Why are My Tomato Flowers Falling Off?
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- Опубліковано 3 лип 2021
- In this video I will cover the two main reasons tomato flowers fall off without producing tomatoes and what you can do about it! Also included, 3 ways to hand pollinate tomatoes.
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Your shade cloth advice has helped me a lot! Thanks for all the great advice you give on your channel!
You are a great Teacher. Thank you Brian. Every bit of information counts and saves the Home Organic Gardener.
And I thought I was the only one that bought a yard sale electric tooth brush to pollinate my tomatoes. Thanks Mike from Maryland
I started beating my flowers. LOL. Its another video that show how to do it. It's just thumping the vine a bit to shake the pollin around in the flowers.
Oh I can't wait for your book! Great information every time! 👍🏾👍🏾
I have a shade covering over my tomatoes. Got it at Lowe's and it’s working great!
I’ve had several flowers fall off on my tomato plants. We had a heat wave a couple of weeks ago where I am. Thank you for the tips!
Thank you, its a tomatoe struggle in North Texas. More blossoms falling off than fruit starting.
Replanting for fall garden.
Great video!
Yes, I've had that problem year after year. I live in central Florida and I guess the hot weather is doing it. I'll try the shade cloth and see what happens. Thanks!
Ty for creating this video. I have so few tomatoes this yr. All the blossoms are drying up and falling off. Leaves are green and healthy....ty again.
Wow learn something today. Thanks for sharing. Keep up the good work
This is a great very thoroughly video. I have this problem on my tomatoes right now on my garden bed. Lots of first fruits but all the flowers dried out and fell. Thanks for mentioning about the list of flowering plants that I should plant for next season for the pollinators. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. Thumbs up! Im alresdy subd!!
I had this problem last year, in Zone 7B. It was my first time growing tomatoes and it was quite hot during the season. I wish I'd had this information then. Thanks for the insight.
Yes many have fallen off. Hoping to go get shade cloth this afternoon after work. Thank you for the advise!
I was just about to ask about cross pollinating. Thank you for that info I have not heard that and I was very curious. Thank you for all you do Brian you are a wealth of information.
Thanks for addressing my blossom drop issue right when I’m having it! I put up a shade cloth on the south side of them last week and am hoping for the best! I have noticed that my from-seed plants are struggling a lot more with this than my nursery plants. I figure the seeds I ordered online produce plants that aren’t well-equipped to handle Utah’s hot, arid summer climate, maybe?
So far so good here. Loved hearing about the red and green basil. I have flowers around my tomatoes and have been shocked that the bees are loving my blue bell flowers the most.
Thanks for another great video in the midst of your life being overwhelmingly busy. Remember to pace yourself as best you can through it all. Sending love and hugs to you, Emilie and Noah! ❤️🥰🤗
Yes, experiencing blossom drop
I have experienced blossoms drop also.😔
Having been a bee keeper, bees do not take pollen or nectar from the tomatoes as a general rule. When they do go out usually they go to one type of flower exclusively during their gathering. Other insects and bees will visit tomatoes. What I have learned is tomatoes are self pollinators, gravity, wind are generally the forces that pollinate tomatoes.
I shake my tomato plants whenever I pass by to make sure they self polinate.
Noticed we don't have many bees at all this year. It breaks my heart. First I had apple blossoms, then alium, purple flowers, milkweed blossoms, and now they are loving the sunflowers. I also have lots of hollyhocks in bloom, borage and other flowers will bloom soon. Just not many bees... 😢. Last year they were all over the place!
@@joanies6778 I planted Bee Balm (Monarda) this year and WOW, I've always had enough bees but this year they are greatly multiplied.
I had a bumble bee that went to all of my tomato flowers. I do notice that with tomato leaf curl the flowers will usually dry up and turn black
@@curiouscat3384Last year, spring started with peach blossoms, there were bees everywhere! I also planted Borage, which honey bees love, plus I have a garden full of bee loving flowers, with plenty growing now, too. This year I had apple blossoms first, and could only count about a half dozen at a time. No comparison! The same was true as they went between groups of flowers that bloom in succession.
They just finished off the milkweed, and right now they are enjoying the sunflowers. The count is up to about a dozen that I can see at a given moment. 😢 Have not seen the first bumblebee which usually enjoys my flowering trees and hollyhocks, and squash blossoms.
The problem is the WHOLE area is seeing a shortage of bees. My gardener has been helping on his brother's 5K acre farm and said they are seeing very few, too. It could be a combination of the -25°F temp we had this winter and/or the continued use of chemicals in this area... I don't know. It's serious.
