Tomato Plant Not Fruiting? Here's What You Need To Do!

[@moosbrth]

Tip: Use 2 tsp of honey to a quart of water and and gently spray the flowers to get bees to pollinate the flowers, works well on all kinds of fruit trees and pomegranates too if your flowers are dropping off. I use a small misting sprayer.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Huh, I would never have thought about this in a thousand year. Cool tip - thank you for sharing!

[@rosyc5777]

​@cliff3731That makes no sense!. Honey, IS MADE FROM Bees!!!

[@josephnadrignola1951]

Tomato flowers are self pollinating and don’t need bees to do it!

[@Madrugada8]

Loved how you showed examples of dried up flowers and your eggplants etc instead of just talking next to a tomato plant - I really appreciate the information and effort you put into your videos, as well as your sharing of challenges, failures, and successes! Well done - I've just subscribed 😊 I'm in a 7A zone and we had a brutal heat wave with temps of about 32-34C during the day and I noticed that a lot of my flowers dried up and fell off 😪 I'm growing in a container on my balcony and I think I'm going to try bringing it temporarily inside during the next heat wave to see if that will help. 🤞

[@steveakins4474]

So FRUSTRATED in South Carolina. We used Clemson University for soil testing. Followed all directives. But our tomatoes, ( 40 plants and 7 varieties) are not producing. Literally 4 tomatoes. The plants are as high as 4 ft. and reasonably healthy. Our peppers are also not producing. (less than 10 peppers from 30+ plants) But Squash, OMG, crazy high yields. Okra also healthy, and flowering but no fruit. Moved here from Tennessee, what fresh hell is this to get a yield from an 1800 sq. ft. garden.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Beyond frustrating - sorry to hear it. That was us our first year in our current location honestly. Took a lot of compost, a lot of forking the ground between every crop, and a few different irrigation implementations to get it working. And same as you - that first year, our squash did beautifully! Are you on heavy clay soil by chance?

[@Grateful4lfe]

In Georgia, 2 tomatoes from 8 plants . Zero peppers from 4 plants …. We have had excessive heat ?

[@Jennifermcintyre]

@@Grateful4lfeI’m feeling your pain!! I’ve harvested a small baskets worth and I’ve looked over 6 HUGE plants and all I see are a few cherry tomatoes. 😭 I’ve also had rats rampaging through and eating half of ton of the tomatoes that were doing ok 😥

[@matchpoint14]

@@Grateful4lfe Grateful4life, I also am in GA too, and I have tomatoes plants planted since April and have 4 tomatoes from 3 plants and one plant of those has not had one tomato. I have never had a bad year growing tomatoes I am not sure what the deal is. BTW I am in Jasper county

[@lisagavin5418]

So, I've been "ok, whatever" when I heard the electric toothbrush thing, but you convinced me yesterday. I tried it. If you look closely, you can see a little puff of pollen falling down from the blossoms when you buzz them. My san marzanos, beefsteak, and cherry tomato plants are loaded with fruit. My uglies are only producing on around 20% of blossoms. I'm bummed, because they are my favorites. It's gotta be a structural issue. Those blooms are HUGE. I can't wait to see the toothbrush results. Ty!

[@richardburcl4392]

I have big problems with bloom drop. South Florida heat is a problem. Noticed my best fruit set under my pool patio screen in containers. Enjoyed your video!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

I spent a few months in South Florida, that heat and humidity is no joke! We don't have your humidity but I know the struggles with heat. I'm trying a few new things to deal with blossom drop this year and will make a video if they work out =) Cheers!

[@Mom2MrBabyHaikin]

I'm in RI

[@Mom2MrBabyHaikin]

So sun is bad?

[@Mom2MrBabyHaikin]

Tereccota sounds fun & next year I want mortgage lifter!

[@job6801]

Very interesting use of the toothbrush. My potted tomatoes have lots of flowers and only 2 tomatoes so far. One is actually riping now and the plants are dying. I tried the finger tapping but l think it is too late as leaves are brown abd drying and flower are falling of. Lots of wind so the tomato and pepper flowers got a battering from the wind. Thanks for the info will use next time l plant.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Sorry to hear that! It's so frustrating when they don't fruit well. We tried growing some indoors once that flowered and didn't fruit at all. I hope the toothbrush helps next year, it really works well for us. And works great for peppers and eggplants too. Cheers!

