Tomatoes Not Ripening - Seem to have stopped growing

[tcy1227]

Hi All,

I have 3 heirloom plants - Buck's County, Black Brandywine and Orange Oxheart - in a 48inch long cedar container on my balcony in New York City. As of today, the Buck's County has been producing the most fruit - 2 solid bunches and 2 or 3 more starting to form. However, it seems the bunches on the bottom have stopped getting bigger and are not ripening. The bottom-most bunch has been the same size for approx 3 weeks.

We have had sporadic weather, with high heat followed by a few days of lots of rain, on and off for the past few weeks. While dry I water deeply, but perhaps erratic moisture is the casue? Further, I received some bad advice (perhaps) And pruned my plants a lot - probably excessively for this time of year. Could this be the cause? I recently have stopped pruning at all except suckers. I also have been aware of possible calcium deficiency, and have added a little lime to the soil, balanced with some blood meal. I stopped fertilizing once I saw fruit, but prior to that had been using miracle-gro tomato food.

Finally, the other two plants have only recently begun to develop fruit. So far, I cannot tell if the same problem will manifest itself, but will keep a lookout.

Any suggestions/comments?

[para_chan]

I'm not a tomato expert, but from what I've read, any pruning you do to a tomato is just getting rid of the suckers (on indeterminate plants).
I'm not sure that would stop the fruit from getting bigger though..

[cynthia_h]

By chance, is the cedar planter sealed or unsealed from the elements and the soil?

This is the best list I found in a (quick) search of "allelopathic plants":

https://desertwaterwisegardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/allelopathic_plants_loner_plants

I wonder whether the cedar may be "attacking" the roots of the tomatoes, if the planter is unsealed wood. (I have a Coast Redwood in my backyard--well, it IS my backyard, because nothing can grow underneath it due to its allelopathic properties.)

Cynthia H.
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 17