Tomato plants don’t produce as much fruit (2024)

FAQs

Tomato plants don’t produce as much fruit? ›

If you have trouble with tomato plants not setting fruit, heat is likely to blame. Keep plants healthy to ride through the heat wave, and help prevent this problem by growing heat-set varieties. A soaker hose helps prevent diseases caused by overhead watering.

If you have trouble with tomato plants not setting fruit, heat is likely to blame. Keep plants healthy to ride through the heat wave, and help prevent this problem by growing heat-set varieties. A soaker hose helps prevent diseases caused by overhead watering.

Low nitrogen produces spindly vines that cannot support proper plant development. Fungal problems, such as early blight and Septoria leaf spot, can also prevent high yields as well as high quality fruit, especially during seasons with periods of heavy rainfall.

Some growers prefer to use a high-phosphorus fertilizer, indicated by a larger middle number. You can also keep things simple with a fertilizer especially formulated for tomatoes – usually with a ratio like 3-4-6 or 4-7-10. Most importantly, don't over-fertilize.

Here's a simple recipe for side-dressing tomatoes: When fruit begins to develop, spread ½ cup of a 5-10-5 fertilizer around the base of a tomato plant. Gently work the fertilizer into the top inch of soil. Fertilize tomatoes again with a ½ cup of 5-10-5 when the first fruit is harvested.

If your tomato plants have ceased production entirely, it's time to harvest any remaining fruit. Even if the fruits are small or slightly green, you can allow them to ripen indoors. Place them in a paper bag with a ripe banana or apple, as these fruits release ethylene gas that speeds up the ripening process.

Remove all leafy suckers beneath the first fruit cluster so they won't slow the development of the fruit. Suckers are the little shoots that form in the spot (called an axil) where the leaf stem attaches to the main growing stem. In northern regions, many gardeners go further, removing all suckers as they appear.

Insufficient sunlight

The lack of adequate sunlight can result in the lack of fruiting. A fully grown tomato plant requires six to eight hours of daily sunlight to produce flowers and then fruits. Without proper sunlight, the tomato plant will have leggy and spindly growth and little or no fruits.

3) high temperature stress will limit fruit size. This is very common in the hot, humid southeast, especially in May and June. 4) shading during the cloudier months prevents full development of fruit. Be sure the greenhouse does not get shaded by large trees or tall buildings.

Does pruning tomatoes reduce yield? ›

Pruning, or selectively removing some of the tomato plant growth, can improve harvestable yields and prolong the harvest season. Further, keeping tomato plants off the ground reduces common fungal diseases like early blight, Septoria leaf spot, and anthracnose, and improves fruit quality.

Tomato plants have big appetites and need a steady supply of plant food to grow their best. Miracle-Gro® Performance Organic® Edibles Plant Nutrition Granules feeds both your plants and the beneficial microbes in the soil (which help plants take up all the nutrition they need) for up to 6 weeks.

Coffee grounds contain around 2% nitrogen as well as varying amounts of phosphorus and potassium which are all very important for the growth of tomato plants. By mixing some coffee grounds into the soil below your tomato plants you're introducing these nutrients that the plants need to thrive.

What is the best fertilizer for tomatoes? The best fertilizer for tomatoes comes down to preferences. Fish emulsion is a mild, nitrogen rich organic that can be used all season long. If only one type of formulated fertilizer is used, it's best to choose a balanced product such as NPK 10-10-10.

A fully grown tomato plant requires six to eight hours of daily sunlight to produce flowers and then fruits. Without proper sunlight, the tomato plant will have leggy and spindly growth and little or no fruits. To produce tomatoes the plant requires energy which they receive from sunlight.

Pruning at the right time directs energy toward creating and ripening fruit instead of making more leaves. Overall, you will probably have fewer fruit on a pruned plant, but it will be bigger.

Pruning for Light:

Properly pruning your tomato plants can help light penetrate to the lower parts of the plant, encouraging balanced growth and flowering. Removing some of the lower leaves can also improve air circulation, reducing the risk of disease.

Soil that contains a lot of sand doesn't hold water well and dries quickly. Because of this, tomato plants growing in sandy soil may need to be watered more often, about every three or four days. Clay soil, on the other hand, holds water well. Plants growing in clay soil usually only need to be watered once a week.