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To: jespasinthru
This last spring I planted lots of tomato and bell pepper plants, like I do every spring. I buy heirloom seeds from J.L. Hudson, seedsman .com. And this year, all the little flowers on the plants shriveled up and fell off. I got big, bushy, healthy plants, and not one single tomato or pepper out of the whole lot.

Same here and can't offer much advice. I had giant healthy plants that pulled the stakes out of the ground but zip, nada, nothing for production from most. I planted 7 heirloom tomato varieties and about the same in peppers. The bell peppers didn't do anything, the bananas only gave me about a dozen or so, and the hot ones gave me a few but one wasn't what the package said they were (I've had that problem this year with Burpee (which I don't like to begin with) and some other company with a lettuce mix). My old reliable, but not that tasty, yellow pear tomato gave me a few but nowhere near what it normally does. The new varieties (Amish Paste, Black Cherry, Brandywine Pink, Cherokee Chocolate, Improved Porter) were all disappointing. The Porter, that I got because of it's heat tolerance, only gave me a dozen just this month and the Amish Paste (I'd said upthread Cherokee) gave me one this week but the wasp bug got it. The new black cherry has probably given me about a dozen. The others, nothing, not even a husky cherry that I've grown in the past. Out of about 18 tomato plants, I've maybe frozen half a dozen pint bags so I've had to supplement with store bought for the table.

I don't fertilize them because we have good soil and the water comes from a well so it's not chemically treated. There's not really a need to spray although there was a waspy bug that I'd never seen before that was stinging the tomatoes this year and four years ago we had spider mites. There were bees that got happy with the corn (which never makes) but I didn't see any lady bugs. There weren't as many lizards because there have been a bunch of feral cats. The deer, armadillos, raccons and other four legged creatures don't bother them.

All I can think that caused there to be almost no production was the 100+ temps. They get dappled shade from the trees and house which helps with the heat. They proved they needed a little shade when the neighbor cut down a bush because the two tomatoes near it freaked and never recovered so don't know that I should plant any other there next year.

91 posted on 11/16/2013 3:26:39 PM PST by bgill (This reply was mined before it was posted.)
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To: bgill
All I can think that caused there to be almost no production was the 100+ temps.

The high temps have been the bane of my tomato plants every year. I can't grow them in the greenhouse, in buckets, or in pots because they get too hot and go dormant. They'll grow, but won't produce.
I have 30% shadecloth over my hoop-house, and that, along with adequate watering seems sufficient. They grow and produce well in there.

99 posted on 11/17/2013 12:48:11 AM PST by Sarajevo
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