How to Increase Flowering in Tomatoes

Tomatoes are some of the most popular, commonly grown fruits. People around the world grow them in their kitchens, backyards, and extensions. However, the vast majority of people who’re just starting to grow tomatoes end up experiencing some difficulty relative to getting them to flower.

If you are interested in growing your own tomatoes but have had some problems with flowering, you will be pleased to know that there are a multitude of solutions. This post plans to explore this topic in more detail and will tell you once and for all how you can increase flowering in tomatoes.

Reading Professional Guides

While this article can most definitely be considered a professional guide, it’s important to note that there are many more experienced gardeners and horticulturalists creating content on the internet. Every year, new techniques and strategies are developed relative to the cultivation of tomatoes and other fruits like them. The people from Aggressively Organic make this clear on their website, where they champion organic and sustainable farming. Organic and sustainable farming is something of a trend in the gardening world right now. When you consider how much better food produced this way tastes, it’s not hard to see why.  Reading guides can help you to stay ahead of the latest horticultural and eco-farming trends.

Beyond simply reading guides, there are some other ways of enlisting a professional’s support. One of these is to hire a landscaper or professional gardener. Another is to sign up for an expert gardener’s blog and then reach out to them directly. If you choose the former, you need to make sure that you conduct extensive research and find the most qualified, experienced professionals you can work with. One effective way of determining whether or not somebody’s worth hiring is to read their reviews. Internet reviews are a lot like the modern town square and give you insight into what it is like working with a person.

The same level of research that goes into finding professionals to hire should also go into researching guides, just so you can be sure that the authors know what they are talking about. It’s not uncommon for affiliate marketing blogs to have AI-generated content, which is obviously not to be entirely relied upon, even if it is usually accurate. If you are unsure whether or not the content you are reading has been created by humans, you can always run it through an AI detector tool, and this will essentially allow you to figure out which blogs are most trustworthy, and which you can rely on for useful gardening information.

Finally, any questions you have relative to blogs or to work performed by a professional horticulturist should be addressed directly to the individual whose advice or guidance you’re unsure about. Asking them is the best way to get an explanation relative to why they have done what they have done or said what they have said. Most blogs and guide sites will be more than happy to respond to reader questions, even if they are very technical ones.

Understanding the Reasons Behind Tomatoes Not Flowering

Moving away from seeking advice and guidance on the internet and onto this post’s main topic, it’s important that you first take some time to understand the reasons behind tomatoes not flowering.  There are a myriad of potential reasons why yours might not be flowering, so taking time to understand the reasons behind why they are not will make it easier for you to bring about change and ensure that your plants ultimately produce fruit this year.

1.     Temperature Fluctuations

As it concerns tomatoes, they tend to prefer mild temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. This is one of the main reasons why people who live in cold or extremely hot places keep their tomatoes indoors, where they can better control temperature. If keeping tomatoes indoors is not an option for you, an alternative is to invest in a greenhouse. You can safely keep tomatoes outside if temperatures are within those mentioned above, though. If temperatures drop below or exceed this temperature window, bloom production could be severely limited, meaning you won’t get as many tomatoes as you could (or any).

2.     Insufficient Sunlight

Tomatoes need lots of sunlight. If you are planning on keeping them indoors, you need to make sure that you keep them by a window. If you do not, they could end up not getting as much sun as they need, preventing flowering and fruiting from occurring. Your tomatoes need a minimum of 6-8 hours of sunlight each day. If they are not getting this, that is probably why your tomatoes are not flowering as you want them to. You can take them outdoors for their 6-8 hours of sunlight if the weather is good and then keep them indoors for the rest of the time.

3.     Water Stress

Many people who are new to gardening or growing their own fresh produce make the mistake of overwatering their plants. However, when it comes to tomatoes they tend to need a lot more water than the average plant. They are extremely thirsty. Your plants will need at least one to two inches of water each week. Do not give them less than this. If you do underwater them, they could die. Overwatering is also a concern, even though they are very thirsty, so make sure that you do not flood them.

4.     Nutrient Issues

Excessive amounts of nitrogen in soil can impede tomato flowering. Low soil fertility can also cause big problems relative to tomato flowering. Make sure that you test your soil if you are growing tomatoes outdoors. If you are growing them indoors, try to get soil from a reliable provider. You can order the perfect tomato soil online. Bear in mind that nutrient issues can also stunt the flavor and size of your tomatoes if they do grow. You will need a testing kit in order for you to be able to test the quality of the soil in your backyard.

