Can leggy low producers be returned to fuller high producers?

12 years ago

My plants have produced pretty well this season, but at this point they look pretty crappy and are no longer producing new fruit. They are very tall (leggy) with foliage only full at the tops and no new fruit emerging. Is it too late in the season to get a final crop, and what can I do to bring them back to a healthy productive state? Fertilizer? Pruning? What should I have done (for future reference) to keep them full and productive throughout the season?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (17)

grizzman
12 years ago
I read somewhere that tomato plants will, at there best, only produce around a max of 50 lbs of fruit.
ladon
Original Author
12 years ago
Well then I've got a long way to go!! LOL. I think my best plants had around 10-15 tomatoes. My question is not so much whether the plant can produce more than it's capable. It's whether the plant can be returned to a healthy producing state once it's gotten leggy and sparse.
Related Discussions
Peas are growing but not producing
Q
Comments (6)
Welcome to the Deep South, where an awful of of gardening is very different from anywhere else. First, you need to know that English peas, sweet peas, or sugar snap peas, as stated above, all require extended cool temps, which we rarely have this far south. I plant them every year in February. I get a crop some years, but not every year. In my area, when folks talk about peas, they mean cowpeas (black-eyed, crowders, pink eye purple hulls, cream, lady, etc.) These are easy to grow in the Deep South. They love high heat. They are drought tolerant. They even improve the soil just by growing in it. Next year, plant them. You can plant them through-out the (long) growing season. With regard to tomatoes, start the big ones from seed (or buy transplants, of course) about six weeks before your last frost date, and get them into the ground as soon as it's warm enough. You will (most years) get a good crop in late June to mid July. Also, plant a cherry tomato or two in the ground or in pots (I put them in pots). These will continue to produce until frost if you give them good care: water daily, liquid fertilizer weekly. The good news is if you get busy and plant now, you can have a second garden that will produce through the fall and even all winter.
...See More
Bent trees produce more fruit?
Q
Comments (35)
"See if you can find any information about P that is actually based on research in the field where a lack of it has caused production problems. Check into Australian fruit production because, as I recall, their soil is ancient and very low in P." I Googled for a little bit and really didn't come up w/ much scientific info. (At least they didn't explain any science behind it.) I quickly came across a few examples like this: http://archive.agric.wa.gov.au/objtwr/imported_assets/content/pw/gard/nutritional_gn_formatted.pdf where they have a quick blurb about P, where they say, "Phosphorus is essential for the development of flowers, fruit and roots....In fruit trees, flowering and fruiting may be affected. Deficiency symptoms are more prevalent during cold, wet conditions. To correct the deficiency apply solid or liquid phosphate fertilisers." Ive read lots of stuff like this in the past, but I know you are looking for something more substantial. In Prof. D. Layne's book "The Peach, Botany Production and Uses", he mentions that P is rare in peaches and that generally there is no response to adding it. Interestingly he does say that P deficiency can occur, causing reduced growth, without any visual symptoms in the foliage. I'd post the link to the book, but since it's a copyrighted book, the link may not pull up the same pages I was reading. Google books does that sometimes. I know you are somewhat annoyed that commercial guidelines could recommend adding P w/o a soil test, but again it's only for the first two years, it's a small amount, and in a commercial orchard, where that amount of P would probably be used up by the time it got down to the root zone. The U.C. Davis link you posted above get their info. from their nutrition manual (linked at the bottom of their page). The authors of it even state, " In fact, annual requirements of fruit trees in general range from 5 to 10 lb/acre (6 to 11 kg/ha), which is much lower than for many field crops." Although they don't specifically state a maintenance program for P is required, they do imply it. Of course they don't recommend application of nutrients w/o testing, but U of GA only mentioned it for the first two years, which isn't a big issue to me. I've always read that P is very stable and immobile in soil, so I think the risk of pollution from a couple very light applications of P is very minimal. It seems most pollution from P comes from sewage treatment and feed lots. The link from the U.C. Davis nutrition manual says,"However, there is minimal leaching loss of phosphorus from the soil because it exists predominately in these insoluble forms." To me the danger of too much P is the reduced uptake of Zn, which is pretty important to peach trees. But there is little risk of too much P in this area, unless someone was careless w/ applying it. You may be right, that P doesn't matter for fruit trees, but there seems to enough university publications recommending a minimum level for it, that I think it warrants addressing in soils low in P, such as in this locale. Although I agree, there does seem to be a degree of conflicting advice about it. I think Rayrose has a very good point that Ph is just as important as the actual level of P in the soil, in terms of root uptake. I also agree that too much emphasis should not be placed on any one nutrient. I hope I haven't left the impression that P is the only nutrient that matters, or even the main nutrient. I just originally addressed Clark's situation based on my own soils, which showed P the most deficient of all nutrients. But I tried to qualify that by recognizing soils my be different in his part of the state.
...See More
Would you eat produce in your garden you knew critters touched
Q
Comments (51)
Thank you. This skunk sprayed my dog and they were around tomatoes!! What a nightmare! I searched for answers everywhere and there's no information about it. The tomatoes don't smell like skunk but I'm still leery on whether they're edible. I went and got another plant. Lol, others are gone. It's just a shame because it's my first time growing anything and I was proud of them. Crazy skunk snuck right between my fence and the house to get in.
...See More
Hibiscus won't produce seeds
Q
Comments (4)
Wally, I'm new to hibiscus growing and returning to gardening this year. In the past I grew a few tea roses and if I kept my climbers cut short, they would bloom profusely and would be thick, healthy bushes. Your comment leads me to believe I can do this with hibiscus? Are there any hibiscus that you wouldn't do this with? I have about 8 new plants that I've put in the ground in the last couple of months. Some are just dense with leaves and others are leggy, dropping leaves from the stress of planting and not replacing the leaves. I'd really like to establish them correctly and will trim them back if it will establish healthier bushes. Darren
...See More
lazy_gardens
12 years ago
Ladon - Are they indeterminate?
If so, try pruning a couple of them back to about a foot tall. You still have a good three or more months of tomato season ahead of you.

