why won't you grow????

12 years ago

Before I became a vegetable gardener I thought tomatoes were one of those plants that everyone could grow well. Like hostas! Apparently I was very very wrong. I have tried to grow tomatoes for several years and for some reason I suck at it. I have a modest little plot of dirt, I top it with shredded leaves and grass clippings every fall, work in Espoma all purpose fertilizer in the spring as well as some compost, and the soil is full of earth worms. Yet my tomatoes are always pathetic! I have tried the past few years to grow them from seed to save $$. The plants grew, but they weren't huge and the yields were very low. I figured maybe the plants weren't getting much of a head start so this year I bought a 4-pack of Better Boys. They took off growing very well through the spring, but now they are stalled out. I even tried some Miracle Gro to stimulate growth, but that hasn't really done much. What am I doing wrong????

It is frustrating. My mother-in-law has hard lean clay soil and she never pays much attention to her tomatoes and she has hundreds. She gives them away by the shopping bag full!! Am I amending the soil TOO much?

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Comments (12)

terrybull
12 years ago
whats your soil ph?
kpev7hard
Original Author
12 years ago
last time i checked it was about neutral.
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terrybull
12 years ago
first off i would get a soil analysis. you might have something out of wack. you need a balance for all of to work.
Phildeez
12 years ago
If the grass clippings are still green don't they leach nitrogen out of the soil? Just a thought.
ethnobotany
12 years ago
How much sunlight do the tomatoes receive? If not much, then that might be the problem. Tomatoes will taste very bland and their leaves will not give off scent when rubbed if they don't get enough sunlight... Lettuce is similar. If you don't grow the lettuce with ample sunlight then the leaves will be tender, instead of the crispiness most people enjoy.
kpev7hard
Original Author
12 years ago
Phildeez, I don't work the grass clipping into the soil when I place them in the fall. I just put a few inches worth on top of the soil. By the time spring comes around they have decomposed down into the soil along with the shredded leaves. From what I have read, doing it this way won't take nutrients out of the soil to break it down, but maybe that's wrong?

Ethnobotany, the plants get lots of sun. I'd say from about 10am to the time the sun sets. The leaves do smell fragrant.
Phildeez
12 years ago
I am sure that is fine, I think as long as they dry out they are great for your soil. I am no expert I just know not to mix them in green.
Bets
12 years ago
What is your source for your grass clippings? If they have had any weed killing product residue you could have contaminated soil.

For instance, the half life of dicamba (used in some weed killer/fertilizer combinations) can vary from from 4 to 555 days with the typical half-life being 1 to 4 weeks. Tomatoes are extremly sensitive to herbicides, so even a small amount that remains after the half life can affect them.

Just something to consider.

Betsy
noinwi
12 years ago
You don't have any walnut trees or other allelopathic trees growing nearby, do you?
KMKacan
12 years ago
Do you have any photo's of the plant. That might help in identifying your problem. It sounds like your doing everything right. How about your temps? Do you live in a cold climate?

Happy Gardening All,
-Kristina K.

Here is a link that might be useful: Urban Farm Wife
OrchidOCD
12 years ago
Z7 MD should be a perfect climate for tomatoes - I'm in z6 VA (NoVA), used to live in z7 VA. Are you on the eastern shore, and if so, potentially salty soil? When I lived near the beach I had to mix in commercial top soil and compost to lessen the salt content. You might want to try growing a couple of toms in containers with potting soil to rule out local soil issues. In MD, there's still plenty of time to put a new transplant into a pot and harvest in Aug, Sept and Oct. I still grow some things in containers and others in the ground - just have found that some grow better for me in containers than in the soil.
kpev7hard
Original Author
12 years ago
Let me get to all these responses (thank you so much for the questions!)

Phildeez and bets - yes, I put them on when they have started to dry. My husband mows and puts them in our compost bin and it usually takes me a few days to get to them to place on the garden so they are no longer green. All the clippings come from my yard and we don't use any products on the grass.

noinwi - the only trees around me are Green Ash, Japanese Maple, Red Maple, Sweet Gum, and Mulberry.

KMKacan and orchidOCD - I live just north of Baltimore, MD. I don't have any photos of the plants, but I could try to take some today. They look fine, they just won't grow!!

why won't you grow????

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terrybull

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why won't you grow????

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