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Growing Tomatoes

Tomatoes ripening when small

11 years ago

The fruit is ripening when they are about 2 inches in diameter. I have Early Girl and Jet Star planted in ground analyzed as Leonard's silt. I have used Miracle Grown every 3 - 4 weeks and watered regularly through this hot summer. This year I planted in raised rows and I change locations every year, but I can never harvest a decent crop of tomatoes. Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated.

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Comments (3)

edweather USDA 9a, HZ 9, Sunset 28
11 years ago
Sounds like the plant is under some sort of stress.
digdirt2
11 years ago
Knowing where you are located or at least your gardening zone would be a big help in answering your question. The possible causes are many and could simply be planting too late.

Over-fertilizing is another option given the info provided as it can lead to large plants with small/low fruit production.

Are your plants heavily mulched as they should be? Do you water deeply or are you one of the 20 mins. a day type water folks? Raised mounds dry out quickly and so need lots of deep watering and heavy mulching.

Have you ever had your soil tested to see what it lacks? Miracle Grow lacks many nutrients.

Need much more information.

Dave
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charlie109
Original Author
11 years ago
Sorry for not providing my zone since it makes a big difference. The soil has been analyzed by the university and there were no recommended enhancements for growing tomatoes. The plants are mulched because of the problem with silt and absorption. Also I confess to being one of those 20 minute persons, but I am only tending 12 plants. The garden area is quite flat, so since I have never delt with a silt garden I probably miss judge the water volume requirements. I plan to bring in as much compost as possible to work in this fall, but I will try to find a way to get more water to these plants in the meantime.

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