Yes, shaking assists gravity, too. With heirloom tomatoes, you actually want self-pollination in order to retain the variety's characteristics in the seeds you save.
YES! This issue is a big deal for me. Still on going. Hopefully your advice helps.
This is great! Thanks! I got six tomatoes grown so far, first time in my life I got into gardening! I cover tech and investing in my channel, and I find that plants/gardening teaches me about time, patience & nurture!
It sure does. It's a wonderful hobby. And nothing tastes like home grown tomatoes
Your awesome thanks so much for all your help with my garden it has done wonders for me!🌺❤
Thank you for being so precise! I adore the way uou explain things so clearly! Alot, I leave more confused,prob me,but understand all of your videos.Tysm👍😎
My tomatoes and tomatillos have suffered tremendously this year. I live in the Pacific Northwest and honestly never thought that the heat in Washington would cause my veggies to not grow. I mean... it's hardly warm enough on this side of the state to even hope for my garden to continue producing past mid September because the rain and cold starts that early. Good to know for future reference. Thank you so much for the info!
I didn't know about the tapping the tomato plant. Thanks! I've always used a cotton swab taped to a chopstick lol works great for male to female pumpkin blooms too :)
We hit 116 last week in the NW! My little town was the hottest in Oregon! I was pro active and I made shade for my tomatoes and all my flowers! I’m
Happy to say it was a success!
Good job! Wow 116°!
I would love to see the clips that hit the editing room floor on this one! 🤣
Still, a lot of great information here! Thank you as always, Brian!
Yes, I’ve seen a few brown trusses without fruit. Heat Related. Thanks for the reminder to pluck the trellis strings each day to help the pollen. Happy 🇺🇸🎆
Surprising we had a record high of 113 in Oregon for two days but i was blessed didn't have any problems
Thank you for all the help👍
Have lost quite a few flowers, but some have also set. We live in the high desert and the June temps were way above normal. If our growing season goes into late September, I think we will still have a good year. We will go mid to upper 90's again some this week, so we will see!
Perfect timing, thanks!
Yes, we had a few really hot days, then about 16 days of cool rainy weather, here in Colorado. I gave them all a pruning haircut, and some potassium, and now they’re better.
We've been over 100°F almost every day for the past month ( with a day or two over 120°F.) I just saw that there's another heatwave coming through Southern CA again. I'm growing them hydroponically outdoors, 1 of my 8 plants has 2 cherry tomato fruit set, and the other 7 plants have a few flowers. The flowers bloom, and then do exactly what you talk about... fall off. I hope the plants survive the summer, and that I can get a good crop in the fall & winter.
Yes, I am having this issue. Thanks god not many flowers are dying. And this year tomatoes are doing very well! I am in Delaware near the coast. Humidity is the major problem here.
Thanks for your tips. I really appreciate it.
Absolutely happening here in Northern Ca. I live in Roseville. I have them covered but they are definitely stressed. I did start early and have fruit. I am starting a second wave of tomatoes. So I’m hoping for another fall harvest.
Same here! We just moved from San Diego and now living here in Folsom and the heat is just too much for our plants. I hope this would help
I think you've hit it for me: heat & a lack of pollinators. Tomatoes underneath, but dried up flowers at the tops of the plants. I'll wait.
We are having a bumper crop in the poconos. Beefsteak, Cherokee purple and cherry tomatoes going very good. First time growing and in buckets
YES... going through it here around Detroit, MI
This year we had a cooler than normal April, a very rainy (higher than normal) May, and a June with August-like high temperatures.
You must be in Georgia😂
Thanks for your help with this. I prune my indeterminates and top them when they reach the top of my tomato stands at about 4’. They were covered in blooms and it hit 95 degrees and they almost all dropped off. I’m thinking about building a tunnel between two raised beds using 16’ ranching panels. Plant my indeterminates tomatoes on the north facing side and let them trellis over the top. Then plant something that’s a vine that can handle high heat on the south facing side and see what happens. Maybe cucumbers
I put a cattle panel over my tomato raised bed and do keep a row cover over them, positioned for portions of the day when temps are 90° F or higher. We had 100°+F temps for a week and had my regular row cover over the cattle panel for hottest sun of the day. Last week we had 70's -80's temps, so I took it off and they really started to take off. Temps are going back to the 90's this week, so I switched to a more transparent one today which gives some cover but lets more light in. No flowers, yet, but mine were planted much later than yours.
