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I think I've ruined my tomatoes :-(

I'm getting sick to my stomach just thinking about this.  I think I ruined my tomato plants Crying Our spring here in Virginia (Zone 7) was so wet, they didn't grow very well.  Their leaves curled from too much water, and they grew very slowly.  So I pinched the early flowers to encourage the plant to have better upward growth.  Well apparently I pinched the flowers off for too long (I stopped at the beginning of June).  All our friends have little green tomatoes, and our flowers just opened.  I was reading online that it's ~2 months from flowering to ripe fruit, which would be the end of August!!! That's normally the height of tomato season, not the very beginning!  Oh woe is me the overzealous gardener!

Do you think I should fertilize them?  We usually don't fertlize, just compost and worm casting.  I already did both of those a few weeks ago.  Do you think some tomato fertilizer would help?  I'm wary of doing any more at this point as I have screwed this up royally already.  Sad

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Re: I think I've ruined my tomatoes :-(

  • I have absolutely no experience with this, but my first thought was to wait another week since you did the compost and worm castings 2 weeks ago. Don't they say you should start seeing good results from the worm castings about a month out?  What would be in the tomato fertilizer that the plants aren't getting from the compost and worm castings?
  • If it makes you feel any better, I don't even have blossoms yet. And some of my tomato plants just.... aren't growing.  Not giving up yet, but not counting on continuing this new hobby of mine next year.
  • I'll just say this:

    One year I had a serious problem with yellow, small and wilted tomatoes. I composted, egg shells all the natural stuff.

    Finally I looked online and I found the exact picture of my tomatoes--there was a certain chemical that was lacking from my soil...

    I looked it up and put in a little Miracle Grow--and within a DAY the plants were green and within a week, growing. 

    I know it's not the best, but the compounds do work. 

    If you are really, really opposed, you might try the fish fertilizer--I've used that before--it's okay. Be careful. It STINKS and it is messy. 

     

  • I'd probably try some fertilizer.  You can get organic fertilizer at places like Lowes and Home Depot.  Off the top of my head, Lowes sells an organic fertilizer specific to tomatoes and both places sell general organic fertilizer for vegetables like Espoma brand.
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  • Every time I've used fertilizer on tomato plants, I end up with GORGEOUS, huge, bushy, healthy plants... that never produce a single tomato. Not one.

    No idea why, but I think it's the timing of the fertilizer that matters.

    - Jena
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  • I don't have any advice but wanted to let you know that ours just started blooming too.  D@mn rain!
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  • imagejen5/03:

    Every time I've used fertilizer on tomato plants, I end up with GORGEOUS, huge, bushy, healthy plants... that never produce a single tomato. Not one.

    No idea why, but I think it's the timing of the fertilizer that matters.

    It's what in your fertilizer that's causing this problem.  Fertilizer is a ratio of 3 nutrients, NPK.  Nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.  Your fertilizer is probably too heavy in nitrogen, which is the nutrient that grows leaves and stems.  You need a fertilizer with more phosphorous, which is the nutrient that supports flower and fruit growth.  Try a fertilizer where the middle number is higher than the others.

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