Another method is to take cuttings and root them, making fresh plants.
digdirt2
12 years ago
Another method is to take cuttings and root them, making fresh plants.

That is what I do for best results.

Dave
tracydr
12 years ago
What is the difference when you prune back or start a cutting? Just wondering because I was trying to decide if cuttings or pruning back would be better, now that we have our monsoon season.
taz6122
12 years ago
I would cut them back just above a good sucker or 2. You plants already have good root systems and for cuttings to grow a good root system and produce it would be later production than buying new plants IMO.
gardningscomplicated
12 years ago
I've never tried to do this before, but I was thinking the same thing as taz. I figured with the roots already established, trimming back the plant would cause it to try and quickly rebalance roots vs top growth. And some of my top growth is starting to get some kind of mold or fungus thing, most likely from too much rain. But I don't have any experience doing this, so it's just a theory.
digdirt2
12 years ago
Depends on how far you have to cut back and much time left in your season. But if there's enough time left then it is the difference in plant health and production between a new main stem and an old secondary stem with compromised circulation.

Your choice.

Dave
ladon
Original Author
12 years ago
What sort of fertilizing would you recommend after cutting the plants back? I've been alternating between Tomato Tone and Neptune's Harvest (fish emulsion) about every 2 weeks. But should I give them something heartier to give them a boost?
hellbound
12 years ago
here in phoenix i prune them back to 1 or 2 good looking suckes and use jobes tomato spikes 3 per plant about 6 to 8" away from the main stem by the time it cools off enough to polinate again they should be full of flowers i'll be getting tomatoes well into december here then i'll prune back again and be set for another spring crop.....we never get a hard freeze in phoenix
ladon
Original Author
12 years ago
Just as an experiment, I might try some plants as cutbacks and some as rooted clippings. With the clippings (only because I've never done this before) would I clip from a sucker. Or would it be possible to just root the whole top of the plant, since I'll be trimming it anyway? In other words, if I have a healthy foot of foliage on the top of the plant, could I root that and get a head start with a larger plant?
Don
taz6122
12 years ago
Sure. You can use the top. Cut at around 45 degree angle and strip the bottom leaves as the node is where the first roots will strike.
ladon
Original Author
12 years ago
One more question...(for now). I'm assuming I should root the cutting in a pot and then transplant it once it's clearly growing and healthy? What kind of soil should I use? Potting soil? Potting mix? Fertilizer? Sorry for all the questions. I just want to do this right.
Don
digdirt2
12 years ago
Lots of 'how-to root cuttings' posts here - some with pics. Basically 5-6" long, stripped of all but the top set of leaves, planted deep in small container of damp potting mix in shade (out of direct sun), keep soil damp but not soaked. Will droop for about 3 days then take off. Give it 7-10 days and transplant. No fertilizer until transplanted.

Dave
taz6122
12 years ago
I would give them 1-2 hours of sun but not all day. When transplanted they wont be shocked near as bad.
gardningscomplicated
12 years ago
I've done what Dave says, and I've just stuck 'em in the ground directly in the garden. Both worked.
qaguy
12 years ago
ladon - you say CA, but not where in CA. From your handle,
I'll guess Los Angeles. I'm in Glendora just east of LA.

Same thing happens every year. When we get into the hot
spells like we've had lately, no fruit forms. When it's
this hot, nothing you can do will help. Just wait a while
and when things cool off (soon I hope), you'll get fruit set again.

Weather predicting folks call for cooler this weekend.
I got my fingers crossed.

Only thing you can do now is water a lot to keep them going.

I give my plants a hosing down (yes, I wet the foliage)
every night in weather this hot. Most of the time that's
not recommended, but in arid SoCal, we can get away with
it. Most places can't do this. The air is so dry here,
the bad viruses can't catch hold before the water dries on
the plants. Mulch is very much recommended if you do this.

Can leggy low producers be returned to fuller high producers?

Comments (17)

grizzman

ladon
Original Author

Related Discussions

lazy_gardens

digdirt2

tracydr

taz6122

gardningscomplicated

digdirt2

ladon
Original Author

hellbound

ladon
Original Author

taz6122

ladon
Original Author

digdirt2

taz6122

gardningscomplicated

qaguy

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Can leggy low producers be returned to fuller high producers?

Comments (17)

ladonOriginal Author

Related Discussions

ladonOriginal Author

ladonOriginal Author

ladonOriginal Author

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

ladon
Original Author

ladon
Original Author

ladon
Original Author

ladon
Original Author