Trouble with your tomatoes? Try these 5 tips to keep getting tasty fruit all summer long
If you're struggling to get juicy red tomatoes this summer, it could be a very easy fix. Here are 5 common mid-summer tomato problems and how to fix them!
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Tomatoes are the easiest fruit to grow and have the biggest return on your investment. The plants are easy to grow from seed and can produce hundreds of flowers. They readily self-seed, so many gardeners end up growing delicious tomatoes for free. The taste is the best part about growing tomatoes in the garden. You can pick tomatoes fresh at peak ripeness when they taste their best.
However, these tomatoes can have issues. A little extra care will go a long way if you're serious about getting a lot of tasty fruits. Here are the top problems.
1. Blossom end rot
If you have brown or black sunken spots at the bottom of the fruit, you could have Blossom end rot. It's caused by a calcium deficiency. Some gardeners try to remedy this by adding calcium to the soil, but oftentimes the deficiency in calcium actually comes from inconsistent watering.
The fix is to water a little bit every day and keep your tomatoes from drying out. I use "drip irrigation" which automatically (and very slowly) delivers water right to the roots of my tomato plants.
Amend the soil with calcium (like crushed eggshells or lime) before planting or use a calcium-rich tomato fertilizer. Usually not a necessary step since the problem often resolves by itself as the roots become more established.
2. Leaf curling
If the leaves on your tomato plant are curling upward or inward, sometimes with a leathery texture, it could be a symptom of this common problem. You'll see this more commonly on new growth at the top of your plant. It's caused by stress like heat, wind, or inconsistent watering and may appear after the heat wave we had last week.
Adjust the growing conditions around your plant. You'll notice improvements on new growth, but it will not fix the leaves that have already curled.
3. Not enough fruit
If you are getting flowers without any fruit, it's likely a problem with pollination. This can be caused temporarily during high heat and humidity. Last week's temperatures were in the 80s at night in some spots which is too hot for tomato pollination. However, if the problem has been consistent all season, you may need to pollinate the plants on your own or attract more pollinators to your garden.
4. Tomato blight & virus
If the lower leaves on your plants are turning yellow and curling and the plant is not growing vigorously, it could be a symptom of tomato blight or tomato virus. However, tomatoes that are at the end of their lifespan will also show these symptoms.
Remove affected plants to prevent spread if it’s a disease. Always sanitize tools before and after with rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer or soapy water. Feed the plant with a balanced fertilizer or compost to correct nutrient imbalances.
5. Tomatoes are flopping over
Tomato cages are a great tool for short growing tomato varieties which are called "determinate tomatoes". They will grow to a set height and produce all their fruit over the course of a few weeks before naturally losing energy in autumn. However, many tomatoes have a vining habit. They won't climb on their own, but they grow too tall and lanky for a tomato cage to support them. These tall tomatoes would to best with a very tall cage (that's more than 5 feet tall) or with a large trellis. Unlike true vines, tomatoes will need support from strings to stay attached to a trellis.
Sometimes I grow tomatoes in between my shrubs and let them sprawl on top of the shrubs. This isn't the prettiest look, but it keeps the tomato plants elevated above the ground which keeps them from rotting or getting eaten by small animals.
Understanding the cause behind common tomato problems can make all the difference in getting an incredible harvest. But even if you ignore this guide, you'll still likely be enjoying juicy tomatoes and that's what makes them so great.
