It's not always easy to get the perfect tomato, especially in the Northwest, where summer tends to arrive late. Here are some common problems and solutions:
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Unusually small or cracked fruit.
Caused by uneven watering. Tomatoes like constant moisture, so don't let beds dry out. Use a thick layer of mulch, such as straw, dry leaves, grass clippings or compost.
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Brown or black blossoms.
Signals blossom-end rot, causing brown spots on fruit that need to be cut out before eating. The culprit is insufficient calcium uptake by the plant, helped along by uneven watering. Add one part lime to 10 parts complete organic fertilizer to soil when planting.
• Few flowers form.
Too much nitrogen or too little sun. Plants getting too much nitrogen are usually dark green. Avoid high-nitrogen soil amendments. Compost or a complete, balanced fertilizer mixed into the soil when planting is all the fertilizing tomato plants should need. Also, tomatoes need lots of sun to form flowers.
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Flowers drop without setting fruit.
Temperatures are too hot or too cool. Temperatures less than 55 degrees or more than 100 degrees will cause flowers to fall. Protect plants from cool night temperatures, and extend the growing season this fall, with a cloche or floating row cover. Remove on warm days to avoid baking plants.
-- Lisa Russo
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