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Posts: 13961
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Mortgage lifter was developed in West Virginia, so it may not be all that heat tolerant in Texas heat. I can grow it in Hawaii but I don't get as hot as Texas and it does stop producing in the heat. Florida does put out some heat resistant cultivars. Cherry tomatoes tolerate much more heat than beefsteaks like Mortgage lifter. Sweet 100, Fourth of July, Gardener's Delight, Sungold, Sun Sugar, Currant, Heatwave II, Creole, Celebrity, Arkansas Traveller, Super Sioux, Husky, and Quarter Century (aka Matchless). Florida 91, Heatmaster, Sunchaser, Solar Flare were bred in Florida to be able to set fruit at 90 degrees.

I even got Brandywine to fruit, but it turns out Pennsylvania gets hotter in summer than I do. Brandywine is not very disease resistant though so it required regular fungal sprays and I did not have a problem with pollen clumping. The hottest it has gotten was 91 degrees with 90% humidity. It did stop fruiting in July but started up again around September.
Often the tradeoff will be flavor. In warm mild climates like mine, it is best to avoid summer planting and plant either very early in the year or in the fall. Shading in summer helps as does mid day misting to help cool the plants down.



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