Higher temperatures reduce pollen viability, resulting in poor fruit set and flower drop (due to lack of pollination). Temperatures below 59F result in poor fruit set and reduced yields.
The week when temperatures reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit slowed ripening and flower development. Additionally, extended periods of temperatures in this range had negative effects on the plant as a whole, including its susceptibility to disease and pest attack.
High humidity and lack of water are also contributing factors, and considering the recent weather in June, all of this combines to explain the poor tomato crop.
Overall, there's not much you can do except wait. The cherry tomatoes are starting to ripen, but the other tomatoes for canning and slicing are a nice green color, and so far they haven't split due to erratic watering or rainfall.
This year, we've also been plagued by more pests than ever before. First, we had rabbits in our vegetable patch. They kept eating our pepper shoots, so we fenced off the area with wire mesh. Somehow, the rabbit got in and ate the second pepper we planted.
Either something is sneaking in at night or the rabbits are in the fence. I have tried planting a trap a third time and it has failed. I have set traps but the baby rabbits are not heavy enough to trap them. They are just feeding in the traps.
I love making fresh pico, spaghetti sauce, and salsa in the summer. I needed some peppers so I bought a few new seedlings for $10 each. They were large seedlings, about a foot tall.
Then I started thinking about it in terms of math: Bell peppers come into season in August and can sell for $10 for 10 peppers. A pepper plant may or may not produce 10 peppers, but that has never happened to me.
So why buy a $10 plant when it's easier to just buy a pepper? After all, taking care of a plant involves extra work.
I bought a few and there's nothing better than saying “It's all grown in our garden and made from scratch!”
Gardeners are truly tenacious people. Look up the definition of “tenacious” in the dictionary and you'll find gardeners. The satisfaction of growing your own plants far outweighs the difficulties.
Pamela Corle-Bennett is state Master Gardener volunteer coordinator and horticulture educator for Ohio State University Extension. She can be reached at bennett.27@osu.edu.
