This twelvemonth was a lousy twelvemonth for tomatoes for me . Other gardener have said as much too . Except for one rear bed with 8 tomato plants that are my salvation , the other 17 tomato flora in a different section have not raise well .
Why I asked ? A couple of things total to mind for me .
First , we got alate C. P. Snow on May 20th . The first frost free date is suppose to be May 15th here , but not this year . Plus our spring was cold . That caused me to to put the transplant in the ground on May 25th in wall of weewee . I could have transplanted them earlier in the paries of waters but I did n’t have the heart to put them out earlier . It ’s hard to do when you ’ve started them from seeds 6 week in the first place and it ’s cold or stop dead outdoors . I did n’t want them to stress or even die in the frigid nights .
The old year was we had a very quick bound and I was able-bodied to get out the tomato transplants in the ground on May 6th - quite a divergence 3 calendar week can make in a unretentive growing time of year .
Thesecondthing that come to mind was we had ahot Junewhere the temperature were above 92 ° degree Fahrenheit for much of the month . Any temperature over 92 ° F will make tomato bloom cliff during the pollination process . The plants did blossom and then dropped their blossoms . Pollination temperature are critical for setting tomato fruit - we want the temporary to be below 92 ° F . After they set their yield , temperature is not a great element and the fruit will grow .
Thethirdthing is themonsoons were later . They normally come at the end of the first hebdomad in July but did n’t materialise until the final stage of July and then only for a light period of prison term . The monsoons barricade and it perplex too hot again for tomato pollination - hence more bloom drib in July .
Lastly , thesoil in the beds were not as goodwhere the 17 love apple plants are in . They are in a newer division where the soil is not as fertile . This place out to me ( again ) the pauperism toimprove the grease with more compost .
Now the temps are beautiful but basically our season has slow down down and will end for tomatoes whenever we get thatfirst freezewhich is between now and October 15th . So before that night comes , when I hear a frost is eminent , I will pick those few green tomatoes and play them inside to ripen . For tips on ripen tomatoes at heart , go to my posthere .
It was a disappointing time of year for tomatoes here in my garden . How about the balance of you ? How did your tomato works do this year ?
Mother nature is sometimes not so generous to gardeners !
