Plenty of Blossoms But No Tomatoes

Q. There are plenty of blossoms on my tomato plants, but very few fruits actually form. What's up?

A. There could be several reasons why your tomatoes aren't setting fruit, and one of the likeliest is heat. Tomatoes balk at turning flowers into fruits when temperatures get above 85 degrees. Once the weather moderates and temperatures ease a little, you should be seeing new flowers form, and those should turn to fruit.

Other possibilities for blossom drop are too much fertilizer and dry soil. Make sure your tomatoes get a good inch or two of water a week, preferably in the form of long deep soaks at the root level (try not to wet the foliage, especially in the evening).

Still another reason for blossom drop are nighttime temperatures below 55 degrees F, a likely cause for a late-season crop.

Next year, you may want to time your tomato planting so that flowers form well before the peak of your heat season. The other choice is to choose heat-tolerant varieties.