Tomato plant looks GREAT, but will not bear fruit

[Fudd7405]

Hey guys,
My tomato plant is doing great and yet still no tomato's. I have attached a picture. It is maybe 3 months old and yet still no fruit. Is this normal? I keep it inside at night and put it outside during the day in direct sunlight. I also give it Miracle Grow 3 month formula.


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Thanks!
Kevin

[gixxerific]

Can't tell you why it hasn't fruited but give it time.

I will ask though why do you bring it in at night? Is it really cold there at night?

It look very healthy I think it will come around. You should have seen my plants a month ago they looked like walking death and now are much better.

Oh and don't forget to get the stray vine on the inside of your cage before it's too late.

[rainbowgardener]

Nope, definitely not normal for a tomato plant that age and size not to fruit. I have tomato plants considerably smaller than that, that have fruit on them.

Why do you bring it in at night? It can't really be too cold for it in New Orleans at this time of year.

So tell us a little more - how much (how many hrs / day) direct sunlight? What kind of soil is in the pot and how big is the pot? How much/ how often are you using the Miracle Grow? Has the plant had blossoms that dropped off or just never blossomed?

Your plant looks pretty big and bushy if it was really just a seed planted late Feb. It could be you are over-doing the Miracle Grow. Giving plants lots of nitrogen tends to force foliage growth at the expense of fruiting. Is the MG a tomato formula? For tomatoes you want an NPK formula like 3-4-6 or 5-10-10, not high on the Nitrogen end.

[Fudd7405]

The Miracle Grow is just regular plant formula that is continuous release. The pot is filled three quarters of the way with soil. I have drilled holes in the bottom of the pot so it drains. I water it every other day. Maybe it is not fruiting because it is inside at night when the A.C. is on? I bring it out around 10 a.m. and bring it back in around 7 p.m. Is the cold air in my room at night causing it to not bear fruit? The soil in the pot is regular potting soil. I have given it the Miracle Grow twice because I am told that potted plants need fertilizer more due to the fact that it runs through the pot over time.
Should I leave the plant outside 24 hours a day? It is very hot here right now. Should I get a tomato fertilizer?

[rainbowgardener]

How hot is very hot? Tomatoes like warm weather but they don't like really hot. They have trouble setting fruit much over 90 degrees... but still usually you would see blossoms, they would just drop off instead of becoming tomatoes. And if your night time temperatures are staying really high, then you are probably right to bring it in:

Temperature and Humidity. Daytime temperatures above 90°F and night temperatures above 70°F result in reduced flowering and fruit set. There is considerable evidence that night temperature is the critical factor in setting tomato fruit, the optimal range being 59° to 68°F. With night temperatures much below or above this critical range, fruiting is reduced or absent. Low temperatures reduce the production and viability of pollen. High temperature, especially if accompanied by low humidity and moisture, hinders fruit set through failure in pollination and/or fertilization.
https://pubs.ext.vt.edu/426/426-418/426-418.html

But reduced is operative in here. I've certainly had tomatoes that were fruiting just fine with night time temperatures well up into the 70's. So it's not that they can't.

[Fudd7405]

I keep it out during the day when temperatures are around 85-95 degrees. The breed of tomato is called something like high heat bearing. I take it inside at night mainly because I like the way that it looks in my bedroom. Maybe I am sacrificing fruit for adding looks to my bedroom. At night, in my room it is usually around 70 degrees.

[rainbowgardener]

No, you are probably giving it a chance to fruit. If it is 70 degrees in your A/C'd bedroom at night, it must be hotter than that outside.

Here's from that quote again:

There is considerable evidence that night temperature is the critical factor in setting tomato fruit, the optimal range being 59° to 68°F. With night temperatures much below or above this critical range, fruiting is reduced or absent.

So if it's a heat tolerant variety, it should be able to manage the temps it's getting...

That brings me back to the question of whether it could be over-fertilized. If there's MG in the potting soil in the pot and you are adding more MG, it could be too much nitrogen. I'd lay of the MG, give it a break for awhile and then look for some Tomato Tone or something like that.

[Cirtes]

Looks to me like you have 3, 4 or more plants in that single small pot. Can't be sure from that single photo but that is what it looks like.

I also see some flower clusters but the resolution is low so I cant tell for sure.

If you do have several plants in there, it may be confusing us.

Either way, it is not uncommon for tomatoes to wait untill the climate is just right before setting fruit. Also, different varieties have different growi g habbits.

[Fudd7405]

Thanks for all of the help guys. I am keeping it outside 24 hours a day for a while to see if that will make the difference.