The tomatoes are blooming, and have been for a month now, but no fruit is setting. My understanding is that tomato plants will only set fruit when they are big enough to handle a full sized tomato. So I guess they just need to grow more. Guess I'm still a month from getting a ripe tomato. I haven't gotten around to tying the plants up yet and need to remember to do this soon.
Several of my greens bolted this week, in both plots. The Feb sown escarole and romaine bolted, but I still got lots of tasty leaves from these.
I planted melons and cucumbers in the cold frame after harvesting kale and lettuce. These are doing great! I am looking forward to a good season for them.
I found my tomatoes are blooming and 4 to 5 fruits are setting!
ReplyDeleteI and my wife are thinking for preparation
for cool temperature and much rain than usual which are forecasted in Japan.
I already have green tomatoes. I'll have RED RIPE tomatoes before July 4th in zone 6a Massachusetts. I started my seeds in February/March.
ReplyDeleteI started mine very early too, but I think the are slow now because I've planted them where they only get 5-6 hours of sun/day. Oh well.... I wanted to rotate them out of the beds I planted in the last two years.
ReplyDeleteHi Kathy, just curious as to what kind of melons you are growing. I'm trying Noir Des Carmes this year. First timer for melons and I direct seeded them in the sunniest, most amended raised bed in my garden (zone 6 Mass). Any tips? Fingers crossed for melons, I've had tough luck with watermelons, hope these are a little easier to grow...
ReplyDeleteThanks and always look forward to reading your blog....
I've heard the size thing before too, but if you're used to getting fruit set at that plant size it could be other factors. If there's been a recent cooling that could cause blossom drop. Or..sometimes the plants need a little help pollinating if you don't have a lot of wind or bugs about. A gentle shake or a very small paintbrush will do the trick.
ReplyDeleteVery jealous of everyone's tomatoes with fruit already. Our summer hits this weekend in Seattle.
ReplyDeleteOnce sunny day last week made the broccoli rabe bolt and get woody overnight.
A lot of my greens bolted too since we've been getting such warm weather in Massachusetts (except for yesterday and today). I had to pull out all of spinach because it bolted and my romaine too. I hadn't started my summer greens since I thought I still had a few weeks before the spring greens bolted, but better get started on that!
ReplyDeleteJoseph,
ReplyDeleteThis year I am growing the melons: Crane, Anne Arundale, Charentois, and two watermelons: Crimson Sweet and Sugar Baby.
I have found watermelons easier than other melons, but had bad luck with both last year. I grew water melons successfully as a very young gardener (probably was all my Dad's skill), and have not grown them since.
There is a great comment somewhere on my blog - I think maybe Paul left it - on growing melons. Its not easy. We need very rich soil, vines off the ground, temp high, ground moist and plant dry... Very weather dependent in the Northeast!
I would love to grow a nice sweet summer melon! Our CSA farm up in NH does it well. Maybe I'll get lucky.
I have tomatoes on small plants. I had heard tomato fruit set was dependent on night time temperatures.
ReplyDeleteI planted cantaloupe for the first time last year. I had pretty much given up on them and ignored them, when at the end of the season I found many small ripe melons hiding in the vines, which I had just let sprawl on the ground.
I was told today that no tomato fruit set means the pH is too low. I don't know about this. I think my tomato beds are actually running a bit high on pH.
ReplyDeleteI have never gotten fruit set on plants as small as mine are. They really aren't growing very well yet, with the cool temps and cloudy days.