I am having a tomato crisis.

[EccentricaGallumbits]

my large and beautiful tomato plants have fallen over. I think because there are too many baby tomatos on them, they are just too heavy. I have restaked them but the plum one is too smothered in fruits so I've sort of hammocked it with netting.

Will the fruits ripen if they are squashed in the netting?

What can I do with the green ones that have fallen off? will they ripen on a windowsill?

[snorkle]

Tomato plants are quite resilient, so I reckon they'll be OK.

Most of the green fruit that have fallen will ripen eventually on a windowsill (or maybe quite quickly - it depends how near they were to turning anyway).

The 'squashed in the netting' toms should be OK too, though they may grow in squashed shapes & with blemishes where the net cuts across them.

[numptysmummy]

Sorry to gatecrash but (to snorkle) do you know why the flowers are dropping off my toms?

[snorkle]

I assume they are dropping off & there is no tiny tomato left behind (ie they are failing to set). There are several possibilities that I know of...

1. too hot (eg: in a sunny poorly ventilated greenhouse)
   
   
2. too cold (eg outside & get a cold snap)
   
   
3. not getting pollinated (usually somewhere inside with no insects), it can help to tap the plants so the pollen is shaken out.
   
   It might also be due to uneven watering (which toms don't like either), but I'm not sure about that one.
   
   hope that helps.

[littleducks]

can i gate crash, i have tomatoes on a window sill, lovely tall plants but no flowers or fruit yet, what am i doing wrong?

[HeadFairy]

If you have some green tomatoes that have fallen off and you want to ripen them, put them in a paper bag with a banana... they'll ripen in a couple of days. The banana gives off gases which makes fruit ripen.

[numptysmummy]

Thanks snorkle - we tap them everyday so i don't think it's that.Greenhouse door always opened on warm days. Most likely the result of the lovely warm summer we're not having!

[snorkle]

when did you plant them & how many leaves to they have? If there are 6 or more 'leaf branches' I would have expected he first flower truss to be showing by now. It's possible to be quite tall before you get to six leaf branches though.

[snorkle]

Do they look healthy otherwise numpty? It's a bit of a puzzle by the sound of it. You could try misting them with a spray if the air is dry in the greenhouse?

[littleducks]

the larger one has nearly 20 the smaller 7 planted ages ago

[snorkle]

OH dear littleducks! No idea what's going on then - you're not pinching out the flower trusses by mistake are you? Last resort, try talking to them .

[ChopsTheDuck]

20 leaf branches littleducks?
I did that one year, let them grow up and up and got sod all off of them. My dad told me I should have chopped them down a bit and I would have got more fruit. He has been growing toms for years.

[littleducks]

im watering and leaving alone, shoul i cut the top to stop it getting taller
dd is talking to them she saw it on charlie and lola apparently

[ChopsTheDuck]

how tall are they?

[EachPeachPearMum]

ooh- watching...our plant has just 3 flowers so far... pretty tall too- about 4 feet...

[amisuchabadmummy]

Dont forget to feed them too... they are hungry little blighters !

[ChopsTheDuck]

I'm no expert, but this year I'm chopping off the tops when they get to 3-4 ft max, and have lots of fruit and flowers on mine and haven't even had to worry about pollinating this year.
I'm also removing leaves below the fruit trusses, so the energy goes into growing the fruit and not the leaves.