Ashita, I'm no expert tomato grower, but at this hour of the night, I may be the only person online here in the states, so I'll tell you what I've heard, which is that for fruit production the second number should always be higher than the first.in the N-P-K series posted on commercial fertilizers

That would be the phosphorous, not the potash:

N = Nitrogen
Nitrogen is the first major element responsible for the vegetative growth of plants above ground. With a good supply, plants grow sturdily and mature rapidly, with rich, dark green foliage.

P = Phosphorus
The second major element in plant nutrition, phosphorus is essential for healthy growth, strong roots, fruit and flower development, and greater resistance to disease.

K = Potassium (Potash) The third major plant nutrient, potassium oxide is essential for the development of strong plants. It helps plants to resist diseases, protects them from the cold and protects during dry weather by preventing excessive water loss.

From: http://www.living-learning.com/faq/npk.htm

But as for ensuring that you having blossoms start down low, I believe that is a characteristic of certain varieties. For example, the common description of Glacier, one of the "cool weather earlies," states that it sets fruit at only 4".

Perhaps those who are much more knowledgeable than I will chime in tomorrow.

jan

How much sun does your garden get? The most important factor for thick, strong plants is at least 6 hours a day of direct unobstructed sunlight. Too little sun is the most common cause of spindly plants with sparse blooms and low yields.

How much later than expected did the fruit ripen? Some varieties are naturally later-bearing than others. Did you happen to plant a late-maturing variety?

Another question -- are you deliberately pruning the plant to just one stem? That would make it appear spindly and also direct more of its energy into growing taller. I don't remove "suckers" (lateral branches) since those branches will also bear flowers and fruit, increasing the number of tomatoes I can harvest from each plant.

I agree with the above - tall spindly plants is almost always due to a lack of sufficient sunlight - be they seedlings or well established plants. Improving the sun exposure if possible will be of great help.

Jiffy pots also have some associated problems that may contribute to your delayed fruiting, especially if you plant with the pot intact. Tear or strip away most of the pot when transplanting so that the roots have easy - rather than delayed - access to the soil.

An interim transplanting - between the true leaf stage and putting into the garden - triggers the development of fibrous feeder roots. That is of great benefit to earlier production too. Try germinating your plants in a smaller container first and then transplanting them to the Jiffy pots.

Dave

"Ashita, I'm no expert tomato grower, but at this hour of the night, I may be the only person online here in the states, so I'll tell you what I've heard, which is that for fruit production the second number should always be higher than the first.in the N-P-K series posted on commercial fertilizers
That would be the phosphorous, not the potash:"

Uh-oh

In many cases you would be correct jll0306, but for tomatoes you are sadly mistaken. Tomato plants use very little phosphorus compared to other flowering plants, it is only needed to initiate flowers so it is important to have in some quantity, but it doesn't take much.

"In tomato crops, the requirement for potassium is about the same as for nitrogen in the early crop stages (from seedling through until fruit development). After this, the requirement for potassium keeps increasing with fruit load while nitrogen levels off. While nitrogen is important and is used in large quantities for vegetative growth, potassium is the predominant cation in tomato fruit and has major effects on fruit quality."

-Dr Lynette Morgan of the Suntech hydroponic consultants
I have posted a link to the full article from which this is taken below, it is hugely informative.

@ashita:
You are correct in your assumption about potash (K20) the molecule that provides potassium. It is the most heavily used element by fruiting tomato vines and is needed in unusually high quantities if one desires a good harvest. It is needed in a large ratio compared to nitrogen and phosphorus which is hard to find in bagged chemical fertilizers. The good news is there are readily available organic sources for potash, usually taking the form of burned organic matter. Wood ash is a good place to start, providing 4-7% potassium by mass, but if you are really serious about getting a big harvest you'll go for corn cob ash which yields 30-35% potassium! These organic ferts can be added in a tea, but it is best to pre-load your soil with them before you've done your planting. Be liberal with it as it is impossible to "burn" your plants with them like you can with chemical fertilizers. When it comes to your tall spindly issue digdirt is right, more sun exposure will help this problem, but I know that may not be possible. Another solution would be the technique of supercropping, which is the practice of crushing the phloem (the outer veins which carry things downwards) of the stem while leaving the xylem (the inner veins that carry things upwards) intact. This makes for thick, hardy stems that to a great job of holding the plant up and exponentially increase its water-carrying abilities. I have outlined the process in detail and posted pictures of the resulting effects over in my own grow diary:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg1222213220075.html?28

You may find some of my other techniques helpful. A more aggressive nutrient delivery method such as mine can help supplement a less than perfect light situation, but there's no true substitute for more nourishing sunlight. Do your best to get the most of it possible. Good luck and happy gardening!
-Zach

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Nutrition

Ashita, I'm no expert tomato grower, but at this hour of the night, I may be the only person online here in the states, so I'll tell you what I've heard, which is that for fruit production the second number should always be higher than the first.in the N-P-K series posted on commercial fertilizers.