[@job6801]

@@NextdoorHomestead cool. Thanks man

[@ElleL912]

Chickens in the suburbs, lol that was funny! Another helpful video. Thank you!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You're very welcome! Glad you liked it =)

[@homebodyjen752]

I have 3 month old tomato plants (started from seed), and my cherry and Marzano plants are setting fruit very well, even during this heat wave. My beefsteak tomatoes have set a whopping ZERO fruits. I think the culprit is that they were weak and not as sturdy as the other plants. They have always been the weaker looking seedlings. I have been very diligent at using the finger tap, but I’m wondering if the place they are positioned (right in the middle of the bed) makes it so they get a bit of a wind shield compared to the other plants. Plus, they are more stocky than the other plants so they don’t sway as much. I’m hoping they will eventually set fruit before it gets too hot! The new fruit coming in looks much better. Time will tell as this is my first year. Your videos have helped tremendously!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Ugh, so frustrating! Beefsteaks can definitely be a bit finicky, but if you're hand pollinating, the lack of wind and sway motion shouldn't be an issue. That may be a good or bad thing! Weak seedlings can *100%* lead to unproductive plants, as can too little sunlight if they're getting shaded out in the middle of the bed. FWIW, our beefsteaks are not fruiting/maturing well right now either compared to the cherry and paste tomatoes. It often just comes down to the variety.

[@WS-by5cl]

As far as disease prevention, I just learned (from Zen Garden Oasis here on YT) to spray an aspirin foliar solution. I tried it two weeks ago and so far so good! I need to do it again soon.

[@timhunter9749]

I use an electric toothbrush and touch the flowers to vibrate them. It even sounds like a big Bee and works well.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Right?!

[@vimondireksri8820]

It's pretty much summer here in Thailand. So 80-100 all year. I've noticed you mention heat in several videos. What area of the US are you in? It's tough to find many good informative videos in high heat environments.

[@bihakuma3877]

Good Lord, this is me now. Oh the tomatoes that could have been!!😢😢😢😂😂

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Sometimes, in a heat wave, it's just inevitable. We hit triple digits this week and no doubt I'm going to find lots of dropped flowers =(

[@vimondireksri8820]

Once fruit has started do tomatoes tend to drop fruit once temperatures are high? This is only my second year with tomatoes. Thanks for the great information.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

As in abort the fruit after pollination? I think that's a lesser concern but certainly the high temps (and strong light) can *damage* that fruit. It's tough in the heat!

[@vimondireksri8820]

When collecting seeds from hybrid tomatoes will you get the same plants the next year if no cross pollination has happened. I've seen mixed information. I'm full of questions. Haha. Thanks for your time.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Unfortunately no, they will not be true to seed. Over time, you could put in the effort to make a hybrid *into* an open pollinated, stable line but that's a whoooooole nother project =)

[@vimondireksri8820]

@@NextdoorHomestead so I'm guessing you will get some random variety or something from the mother or father plant?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

@@vimondireksri8820 Yep - genetics at play! Think of it like dog puppies basically =) Two purebred dogs will have puppies with mostly predictable, consistent traits. But puppies from dogs with mixed lineage will have unpredictable traits. Eventually, you could select from the traits you like and create a new purebred dog line though!

[@vimondireksri8820]

@@NextdoorHomestead sounds fun. Cheers

[@tambrasmith9707]

My sweet 100’s came back true when I planted a whole tomato

[@shabdaummatt3427]

SUPERB WONDERFUL AMAZING UNBELIEVABLE AWSOME ❤❤❤

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Thank you so much 😀

[@sophiaharris5484]

I love this video! Thank you. My tomatoes (all except one early girl who is very happy) are fruiting at the bottom of the plant for the first initial Fruits but then never again- blossom dropping on the upper as the plant grows :( All different varietals and the weather seems to be fine for them as you described. Have you heard of this?

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Hey Sophia, that sounds super frustrating. Are you hand pollinating? If so and the weather isn't too hot, I'd verify they're getting at least 6 hours of sun daily and the plant is showing no signs of disease. And if it really is important to you, a soil test can be a good tool to narrow in on any issue (low potassium comes to mind). In my personal experience, too little sunlight has been the culprit with healthy plants that flower and don't fruit.

