growing tomatoes

[markswagen]

my 10 year old son wants to grow his own tomatoes, l no nothing about growing stuff, we lost the first several plant to squirrels or rats, until l put a cage around them with 1/2'' steel hardware cloth.
the plants took off better than our previous attempts.
problem now, they have been in flower to a couple of weeks already, and with no sign of fruit coming.
is the 1/2'' hardware cloth stopping the bees from doing their bit.
l hope not, as l just bought another 50' roll to enclose more vegetables.
with my luck if l leave to net off, the plants will be decimated like all previous attempts.
do l need to put up a sign for the bees ?
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markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310

[Glenn]

Lots of videos on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=growing+tomatoes+from+seed
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[markswagen]

l'm on aself imposed youtube ban, my sons watches stuff that's not appropriate for his age, so l banned youtube for a while.
we are way past the seed bit, the plants are 3' tall.
it seems that either we have no bees, or they are too big to fit through the mesh.
there's well over a hundred flowers, a week, maybe two since they first went to blossom.

[busdaddy]

I doubt a 1/2 hole would stop a Bee, they are pretty determined little critters.
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[OldSchoolVW's]

Give this a read ...

https://www.tomsguide.com/how-to/7-ways-to-get-more-fruit-from-a-tomato-plant
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[KTPhil]

Most 'maters need night temperatures regularly above 55F to set fruit.
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[markswagen]

the mystery deepens, as they are self pollinating, l guess l'll cover them at night, lets see if that helps.
thanks guys
tomsguide.com wrote
Tomatoes are self-pollinating by nature, which means they just need gentle movement of their flowers to pollinate (as opposed to requiring a second plant.) This is great news for gardeners as a simple breeze can activate pollination, as can visiting insects. Pollination is critical for the plant to flower and therefore grow fruit, so maximising this step will have a significant effect on the volume of tomato fruits produced.

Self-pollination can be increased in a few different ways. One option is to manually increase the pollination, either by gently shaking the flowers or using something like one of the best electric toothbrushes to mimic air currents and insect vibrations. This is particularly useful if there is high humidity that is making the pollen stick to the male part of the plant, or if the plants are in a greenhouse or otherwise sheltered from natural breezes.

Another option is to promote a welcoming environment for natural pollinators like bees. Reduce the use of unnecessary pesticides that may kill beneficial insects and consider growing companion plants that will attract more pollinators.

[baldessariclan]

[67rustavenger]

https://www.dalenproducts.com/blogs/knowledge-cent...nd-on-days
Mark, Get your kid a Scare Crow Horned Owl. Place it near the tomato plants.
My neighbor has one in his garden and he never has issues with animals eating the plants.
We have opossums, racoons, rabbits, mice, rats.... Here, they get into everything, except, Jeff's garden.
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[calvinater]

Nastursiums are a great companion for tomatoes.

Check out rodale press for info.
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[markswagen]

the owl is a great idea, unfortunately l'm not allowed to have anything, high up visible.
the garden used to be up on our balcony, until the complex we live in told me that it had to go.
l did get permission for it to be outside on the ground.
but it quickly turned to rat food.
if l were to stand an owl on the cage, the local hobo's would have it away in no time flat

[FarmerBill]

I have grown tomatoes commercially both in hot houses and outdoors. Blossom drop is caused by too cold or too hot temps, 55F-85F is about the range you want to stay in. Also caused by too humid or too dry conditions (sorry I don't have humidity numbers for you off the top of my head). Nutrient balance is important too but if your plants look healthy they probably are.
And while tomatoes can self pollinate, they aren't the best at it with out some motion. Every hot house I've ever grown in got a hive of bumble bees to help things along. If you want to help them yourself you can get a small artist's paint brush and gently transfer the pollen from the male to female parts in the blossom.

[busdaddy]

I must have some exceptional Crows around here, they figured out the rubber Owl in a couple weeks, after that they spent all thier free time daring each other to go attack it.

Now it's so plastered in Crow shit it barely resembles an Owl anymore.
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[calvinater]

Mr acid snail, I was told that if you hang some feathers around the owls neck so they can flutter in the breeze. It's more lifelike and effective.

Markswagen, there are small mylar balloon type things that have large eyes on them that you tie to stakes in your tomato patch to deter critters.


Any of your neighbors garden ?
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[KTPhil]

[KTPhil]

[busdaddy]

[halfassleatherworks]

Here in the North Valleys a little north of Reno 5000+ feet we have a short season. I just use rabbit wire around the plants. and cover with 55G plastic bags when the nights get to cold. It takes some time after they flower before you see fruit.

[markswagen]

we jost got home from a meekends camping trip.
before we left, the wife and l lifted off the cage and removed all the dead stuff, and the lower leaves, gave it a soaking, and put it back together.
we got home just before dark, so l sent the sporn out there to look and see if he had gotten any baby tomatoes on the plants.
3 gallons of water on that, and the others, we have 3 of these tubs.
and he proudly announces that there are 64 baby tomatoes on the plant, there must still be twice that many flowers.
the cage stands 3' tall.

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markswagen {mobile mechanic} san diego area all early VW's cared for.

619 201 0310

[Abscate]

That’s a nice looking plant, congrats to you and Farmer son!
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