I noticed that some of the flowers were falling off.. Thank you! And yes I noticed some leaves were curling.. not all of them but a couple plants are doing that.
Too hot in Oregon which is unusual and I have 3 small tomatoes but the flowers are dropping. Thanks for this video.
Great info. Thank u
YES BRIAN IN TEXAS. THANK YOU.
Oh yea! Texas heat
I grow an insectary near my garden. It has about 15 different plants that bloom at different times all season. This helps to attract pollinators. Another benefit is that these plants also attract beneficial insects that keep the pests under control.
For example, the first garden I had at my new home saw an infestation of cucumber beetles, squash bugs and aphids. The next year, after growing the insectary, I saw only one cucumber beetle and no squash bugs. I also had no issue with aphids at all. What I did find was an abundance of ladybugs, hover flies, lacewings and soldier beetles.
The insectary is a beautiful additional to your yard. Imagine all the pretty wildflowers that grow in a field, and then imagine a portion of that in your yard. As I add more beds to my garden I will add more insectaries to not only protect my crops, but to add a pleasant landscape to relax in.
Great video 🤘🏼 thank you 🙏🏼💙
Thanks a million God bless you
Great information
First time gardener here. My tomatoes just start flowering. Some are falling off but some have little tiny tomatoes. I realized it was the heat.
I live in an arid dessert climate. We're just entering spring now and it's already too hot. I put up shade nets today. Hopefully the rest don't fall off. I only had 40% shade nets though.
In Maryland had 4 days of 93+, now we have nights for the next week in the 50's-60's. Crazy weather
MI too.
I' used low volume misters to help fight the heat. Have also used a squeeze pump bulb to "puff" a blast of air onto flowers to aid pollination.
Yes some did when the heat here in the Northwest hit 111 degrees at my house. Fortunately, we are currently down to the Mid 80s.
Vancouver Island has been very hot this year! 40+C Can't wait for your book to come out. Will you be taking pre-orders?
Yes I'm losing some blossoms on a few varieties due to heat and humidity. My Kosovo and sweet 100 be setting fruit though.. same area as where you are..Cheers!
Yes, tomato flowers are falling off and stems on other plants are very thin, so much so I can't imagine they're strong enough to support fruit. And tomato leaf curl. Here in New Hampshire, our weather has been a roller coaster: extreme heat, lots of heavy rain, weeks without rain, and so some unseasonably cold days.
I live in the BC also had dead flowers but I have my tomatoes in grow bags so I have moved them into the shade and it does seem to help I will hand pollinate with a feather
Despite the warmer Temps in our region, im having the best year ever? Oregon Coast.🌝
Blythe
I have some plants that are doing fantastic. Other plants are doing exactly as you described. I figured it was the crazy weather. Here we had a heatwave for over a week straight then we had a week plus of nothing but drenching rain and tornado warnings, now we are back to a heatwave.
Heat is always what ends up taking my tomatoes early in my area. Putting up a 40-50% shade cloth has made a huge difference! I still lose flowers, but not as many and not as quickly. By mid-June we’re regularly in triple digit temps so I keep up my shade cloth all summer now. It also prevents sun scald on the fruit, which tomatoes and bell peppers seem really prone to.
How did you build your shade cover?
Yes , 9A Nor cal, hot, hot!
No curl yet , just brown blossoms dropping. Planted out at right at last frost date.
so hot! and we are on watering restrictions ! once a week in socal! all potted plants on patio
I have used the electric toothbrush - it works wonderfully. Cheap $5 one from Walgreens. I also will gently "flick" the actual bloom with my fingers. I say gently - otherwise, you risk "flicking" the bloom right off the plant. Ask me how I know. :) Great vid.
Thanks so much for your advice i live in florida and it is HOT and Humid here no wonder this is happening. Had no idea it was stressed.
🤣
Thankyou!😊
We had a lot of blossom drop a couple years ago when it hit 110-118F for several consecutive days (zone 10a). This season has been great for tomatoes with very few days above 95F and all varieties are healthy and yielding heavily. We have a couple of melon vines growing adjacent to the tomato patch and there are tons of bees visiting.
Zone 6b or 7a ? I had beautiful large plant (Arkansas Travelers that I bought @ farmers market that suddenly developed leaf curl which turned into limb curl (side limbs curling under) & leathery leaves then began losing the few flowers that they set, eventually started to die. I just put 3 huge plants in the compost pile yesterday! 2 more of the Arkansas Travelers are having some leaf curl but have tiny tomatoes. My other varieties are ok except a little delayed. They are all stressed, I guess. Anyone else having big leaf curl problems?
