Im so depressed about this garden....HELP

[eggrookie2010]

Out of 4 tomato plant 3 set fruit (not much either), out of 4 egg plants only ONE set fruit. Grasshoppers have wiped out nearly all my beans so Im trying again, cucumbers are bitter no matter what size they are. Squash are all fine. My pumpkin and melon plants are pretty slow and just now flowering. My soil tests fine, water is adequate... I know the weather has been crazy this year but Im baffled! Anyone else with this type of problem? The plants are all beautiful and vigorous but just no fruit! I suspected lack of pollinators but I dont know how to remedy that. There were thousands of bees on a nearby tree and the squash set. Any ideas? This is a terrible season...

 

[freemotion]

Probably a pollination issue, but if the weather is too hot or too cold when the plants are flowering they won't set fruit. Yup. Sucks. That is why it is important to plant a wide variety in the garden if you are depending on it for food....SOMETHING has to do well, right?

 

[freemotion]

Oh, and plant a variety of tomato plants, ones that produce at different times. Early, mid-season, and later ones. You are bound to have success with at least one of those types, although the early ones are often not as yummy.

 

[FarmerJamie]

I always thought vigorous growth with little to no fruit was a sign of excess nitrogen. I do plant a wide variety of tomatoes and I'm also finding one variety is dark green and having strong growth, but no blossoms at all, while everything else looks "normal". Maybe the luck-of-the-draw on the tomatoes?

You can always hand pollinate, a pain, but it does the job.

 

[GOOGLE NIKOLA TESLA]

If u got the space u can always get a honey bee hive. Its ptobably to late to start a hive though... I know the plants in the garden have tons of mini tomatoes starting, and i have a few varieties, my fruit trees, especially the peaches are filled and this is certainly because of the bees. To increase the mini bees called mason bees, you take pieces of wood and drill 100s of holes about pencil size so they can lay eggs.

 

[Marianne]

I agree with FarmerJamie, sounds like it might be too much fertilizer. Years ago I had a friend that Miracle Grow-ed her garden to the point of getting nothing! Plants were amazing in appearance, but not a bean on the bush.

And I agree with Free on the varieties - I have friends that plant at least 20 tomato plants every year, different varieties. She said some perform better than others each year, the only one that has performed every year (for her) has been Celebrity. So that's all that I plant. High temps and nothing sets on around here.

I do the soapy water spray for grasshoppers (hate those things). Works pretty good, but you do have to reapply perodically - I use 1 to 1-1/2 tsp dishwashing liquid to one quart of water, then add a few drops of cooking oil.

Now if someone can tell me how to keep tomato worms away, I'd be a happy camper!

 

[MyKidLuvsGreenEgz]

My garden sucks this year. Probably because I got such a late start. STILL don't have all of my startings/seedlings planted. Believe me, I'm depressed too.

 

[Wannabefree]

Cucumbers are bitter when the temps and/or watering are erratic. Too much heat, or not enough will cause cukes to be bitter. I agree with Jamie on the nitrogen as well, though it could be the heat. My corn flopped because just as the tassles were coming out we were consistently hitting the upper 90's here and the stalks never set fruit correctly. :/ Perhaps our Fall crops will be better, and I would encourage you t try again as well if you have any leftover seed. Cukes, once a plant starts producing bitter fruit, is not likely to stop producing bitter fruit, and it may be best to just start those over. Sorry you're having a rough time of things. I think my cukes only did well because they are planted under my okra plants. Otherwise there would have been WAY too much heat on them and I'd be facing the same issue.

 

[Marianne]

Uh, I didn't know it was excessive heat that makes cukes bitter. I just TODAY picked my first, rather smallish cucumber. Bummer. It's been triple digits here for some time.

 

[Wifezilla]

What area are you in?