Ashita - jill is quite correct in her summation that the conventional wisdom for garden growing tomatoes tends to focus more on phosphorus than on potassium and rightly so and any well-balanced fertilizer will provide all three plus the needed micro-nutrients. Greenhouse or hydroponic growing as referenced above is a very different practice with different needs for the plants.

You'll find many different philosophies on tomato culture abound out there in the world and while all have their strengths and weaknesses, no one approach works well for all. For example, with all due respect to hautions11, wood ash would be the very worst thing to use in my garden given the alkaline soil pH I have. And while I'm glad that he can apparently apply unlimited organic supplements to his soil with no harm, you will find several past discussions here where folks have discovered that it is indeed possible to apply too much and kill the plants. Organic supplements come with application instructions just as chemical supplements do. ;)

And if you are growing in containers rather than in-ground then the plants/soil needs are very different. If your soil is lacking in basic nutrients - and only a professional soil test can tell you that - the solution will be quite different for you than if it is rich fertile soil. Organic fertilizers/feeding works for many but using chemical fertilizers also works for just as many as does a combination of both. So choose whichever option you prefer.

The key is to experiment in your own growing conditions and see which works best for you. Tomato plants aren't prima donnas. They are tough. Their needs are basic and when those basic nutrient needs are met, they will do just fine...if the bugs leave them alone. ;)

Dave

My goodness, thank everybody so much! I have just read through quickly and will go back and follow up all the leads. I am so grateful.@Just a few quick reactions. It is not a sunlight problemÂAThe sunlight is good and long enough. Also I didn't pinch out any growing points, at least not until the plants threatened to take over the whole small garden.They were about 8 feet tall when I started to worry about the neighbors!
I'm going back to read all the advice again, and will report on my progress.
Actually I'm overwhelmed by all of your kindness! Thank you again!

Ashita

Thank you, Digdirt.

People are also often advised to add lime to their soil when preparing a garden bed, to "sweeten" it, but we have alkaline soil here, too, and I don't believe it needs anymore sweetening.

I have noticed that when leaves on plants (both in pots and in the ground) start to yellow (in spite of proper fertilization) an application of Ironite reverses the trend. I assume that, since we get almost no rainfall the alkalinity in the water out of the local aquifers transfers to the soil over the season and the subsequent build up strangles their oxygen intake ability.

Jan

If you drink coffee or tea, you can easily add the grounds and leftover beverage to the ground around the plants. My tomatoes love it. They are lush and full.

I wonder if it is air temperature...is it perhaps too cold or too hot for the majority of the day? They get a bit leggy in the heat here in FLorida.

Jan what are your temps like? What are you frost dates? How hot do you get and for how long? When do you plant out and how mature are the seedlings?

Shebear,

Our first/last frost dates are the ends of November and March. Between now and April our daytime highs will be 50-80F and nightime lows 30-45F.

We will have pleasant weather day and night until June 15. After that, daytime highs are always over 90F, often over 100, and by August, usually 105-110. Once the autumn equinox passes, temperatures return to delightfully pleasant again.

This year, unlike previous years, I will start planting out with 8-12 week old plants on March 1, but will make sure they are well-protected on cold nights. I have read that tomatoes set fruit at night, so the first planting will include varieties said to set fruits at cooler temperatures than the accepted minimum of 55F.

The yellowing that I mentioned is not as noticeable with the tomatoes as with my perennials and citrus but then I've just assumed that a late-season mangy look was to be expected with tomato plants and ripped them out when I couldn't stand to look at them anymore.

The biggest single mistake, that hundreds of people make each season, is to start their seeds off too early and then when the plants have hardly got one set of true leaves on them-transfering them to bigger pots full of potting mix, rather than retaining them in the seed mix for at least another month and a half before transfering them to a stronger mix.
This is the biggest mistake one can make, as tomato plants are naturally greedy gross feeders, and will straight away begin to gorge themselves on the new higher fertilizer content-that nearly always results in long stretched spindly plants and also because of the natural low light conditions at that time of the year-they may do better in artificial light suppliment.

From several years of experimenting-I have found that for best results and strong sturdy compact plants it is best to keep them in the seed sowing mix until just three weeks before normal planting out time-then transfer them to a larger pot full of potting mix,the plants will then start to grow away into sturdy plants and feeding off the new mix until by the end of three weeks or so they will be ready to plant out in the garden as balanced strudy plants without any sign of stretching .

I love starting plants from seed, hovering over trays and cups waiting for the EMERGENCE. It's like pacing the waiting room in a maternity ward.

I sew intensively, and transplant early into cups half filled with mix. The trays of seedlings go outside every sunny day after that...which means almost every day. As they grow I add more mix around their stems. By planting out time they are well-rooted and hardened off and I'm rooting around in the seed box, looking for something else to start.

Jan