I’ve left all my curling leaves/branches on. They really took a hit when we had a recent 105F heat wave. The plant is still producing flowers and fruit, so who am I to argue with it? 🤷🏼♀️
Thanks for making this video Brian! Did you mis-speak when you said extended days of mid-90’s and above” temps will cause flower drop? Your previous videos have said mid-80’s and above.
I have culled most of this info from several of your past videos and this season have been practicing being the bee (using all 3 pollinating methods). I’ve also constructed extensions to my lower & lean trellis to support shade cloth (about 20 plants in grow bags and plastic pots).In spite of this, I’m still experiencing tremendous flower drop/lack of pollination. Can blight or mildew affect flower drop and pollination effectiveness? I don’t know why I get so much mildew on my stems when my plants are pruned and there is plenty of airflow. In the past I’ve always just had the “c’est la vie!” attitude, but this year using your trellising system, I’ve been working hard to keep them healthy with proper fertilization, watering, etc. I’ve been looking forward to healthy plants and great production (zone 10b, So Calif), but so far, it’s not looking hopeful. Using your tip, I will try starting some new plants for a late summer/fall harvest.
Up in Meridian, Idaho just outside of Boise. We’ve now had weeks of over 90 and 100 degree days. Beautiful tomato leaves and lots of flowers that I self pollinate with a Q-Tip morning & evening. I have Coolibar shading for my all afternoon (until 8:30 or 9:00pm) full western exposure. My problem is flowers drying up vs falling off. My cherry and patio tomatoes doing the best though very few fruit compared to quantity of flowers. Was considering misters to help keep my plants cool. Thoughts??
I've seen this w/ the E. toothbrush a few times. You don't need to use it like a paintbrush up in the flower.
You simply need to touch the back of the flower. The vibration dislodges pollen and you are done. You may need to touch the same flower for a few days, in case it wasn't completely developed.
Mine are falling off! Never had this before. My 6b zone has been well over 90° for weeks...even hitting triple digits 🥵😱. It’s been horrid. I kept thinking it was a micronutrient like calcium. I’ll try the shade cloth. Thank you!
Thank you thank you for this video. Yes we had record heat and above normal heat for a week. I give my tomato plants little shakes and was wondering why the flowers were dropping. Does it help the plant to cut off these “dropped flower” branches?
Thank you from Australia, we are in spring atm spring 🌼 learned a lot thank you, we have crazy weather atm, warm (not hot) cool cold windy rainy just crazy from day to day 🤪😜😝 I can tell you I’m going to share the old electric toothbrush with my tomato flowers to get the best tomatoes 🍅 thank you once again for sharing your information, this is valuable to ME! ❤
Happy spring!
Awesome thanks
Yes! I did something right....bought three umbrellas. I put them up during hottest parts of day.
Perfect!
I've got plenty of small green tomatoes but they aren't growing. They've been this way for six weeks. I have no idea what's going on! In north Texas but our temps have been unseasonably mild in the mid-80s to 90s. Lots of blooms, plants are full and lush. I'm stumped.
Southern NJ zone 7a. Cool Spring followed by a hot June. When it rains, it rains for days. Another interesting year. So far I had to trash half of my lettuces due to bolting. Blackberries were so-so but better than last year which was dismal. Catnip is doing fine. I have a bumper crop of rabbits and poison ivy. I seem to be immune but maybe I’m just lucky.
Yes but it's also pretty typical this time of year for that to happen for me. I'm hoping to wait it out until fall when it cools again. I'm lucky my first frost date is in December. I'm in Texas zone 9a.
Yes, my plants have been dropping blooms. Our heat index was 110 degrees one day. And we are about to begin another round of very hot heat indexes.
Yep. Hot here in SE VA on the Chesapeake. Early huge fruit set and giant fruit on vines. Now all flowers are dying. Some rain, bottom watered and now soft, black rotting stems after what looks like horrible yellow leaves and blight on my Amish Paste area and Opalkas. Still getting harves however. All Cherokee Purples and Roma’s are thriving and loaded, no blight. WTH? The good ones are on the other side of the yard.
Thanks for the video. I've been loosing flowers and wondering why. Must be the 115 degree weather from the crazy heat wave.
Yes from AZ.
Thank you for all the advice, Brian. I have a lot of rain in my area, so fungus is my issue. Do you recommend cooper oxychloride?
