Every year I plant a couple of tomatoes in a small raised bed. They grow beautifully (the ones that survive the leaf miners) with lots of foliage, but only put on 1 or 2 fruits - cherries do the same. They flower a lot, but no fruit ever come of them - I think they might rot and fall off. How can I prevent this? Is it because of humidity (I live within a few miles of the ocean in a tropical location)? I thought at first it might be my soil PH, but is that still the case even though they're flowering a lot?
It sounds like the flowers aren't getting fertilized. Do you have lots of bees and insects to fertilize them. Maybe you could fertilize them yourself with a paintbrush or something. I'm not sure how well that would work with tomatoes.
Do the blossoms drop off? Might be lack of Potassium or calcium too in your soil. Try a soil test before you try amending. If you water over the leaves you can cause the blossoms to drop as well . You might try covering your plant with a spun polyester garden cloth until after the mid day sun then remove it to let the bees come in. Bob
Just curious if you are on the leeward or windward side of the Island.. and having lived in Honolulu, the rain is almost daily at the higher elevations, and tomatoes do not like to fruit set in wet conditions.. you may need a clear covering...
Windward side - but in an area that doesn't receive as much rain as the main windward areas. They don't show other signs of over watering... I think the blossoms drop off. We have a healthy population of bees that are always buzzing around the plants so I'm sure they're fertilized. They don't show other signs of potassium deficiency, but will see what amends I need to make to the soil. Would a shade netting or clear covering work better? Thank you for your helpful replies!
As I remember Hawaii the winds are pretty consisitent up where you live and the temps are fairly high by mainland standards. You will have to deal with this to get the best from tomatoes. I would probably start with the soil test as your nitrogen levels could be a bit high for tomatoes. The cover material is probably best just the white "remay cloth" sold at garden centers. Lots of rain followed by winds are tough on blossoms. Regards Bob
Make sure that they get plenty of direct sunlight for most of the day. A plant may grow very well, but without direct and adequate sunlight the plant will not produce fruit.
Here's some of the causes for tomato bud drop. http://gardening.about.com/od/problemspest1/a/BlossomDrop.htm Newt
