2

I planted two tomato plants in my first garden and one has developed about a dozen green tomatoes ranging from marble-sized to 3/4 tennis ball-sized but the other, same exact species, has no tomatoes. There was one marble-sized tomato but I touched it with my finger and it fell right off. Is this a sign of nutrient deficiency or some disease? I do see some yellow flowers forming but they look limp. Interestingly enough, this is the taller of the two plants with no tomatoes.

Top plant no tomatoes; bottom plant a dozen tomatoes

Improve this question
4
  • Be good to see pics...
    – Bamboo
    Apr 2, 2015 at 11:46
  • Added one picture, taken 8 days before I asked this question here. The bottom plant has 12 tomatoes total (there's 3 bunches with 4 each), but the top has none despite being taller.
    – PJS1987
    Apr 3, 2015 at 3:50
  • What type of tomato plants are those, when do you plant them? They seem awfully short to be producing tomatoes? Looks like what, maybe 10-12" or so? I'm not sure that it's a good thing that the one is producing tomatoes yet. Did you buy them with flowers already? I think you normally want to let the plants go through their vegetative growth stage before they start producing first so they get nice and big. I hear some people will cut off early blooms for this reason. Just a guess lacking more details. For reference, how tall is the fence and plants? Also they may be planted too close together.
    – OrganicLawnDIY
    Apr 3, 2015 at 3:59
  • @OrganicLawnDIY They are called the "Patio Tomato" by a name brand sold in big box stores. Both were the same height, about 8" to 10" tall with no flowers at time of purchase (March 1). Their biodegradable containers were planted inside small clay pots the same day. After 1 week, I decided to plant them in ground (March 8). The tallest is about 20" tall, the short one with fruit is 14" tall. After inspecting them again today, I found a marble-sized tomato on the tall one. Perhaps it will finally start to fruit. Maybe the excess nitrogen has begun to dilute.
    – PJS1987
    Apr 3, 2015 at 23:11

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
5

This may indicate it is getting too much nitrogen and is focusing on growing foliage. Many factors could be causing it generally, but larger sized plant makes me think it's nitrogen.

Blossom Drop

Improve this answer
3
  • That sounds like it might be the problem after reading up on blossom drop. I did sprinkle some general fertilizer after planting these. They were bought in containers at a big box store, so maybe they already had enough nutrients in the container then I went and added too much. Plus, I think the garden topsoil had fertilizer already too. I think it might be the excess nitrogen problem as you suggested.
    – PJS1987
    Apr 3, 2015 at 3:53
  • @PJS1987 from the angle of the shadows in the picture, it would seem as if the one without fruit is more exposed, is it possible it receives more sunlight and has therefore dried out more than the one behind it? They seem a little close for nitrogen to be a problem for one and not the other, unless you didn't distribute it evenly.
    – Bamboo
    Apr 3, 2015 at 12:02
  • @Bamboo I'm not sure if it receives more sunlight or not but I can say they are both in an area that has no shadows throughout the day to block the sunlight. The tall one is east, the short one west. Now that the tall one has 1 fruit and some yellow flowers, I am wondering if it was just one of those things where one plant got a head start somehow. I'll keep my eye on it for Blossom Drop again.
    – PJS1987
    Apr 3, 2015 at 23:29

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge that you have read and understand our privacy policy and code of conduct.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.