A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2005 My tomatoes didn't make it either

that is so sad. This morning I was out there and I thought 3 of them had started to turn color but when I looked they had dried up. And as soon as I touched them they fell off of the vine.

Well at least the other tomatoes still look healthy.

bummer man. Good luck with the rest!

Thanks Angela

Tammy,
I know that's heart breakin'!!!
Keep watching those other ones'....

I hardly have a green one yet,
but I've planted late..

Hope yours do really well Weezie.

They're still small,
but I know I'll get some by the end
of the season..

Did you get a picture of your tomatoes
that fell and your plants???

No I didn't. I'm so pour with the camera that everything just comes out looking like a blob lol. I think it has something to do with not wearing my glasses.

Sometimes it can be the film speed...
Is this a digital or like a 110 camera or a 35mm?

I gave it a shoot here is what I got.



It's the community camera. It's a digital. Um I really couldn't tell you anything more about it. I don't know anything about cameras. It's a point and click type thing I think.???

Okay, I'm not much on camera's either,
but was wondering which kind it was,
like if you had to use a lens and stuff like
the 35mm one's..

I don't see anything wrong really with your plant,
the tomatoes I see look ok...

I am stumped why a tomato would dry up..
*I haven't had one do that to me...*

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm???

Anyone else???
Heard of anything like this????

Only questions I could think of,
is...
Was the stem it was on, okay?
Broken or snapped or pinched???????

Or maybe not enough water????

Could very well not be enough water. You know I'm constantly fighting the battle to get water out there. I'm sure I could take twice as much water out there and the tomatoes would still be willing to take more but there is only so much I can do. Well maybe I'll do better this time with getting water out there.

Thanks Weezie I appreciate the insight into what is going on.

Anybody you know got a couple of diapers
that they aren't using that you know of???

Just might work, you know me and my experiments..

Take two diapers and dig a hole, one on either
side of it, reasonably deep... say at least 12"
or so...take a diaper, and maybe some landscape fabric...****cause the diaper will eventally fall
apart from holding soooooo much water..and the crystals will come out, but if it's incased in
something to hold the diaper together...

Or if you can find some of those polymer crystals,
**You can find those, I think~at craft stores even** and dig a hole, *have them filled with water first, put them in the container, and fill with water, let them soak it up for at least a few hours..
Then drop them in the hole...

Don't do it so it's right next to the plant,
I'd say 10" off the drip line of it now...

That'll keep water in those, when you can't get out to water...and if it rains, they'll soak up and hold that water..

Sounds like you need a good mulch to improve your moisture retention. You may want to try 4+" of straw all around your tomato patch. To give you an idea of how much you'll need, I have at least 60 tomato plants in my garden plus too many other veggies to count and used 3 bales for the entire garden. Straw also keeps the weeds down.

If it makes you feel any better, we just got some wicked thunderstorms over the weekend which caused my Black Cherry tomato plant (>7' tall right now) to break its stake..yup, snapped it in 2 right near the base of the plant. Good news is that most tomato plants have really bendy stems and the plant is fine. Had to install an 8' 1"x1" stake next to the broken one and tie the plant to that, then tie the stake to a nearby pine tree, then tie the plant and the stake to the ground with tent pegs, LOL. But it's holding its own and totally loaded with fruit. With all that tying and manhandling the plants, lost a few growing tips and a few green fruit, but what the hay, we're going to be up to our eyeballs in harvest come August and not miss a couple here or there.

Buona fortuna,
Julianna