How to support new green tomatoes

Lindalana · June 12, 2014

Not to piggy back on another thread on blossom drops, while I have few plants that do that several of the plants are doing quite well. Indian stripe has 16 green marble sized tomato on 3 bottom trusses going and many more flowering. I was wondering if there some extra midterm care they would benefit from, increase or decrease fertilizer requirements, add something else etc. to support this production.

ramapojoe · June 12, 2014

sounds good. i'm still waiting on my first fruits.
i think without knowing the condition of your soil it's impossible to say to fertilize more or less. i fertilize very little only because my soil is in pretty good shape from years of composting and keeping ph levels correct. i do use miracle grow or whatever i have but only two or three times, not every week or two like they recomend. too much fertilizer is not good but if you need it follow the instructions printed on the lable
good luck

Cole_Robbie · June 12, 2014

I think the consensus advice is to move to a higher phosphorous and higher potassium fertilizer. Phosphorous has a reputation as the bloom nutrient, but I think potassium may be even more important.

After fruit start to set, I use a "tomato fertilizer pack" from Morgan County Seeds. It's one bag of 4-18-38 and another bag of calcium nitrate, used alternatively. I have just started noticing that I have a small deficiency of either magnesium or iron, so I just bought some Blue Planet Nutrients Calmag. It's calcium, magnesium, and iron. It's expensive, and there is a picture of a tomato on the label, so I have high hopes. I am going to work that into the rotation, so it will be three parts instead of two.

b54red · June 13, 2014

I don't like more than 5 or 6 medium sized tomatoes on a single truss so I try to cull them when they are quite small. If you want larger fruit from Indian Stripe then cull some of them. If you just leave a couple per truss you can get larger than normal fruit but I don't grow for size but neither do I like too many small fruits to deal with. On larger fruited varieties I like to cull down to no more than 3 or 4 per truss and sometimes less if there are a lot of set fruit on the plant. Last year I allowed some larger fruited varieties to set way too many fruits per truss and ended up with nothing but very small tomatoes off those particular plants which normally make quite a few one pounders or above. Usually nature takes care of culling fruit for me but since I have been using Texas Tomato Food my fruit set has been abnormally high and I have been forced to do some culling the past two years. I'm not complaining because I love having the choice for a change.

I am trying using some J hooks for supporting some of the trusses and foam wire on some of the others. I don't know how it will work but I lost a whole lot of fruit last year because whole trusses of green tomatoes just broke off. I tried using twine and cloth strips but they were very difficult to tie and the twine sometimes cut into the stems causing bad kinking which cut off some of the nutrient flow to the fruits.

Bill

June 12, 2014	#1
Lindalana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 857	How to support new green tomatoes Not to piggy back on another thread on blossom drops, while I have few plants that do that several of the plants are doing quite well. Indian stripe has 16 green marble sized tomato on 3 bottom trusses going and many more flowering. I was wondering if there some extra midterm care they would benefit from, increase or decrease fertilizer requirements, add something else etc. to support this production.

June 12, 2014	#2
ramapojoe Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: new jersey Posts: 95	sounds good. i'm still waiting on my first fruits. i think without knowing the condition of your soil it's impossible to say to fertilize more or less. i fertilize very little only because my soil is in pretty good shape from years of composting and keeping ph levels correct. i do use miracle grow or whatever i have but only two or three times, not every week or two like they recomend. too much fertilizer is not good but if you need it follow the instructions printed on the lable good luck

June 12, 2014	#3
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	I think the consensus advice is to move to a higher phosphorous and higher potassium fertilizer. Phosphorous has a reputation as the bloom nutrient, but I think potassium may be even more important. After fruit start to set, I use a "tomato fertilizer pack" from Morgan County Seeds. It's one bag of 4-18-38 and another bag of calcium nitrate, used alternatively. I have just started noticing that I have a small deficiency of either magnesium or iron, so I just bought some Blue Planet Nutrients Calmag. It's calcium, magnesium, and iron. It's expensive, and there is a picture of a tomato on the label, so I have high hopes. I am going to work that into the rotation, so it will be three parts instead of two.

June 13, 2014	#4
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I don't like more than 5 or 6 medium sized tomatoes on a single truss so I try to cull them when they are quite small. If you want larger fruit from Indian Stripe then cull some of them. If you just leave a couple per truss you can get larger than normal fruit but I don't grow for size but neither do I like too many small fruits to deal with. On larger fruited varieties I like to cull down to no more than 3 or 4 per truss and sometimes less if there are a lot of set fruit on the plant. Last year I allowed some larger fruited varieties to set way too many fruits per truss and ended up with nothing but very small tomatoes off those particular plants which normally make quite a few one pounders or above. Usually nature takes care of culling fruit for me but since I have been using Texas Tomato Food my fruit set has been abnormally high and I have been forced to do some culling the past two years. I'm not complaining because I love having the choice for a change. I am trying using some J hooks for supporting some of the trusses and foam wire on some of the others. I don't know how it will work but I lost a whole lot of fruit last year because whole trusses of green tomatoes just broke off. I tried using twine and cloth strips but they were very difficult to tie and the twine sometimes cut into the stems causing bad kinking which cut off some of the nutrient flow to the fruits. Bill