SLC
Senior Member
Posts: 232
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 9:18 pm
Location: Central Connecticut

Do you need to help tomatoes, potatoes and pepper pollinate?

I do not know how any of this works. I learned a while ago, that it helps to do corn and the other day, I learned you can do it to cucumbers, but now I am noticing that my tomatoes have flowers, but no fruit behind it.

The peppers have mini peppers, but I never saw any flowers, so I think they are just falling off.

The potatoes have a bunch of flowers, but I obviously can't see if anything is developing.

I haven't seen any bees around this year. I had tons last year.

Do I need to do something with any of them? If so, what should I do?

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

Nope, all of those are self-fertilizing. And obviously if you have little peppers it is working....

Take a deep breath, relax, and let nature do her thing! :)

mattie g
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Posts: 583
Joined: Wed Jul 07, 2010 7:58 am
Location: Northern VA, USA -- Zone 7a

Ai gree with rainbow, but I have to admit that I give my tomatoes a little shake, and sometimes will "fluff" the blossoms to give them a little help in transferring pollen (I do this especially when we're having some heat/humidity). Whether it works or not...doesn't really matter. It makes me feel good having done it!

SLC
Senior Member
Posts: 232
Joined: Mon May 10, 2010 9:18 pm
Location: Central Connecticut

Do you know why the tomato plants are flowering, but then the flowers just wilt and die, and no tomatoes?

Is that normal at first, and then later the tomatoes form? I had one tomato plant last year, but I don't remember it doing this - it flowered and then tomatoes formed. Then again, I bought it as a small plant and this year I started all mine from seed indoors. Does that make a difference?

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jal_ut
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Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

If grown outside the breeze gives them a shake enough to pollinate them. If grown indoors give them a shake when you water them. As said, these types are self fertile. They do need a little mechanical vibration to spread the pollen.

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

It's called blossom drop when the flowers just drop off without setting fruit. It is basically a reaction to stress and could be any of a variety of stresses. If the plant flowers when it is very young/ small, it may just not be able to support fruit, so drops the blossoms. Otherwise, too hot/ too cold/ too wet/ too dry/ too much fluctuation between wet and dry can all cause blossom drop.

Tell us a little more what your tomatoes conditions are.



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