My tomatoes are blooming but fruit is not setting on. Someone suggested epsom salts. Any suggestions?

There are some moon phases that each plant needs to be planted in to get the best results. If the tomatos were not planted in the proper moon phase, the tomatoe plant will not make tomatoes. Feed and seed stores usually have copies of the Farmers Almanac that has the correct planting dates for each plant in it- They are usually free to anyone that wishes to have one.My tomatoes are blooming but fruit is not setting on. Someone suggested epsom salts. Any suggestions?
Yes. I do not recommend putting epsom salts on your tomato plants... that seems more likely to kill them than pollinate them!





I would first see if the plants are healthy, if they are yellow-looking they may have trouble setting fruits because they are deficient in nutrients like phosphorus or trace minerals. I am going to go out on a limb here and assume that your plants are perfectly healthy other than not setting fruit after they flower.





In that case, it sounds like you have a pollination problem, not a plant health issue. Tomatoes, like many plants in the Solanaceae family (includes peppers, eggplant, potatoes, nightshade, tobacco, and others) are what you call buzz pollinated. That is, it takes a bee buzzing at the flower to make the pollen come out and pollinate it so it will begin making a fruit (tomatoes are botanically considered a fruit). If for some reason there isn't a healthy bee population in the area or they just haven't yet found your garden yet lack of pollination could be your problem. If you happen to be growing your tomatoes in a greenhouse, try leaving a door or window open for a while.





My guess is that eventually the bees will find your flowers and pollinate them. If you are feeling adventurous, you can try to pollinate them yourself using a tuning fork. It needs to be in the right key, I think it is ';A'; but I am not sure.





Good Luck!My tomatoes are blooming but fruit is not setting on. Someone suggested epsom salts. Any suggestions?
Hi,





There could be any number of reasons:





I grow lots of tomatoes in Boxes see http://johnnae.com/earthbox.aspx for my Family page on our gardening......





Now to my suggestions:





1) Lack of pollination


2) Lack of calcium..yep they need it you can buy sparys


3) night temps too low (below 60 ) or too hot (above 80)





These ae the most common, but the wrong soil Ph could also cause the problem, may need to add lime. I use the peletize type.





Hope this helps





John e