Poor tomato crop 2016 - Ask Extension
Greetings... I generally am a very successful tomato gardener (in prior years).... 2016 the crop is non-existent .... lol I have some green tomatoe...
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Poor tomato crop 2016 #355448
Asked August 22, 2016, 11:41 AM EDT
Greetings... I generally am a very successful tomato gardener (in prior years).... 2016 the crop is non-existent .... lol I have some green tomatoes but they will not ripen. I have very few blossoms for any to grow. I've been reading online others have the same problem. THUS.... is this just a 'bad year' for tomatoes... and how can I prepare my ground for the 2017 planting. I've bought tomatoes from local farmers this year... but I am finding they are 'tasteless' and are not deep red. Please comment on the poor season and give me advice please for 2017 Thanks !!
York County Pennsylvania
Expert Response
I live in Carbon County and for us the tomato season has been late. Cold weather in the spring meant we got a late start. Then it got extremely hot and the tomatoes just sat there. It has been the same story with the rain. When it rained, it poured. I've noticed that the tomatoes at the farmer's market taste like water. Melons also seem like they never got sweet.
I have four heirloom tomato plants that didn't get planted until mid June. They just started producing tomatoes last week, and the tomatoes taste a lot better than the tomatoes from the farmer's market. However, they are suffering from poor pollination. I have catfacing, a deformity of large tomatoes caused by environmental factors.
I'm not sure what to tell you to do since the environmental conditions are unpredictable. You sound like a seasoned grower.
One thing that made a big difference for me this season was raised beds. My beds are 30 inches high because my husband can't garden on the ground. However, even with the normal height of a foot, you have better control over the crop. Cornell University Extension recommends using a soil mix of 60% topsoil, 30% compost, 10% perlite or sand which is a pretty standard potting mix. You can do the beds in four by four plots and devote one bed to tomatoes.
With raised beds, you can put hoops of PVC conduit over the bed and attach insect netting or a sun filter or even shelter against a downpour with a temporary plastic tarp. If you top prune and thin out the foliage, you can make sure the leaves don't stay wet after a rain. Finally, you can install soaker hoses and a good mulch like undyed wood chips to control moisture, For me, it's given me some measure of control over the environmental factors that are unpredictable. There are even thermal covers for late cold snaps.
It seems like we will have to get used to wilder weather and some years when we can't bring in a good crop. You'll have to find an organic grower nearby who might have planted heirloom tomatoes.
I have four heirloom tomato plants that didn't get planted until mid June. They just started producing tomatoes last week, and the tomatoes taste a lot better than the tomatoes from the farmer's market. However, they are suffering from poor pollination. I have catfacing, a deformity of large tomatoes caused by environmental factors.
I'm not sure what to tell you to do since the environmental conditions are unpredictable. You sound like a seasoned grower.
One thing that made a big difference for me this season was raised beds. My beds are 30 inches high because my husband can't garden on the ground. However, even with the normal height of a foot, you have better control over the crop. Cornell University Extension recommends using a soil mix of 60% topsoil, 30% compost, 10% perlite or sand which is a pretty standard potting mix. You can do the beds in four by four plots and devote one bed to tomatoes.
With raised beds, you can put hoops of PVC conduit over the bed and attach insect netting or a sun filter or even shelter against a downpour with a temporary plastic tarp. If you top prune and thin out the foliage, you can make sure the leaves don't stay wet after a rain. Finally, you can install soaker hoses and a good mulch like undyed wood chips to control moisture, For me, it's given me some measure of control over the environmental factors that are unpredictable. There are even thermal covers for late cold snaps.
It seems like we will have to get used to wilder weather and some years when we can't bring in a good crop. You'll have to find an organic grower nearby who might have planted heirloom tomatoes.
