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It took 18 posts for someone to mention the weather factor. lol. I was gonna ask the same thing. HEAT is what causes flowers to drop and plant not produce.
OP's location saying Southern California. I see it's in the upper 80s and 90s today alone there. Pretty sure heat is a factor UNLESS they are near the coast where its in the 70s/80s
Yes, I'm in SoCal and it has been in the low 90s that last 3 days. The weeks before has been in the 70s and low 80s all the while the flowers kept dying off and not bearing any tomatoes. Previous years, I have always been able to get tomatoes off of the previous plants. It's just strange that not one flower has been able to develop even a tiny tomato. The vines start to slowly die and then kill off the flower shortly after.
Also, when it gets in the 90s here with real hot sun (elevation is 5000ft), I drag the patio umbrella over them so they get a little shade during the day. Otherwise they get fried.
As I said earlier, if flowers keep dropping off use Blossom Set to put them into fruit production mode. I was taught to use it by an Agriculture professor at a top University. You can get a spray can between $10 and $15 and is really worth it.
It will make the difference between a big and no crop or almost no crop. First year I used it, I had a huge crop, and neighbors around me had almost nothing, and one had not one tomato. Next year all used it, and we all had bumper crops. A friend who was a commercial green house grower told me, if he used it he would have a very profitable year. Not use it and he would have gone broke according to him.
For a home gardener you can buy it for $10 to $ 15 and it will last for more than one season. You only have to treat them once at the start of the flowering season.
Many possible causes: Temperature, humidity, water, fertilizer, pollination, insect damage, disease.
If all the blossoms drop, it’s likely due to temperatures. Some species are much less tolerant of heat than others. Last year Idid not get any fruits from heirloom tomatoes like Brandywine and Cherokee Purple but many fruits from sweet 100 cherry plants. The heirloom tomatoes were damaged by frost in late April. They did not have blossoms until mid July when it was too hot to set fruits. In Southwest Idaho, the temperatures are mostly above 85F all day in July and August.
This year I kept my heirloom tomatoes indoor until all danger of frost was gone and transplanted them outdoor on May 1st. They had blossoms while indoor and I hand pollinated them with a small paint brush and set them outdoor for few hours whenever the temperatures were above 55F.
I am quite happy to have quite a few heirloom tomatoes fruits which should get ripened in few weeks.
I plan to do the same next year by keeping tomatoes plants indoor as long as needed. The only problem I had was the lack of calcium in the potting soil. I had to discard half a dozen Early Girl tomatoes due to blossom end rots. I added powder calcium carbonate to the soils before transplanting the plants. It was wonderful to get to eat vine ripened tomatoes last week. I will definitely add calcium to the potting soil next year.
This year I also learned to pinch off side shoots and to eliminate many exuberant leafy branches. Keeping the foliage down helps to keep the blossoms and to encourage more blossoms and fruits.
As I said earlier, if flowers keep dropping off use Blossom Set to put them into fruit production mode. I was taught to use it by an Agriculture professor at a top University. You can get a spray can between $10 and $15 and is really worth it
From what I read about Blossom Set, it helps with cold temperature (below 55F) problem but does not work for persistently hot temperature (above 85F).
Tomatoes to set blossoms, have to start emitting a natural hormone, that allows tomatoes to set. the situations mentioned such as temperature, etc., keep this release from happening and which does not allow blossoms to set.
Blossom set, is a natural hormone that puts the plant into production mode, and gets the plants hormones working for production of fruit. Once the plant starts to make hormone it can then turn blossoms into fruit (tomatoes). Until the plant is making that hormone, it cannot grow fruit.
Blossom Set, is just a booster to get the plant producing that hormone. Without it, it cannot do so.
Human females, reach the point of puberty before they can get pregnant. Some take longer than others to do so. Tomatoes and other plants the same situation. Depending on many circumstances tomatoes do not produce that one hormone. Blossom Set is just the thing, to start them into their production stage. It will get the plant producing it's own hormone to turn flowers into fruit.
I and other people I have known, follow the experts advice, and use Blossom Set as soon as flowers start to show up, and have good crops while other people in the area are not getting their tomatoes to set fruit. It is just the hormone needed to get the plants to start producing fruit and hormone, and then the natural hormone of the plant takes over.
I have never seen it fail to do it's job, and I have lived in areas that were hard to get tomatoes producing tomatoes. Some places they told me you cannot grow tomatoes, but using blossom set I had good crops just as the best local expert said would happen.
IMPORTANT: It also depends on the particular variety of tomatoes you are growing. Some types are easier to get to set fruit than others. Some take a higher night time temperature as an example and are bred to use in higher temperature weather conditions as an example.
If you are trying to grow a type of tomatoes that are not ideal for your climate, they will not set fruit and need blossom set to trick them into starting to grow fruit.
That's The Common Wisdom, but I always wondered about it....Italy is hot and dry and probably uses more tomatoes per capita than any other place in the world, yet still has enough each year to stage those celebrations where semis- full are paraded thru the streets and they throw them at each other.
I've been growing tomatoes for more than 50 yrs and have had only one bad year: last year when there was record rainfall and my plot in the bottom of the valley was water logged all spring & summer.
And that's why those tomatoes aren't going to be successful in a climate that isn't hot. Certain varieties are made for hot weather OR your temps drop enough at night to keep the soil and plant going. Most likely the former than the latter.
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I was gonna ask the same thing. HEAT is what causes flowers to drop and plant not produce.