[@sophiaharris5484]

@@NextdoorHomestead I did the little jiggle tap today thanks to your video and will see how it goes! Tomatoes are usually super happy in my sunny garden with minimal effort so I'm so confused this year. I will check on things that have potassium in them too. Thank you!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Best of luck!

[@topg2794]

You can also use the phone vibration to pollinate instead of toothbrush etc.

[@karennewberry4694]

Just brushing the foliage back and forth with the hand works the same

[@robbiejaeger5441]

I love the research-based advice that you present in your videos. Outside of research papers, do you have any books on plant biology/botany/horticulture that you would recommend for gardeners? Might be good content for the fall/winter when growing season slows down for us in the northern hemisphere, if that interests you, of course.

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Love this! I'm far from the most well-read gardener out there, but there are certainly a handful of books that would make for a fun short video =)

[@shabdaummatt3427]

WOW THE BEST VIDEO ON THE UTUBE AND YOU ARE THE BEST AND AMAZING AWSOME 😊😊

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Thank you so much 😀

[@eddietomes5105]

I had something eat my tomatoes that ate my vines also do you have any idea what would do that

[@AmyW133]

Thanks for the video 👍 I have a small cherry tomato plant on our patio. I have experienced blossom drop for the past month. It’s screened in, but it gets plenty of sunlight and water. I’m wondering if it’s due to the plant being inside a screen, i.e. do the flowers need to be pollinated by insects to produce fruit? We have one single fruit amongst the whole plant. We appreciate your time and effort in these videos!

[@NextdoorHomestead]

First off, thanks so much for the note of appreciation! Just means the world to us =) Given that you have seen only one fruit, I think the most *likely* culprit is poor mechanical pollination as the plant is shielded from both insects by the screen and the wind by the porch. I'd start by trying to really vibrate the new flowers well everyday to see if that results in some fruit setting. The nice thing is that there's no special sauce when it comes to pollination, you shaking the pollen free with your finger or an electric toothbrush is better than the insects would have done anyhow. Next, I'd count the hours of *full* strong sunlight. Assuming it's not super hot where you are, its definitely possible to see no flowers fruit if the plant isn't receiving at least 6 hours of sunlight on the porch - I've had it happen myself! Plants looked beautiful, flowered well, but never fruited at all.

[@florawillis1384]

Here is my honest opinion. I am growing the same varieties of tomatoes that I grew last year. Doing the same thing. The weather is not as hot as it was last year. It is Chemtrails ruining all our Gardens when we get the people to stop making Chemtrails we will have good Gardens. That is the problem!

[@Windowsinthewater]

This is exactly what I was thinking

[@WS-by5cl]

Yes!!!!!

[@matchpoint14]

I have been growing them for decades and never had a problem with this But this year I read it would be good for them to put a little oatmeal around them. I did that and I have not had a tomatoes yet on an otherwise healthy looking plant. I have a love hate relationship with the internet, that was bad advice for me

[@davidbennett3707]

My problem was one year was fewer bee I got a electric toothbrush but the bee left after a couple of months I think you need about a third of flowers to two third of vegetable plants

[@Mom2MrBabyHaikin]

Interesting. Pepers doings nothing, eggplants are better, but not really flowering. Tomatoes & cucumbers worry me & most needed.

[@Mom2MrBabyHaikin]

Same here!!!!

[@vimondireksri8820]

What if I tap my finger faster 🤣🤣😂 thanks for the great video

[@NextdoorHomestead]

You should! Except use an electric toothbrush to do it =) Basically just automated high speed tapping^^

[@WS-by5cl]

The biggest common denominator is more chemtrails and weather modification, and less bees and pollinators. 😢 until the poisons being sprayed on our families and gardens STOP, not a lot will change.

[@rachelstark2391]

Greetings, If you are going to go through the trouble of stating what Zone you are in and that you are actually in the United States, why do not you STATE which state you are in? 🤔 Cheers, Upstate, Albany NY ZONE 6

[@rameshbabua443]

Solution 🤔 Spreing contant brand names plz

[@NextdoorHomestead]

Apologies! I don't follow - are you looking for product recommendations?

[@Mom2MrBabyHaikin]

Potato leaf not even vine produces. Others are exactly like what you show.

[@twochknsoftaco]

Tapa, tapa , tapa.

[@Mom2MrBabyHaikin]

I need food w/o chemicals!

[@mikehocking4836]

Need bees

[@SHARONSHORTOrchidsandGarden]

😊😊