I don't have blossoms falling off here in Central Florida right now. It's hot but also the rainey season. I still have tall plants, but diseases and spider mites are taking over. I'm unable to garden right now due to a refractured vertabre, so I cannot take care of them right now. I'm still getting a fair amount of tomatoes which is good.
In the last few weeks we have had multiple days of 90+ days. I think we had something like 15 days in a row. However my garden is shaded in the AM but has a lot of exposure in the PM.
I’m on the east coast zone 7 and it’s been in the 90s. I do have flowers falling off.
Thanks.
Love you!!!😀❤
Brian, can I use the tomato planting mix (crab shell, kelp, and rock phosphate) when planting other summer veggies? Cucumbers, squash, etc? Thanks!
Yes!
...... thanks!
Well heat and humidity is one of our downfalls here in Southwest Florida, although if we get this tropical storm I won’t have to worry about the heat. One question what causes tomatoes to produce small fruit as they age?
I live in Vancouver, British Columbia. I've been noticing that my tomato plants have been losing alot of flowers. I have some plants which have tomatoes growing, some that are flowering right now, all of which were planted from 4 inch pot plants. I have about 12 plants which are grown from seed which were planted at the end of May. I'm assuming these won't have the same problems as the extreme heat is most likely over.
Yep! It’s so hot and humid here near Atlanta, GA. My tomatoes look pathetic.
Not surprised. Hang in there
I’ve always gently flicked the blossoms. Seems to work. I have fruit set on almost all 19 of my tomatoes.
Yes my first flowers fell off and got hit with a hail storm. A bunch of flowers are on there now so we’ll see. But also my pepper flowers have not made any peppers they just fall off every time. Zone 9b.
Hi Brian, it has been great watching your educational videos on growing tomato’s organically and I will give it a try. I am currently growing cherry tomatoes on my balcony which is doing great and I understand that after the leaders reach a height that fits my place, my question is I have read that others let their “suckers” on the lower branches grow to 2 sets of leaves then clip the growth tip on those so there are a lot of short suckers through out the leader branches for maximizing flower/fruit production as the season progresses, so I was curious, on these indeterminate tomato plants on prior older branches that have already flowered in the past, would the plant also produce second or more flower crops from these older branches or is it only from new sucker branches? Thank you again for helping me understand the growth of a tomato plant.
Suckers also grow suckers, and also become an entire plant - so yes they will flower again as long as they aren’t topped. So with an indeterminate you really can choose how to shape your tomatoes and how many tomatoes you can grow. For instance on mine (also a patio) I wait until they’ve blossomed at 6’ tall and then allow three sun leaves to grow above that truss for shading the last flower/fruit, then I top the plant. After that I’ll fertilize so that suckers grow faster, trimming off the remaining main stem suckers. The 3 suckers I do let grow, I let them flower twice and then top them so no more flowering/fruit/weight, also eliminating all the sucker’s suckers. Confused yet? Lol It really comes down to how much support and time you have. I only let 3 suckers grow (but twice flowering on each) because I don’t have the support to let ALL the suckers grow. Plus if I let them all grow I wouldn’t get to harvest them until, like, November.
There’s also the case that suckers feed energy into the plant until they begin to flower, so it’s not like there’s zero benefit to them. You just gotta pick your battles. For me it’s time and space. But hey, maybe this year you let one plant go hog wild and see what it looks like and how well it produces. :)
thanks
Yes
So my experience for growing tomatoes this year can all be boiled down to having shade cloth deployed at all times, because I had to deal with 120 degree temps for an entire week, then the monster heat wave that happened this June.
And yet, I still have a few (and only a few (so far)) tomatoes growing on the vines.
Hi Brian, thank you for your good work. Can heavy rain cause tomato flowers to fall? Thanks
Yes😔! It’s been in the upper 90s and triple digits here in NorCal so I’m thinking that’s the issue. I don’t think shade cloth is the ticket as this is a daily occurrence .I do have some fruit but all I’m doing is watering more to try and keep them healthy 🤞
It could be the heat but it could also be that they’re too protected so the wind isn’t knocking the truss enough to get the pollen moving. Before I used an electric toothbrush I would always drum my fingers (like on a table if you’re bored) on the main stem so it would vibrate the flowers. I’d do it three times a day just in case. That may help if you’re not already providing vibration.
Also, I only shade the plants that have open flowers. Less cost, an extra five minutes each day...but saves the flowers. I’m in 9b/NorCal, so believe me when I say that every pollinated tomato flower feels like a MIRACLE. 😏