Are bigger tomato plants better?

[jackb]

From the university of Washington:

Tomato flowers come complete with both male and female organs and are self-fertilizing. Pollen is shed with great abundance between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on dry, sunny days. Normally, the wind will pollinate the flower sufficiently. To ensure better pollination, gently shake or vibrate the entire tomato plant. The best time to do this is midday when it's warm, and the humidity is low. Optimum fruit set occurs within a very narrow night temperature range of between 60 F and 70 F. When tomato plants experience night temperatures lower than 55 F or above 75 F, interference with the growth of pollen tubes prevents normal fertilization. The pollen may even become sterile, thus causing the blossoms to drop. High daytime temperatures, rain, or prolonged humid conditions also hamper good fruit set. If the humidity is too low, the pollen will be too dry and will not adhere to the stigma. If the humidity is too high, the pollen will not shed readily. Pollen grains may then stick together, resulting in poor or nonexistent pollination.

 

[patandchickens]

You can probably quibble with my "primarily" -- I meant by it, "ancestrally", in that the wild tomato ancestors depend most heavily on bee pollination. But certainly you are right that domesticated garden/farm cultivars do "okay" without bees, just from wind and suchlike. Nonetheless they still do BETTER with large bees, e.g. bumblebees and carpenter bees.

For more in-depth discussion of the issue, see

http://pollinator.com/self_pollinating_tomato.htm

Some examples of some studies showing that even big agricultural fields of (outdoor) tomatoes benefit from bee pollination (lots more such examples exist in the literature):

http://nature.berkeley.edu/kremenlab/Articles/Wild bees species increase tomato production.pdf
http://www.xerces.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/factsheet_cherry_tomato_pollination.pdf
http://www.ctic.purdue.edu/partners/090107/rnt2.asp

Pat

 

[HunkieDorie23]

OK, I am starting my tomatoes earlier next year and I want them to look like Jackb's. What type of tomato is in your pic. I had read on another thread that you have money makers. Is that one of them? I have some this year but they are the smallers of all my tomato plants. They look Ok they just don't look like yours.

 

[jackb]

The greenhouse has Moneymaker and Sweet Cluster, which is the expensive type of tomato that they market on the vine in the markets. Both varieties have flowers, and I have been pollinating them for several days now. The Sweet Clusters are on on the right the Moneymaker is on the left in the photo. The Sweet Cluster will be a long vine and the Moneymaker is a shorter more stubby plant.

 

[HunkieDorie23]

Wow, so the money maker are the smaller of the two be they are huge compared to mine. Mine are about 3" tall with 4-6 branches and they are 9 days later then yours. They are in 8 oz cups because they aren't really big enought to move into anything bigger.

Do you fertilize??? I haven't yet but I might now looking at yours. I normally do once before I put them in the garden then one when they start to set fruit.

 

[jackb]

Well, you are comparing apples to oranges. My plants are growing hydroponically and are fertilized from the start. They are planted in coco coir and agricultural perlite, and are fed daily with a professional nutrient solution from a greenhouse supplier. My grannie always said the grass is always greener in the other guy's yard. Give your plants time. .

 

[jamespm_98]

I read that you shouldn't set out tomato plants that are flowering because the plant will be putting it's energy into fruiting and not into growing and you will end up with stunted plants. I guess you may get tomatoes sooner, but it would be at the expense of a larger plant. I read this information from the book "Gardening in the Carolinas" written by one of our extension agents.

 

[jackb]

Works for me because by the time I put them out they are mature enough to support fruit. I have done this for a few years now and will continue to do so. My gardening book says: that plants don't read books, so try it, it might work. :/

Here they are with three more weeks to go.

 

[HunkieDorie23]

I read that you shouldn't set out tomato plants that are flowering because the plant will be putting it's energy into fruiting and not into growing and you will end up with stunted plants. I guess you may get tomatoes sooner, but it would be at the expense of a larger plant. I read this information from the book "Gardening in the Carolinas" written by one of our extension agents.

Yeah, I have heard the same thing. You are supposed to pinch off any blooms until they are planted in the garden. I have never gotten blooms on tomatoes I've started from seeds before they are planted though. Sometimes from the ones you buy at the store.

 

[jackb]

The plants in the photo were started on March 1, 2010. They are growing in coco coir and agricultural perlite, which is completely inert of nutrients. I feed them daily with professional commercial hydroponic nutrients, and keep them in the greenhouse. They will be planted and staked on the same day, and I will wait for a cloudy day to do it. Like I wrote, it works for me.