5.     Interference from Bugs

Another big problem for tomato growers is interference from bugs. If you want to grow organic tomatoes, you need to avoid pesticides. Pesticides contain very harmful chemicals and tend to be avoided by organic growers. You can purchase organic pesticides, although they tend not to be as effective. Organic pesticides can also be very expensive. If you are planning on growing tomatoes and are worried about bugs, one of the most effective ways of avoiding them is to grow them indoors. It is much easier to avoid bugs inside of your house. It is also a lot easier to notice them, too.

Temperature Issues

Although temperature issues were mentioned previously, it is important to give them a section of their own as they tend to be the main reason why people’s tomatoes don’t flower or produce desirable fruit. If you think that temperature issues are the cause of your tomato plants underperforming, immediate action is needed. The sooner you act, the faster you will be able to restore your plants and the easier it will be for you to get fruit from them this year.

Remedying Cold Weather

If cold weather’s the problem, bringing your plants indoors isn’t the only option that you have. Another option that you have is to invest in hoops and row cover. If your backyard gets very cold at night, you may even want to invest in a hoop house. It is a very good idea to choose tomatoes that are suited for growth in cold climates if the area that you live in is cold. There are lots of strains and types of tomatoes that grow perfectly in cold weather. Likewise, there are tomatoes that perform better in hot weather.

Dealing with Hot Weather

Hot climates can also be very problematic, perhaps more so than cold weather. In extremely hot weather, bringing plants indoors can be an option if you have air conditioning. You can also invest in a fabric shade cloth, as this can block out sun rays. Experts advise avoiding shady areas though as tomatoes need sunlight. You can also use misters periodically throughout the day to mitigate the heat and keep your plants cool. If you have very hot summers in the part of the world that you live in, you can plant them a little earlier in the year to avoid the peak of summer.

Watching Online Video Tutorials

If you want to grow tomatoes, online video tutorials can be very helpful. More content creators than ever before are posting to platforms like YouTube. By turning to these platforms, you will be able to learn new tricks and tips that can help you to grow tomatoes more effectively. It’s important to note, that you need to research content creators on video platforms just as extensively as you do for blogs or for content creators writing articles on people’s websites for them.

Consider Growing Organic Tomatoes

As mentioned above, you may want to consider growing organic tomatoes. Organic produce is scientifically much better for your health than non-organic produce. However, organic produce is much more difficult to grow. To grow organic produce, you will likely have to spend a lot more money and put a lot more care into the maintenance and upkeep of your plants. Bugs and other animals will intentionally go out of their way to target non-organic plants. Growing organic tomatoes indoors is much easier than it is outdoors, as there are fewer pests that can destroy them.

Soil Preparation

To be successful in growing tomatoes, you need to make sure that you properly prepare your soil before planting it. The importance of good quality soil as mentioned above. If the quality of your soil is not very good, your plants will not fruit or flower. You can buy soil online. If you are planning on buying soil on the Internet, make sure you conduct extensive research and find a reliable vendor to purchase it from. A vendor’s reviews, again, can tell you everything you need to know about them and will make it much easier for you to decide whether they’re right for you or not.

Adding Calcium

Adding calcium to soil can do wonders for your tomato plants. If you are not confident doing this yourself, you can again buy soil online that already has calcium in it. If you are planning on doing this, you need to make sure that the soil you buy has correct levels of calcium. You may need a testing kit for this. However, if the vendor has a good reputation and lots of positive reviews, you can trust the soil report that they provide on their website. Make sure that you read this before you purchase calcium-enriched soil from them.

Planting Deep

Planting your tomatoes deep can be another effective way of increasing their chances of flowering and reducing any potential issues. If you are going to do this, it is a good idea to periodically check your plants, just so you can be sure slugs and snails have not destroyed them. Planting deep puts you at a greater risk of exposure to pests. To avoid pests altogether, you may want to consider putting netting around your tomatoes. Bear in mind netting will not protect plants from snails or slugs, but instead, mice and other pests of that kind, as well as flying insects.

Spacing Plants

Finally, spacing your plants out when you are planting them can make growing them much easier. This is because your plants will have more room to grow and will be able to benefit more from the nutritional properties of the soil in which they are grown. Make sure that when you are spacing them, you do not spread them too far apart. You need to be space-conservative if you are planning on putting nets up around your plants, also. If you do not work with the space you have, you could struggle to grow lots of plants.

Tomatoes are a great fruit, although nutritionists classify them as vegetables. They are packed with nutrients and are very good for you. If you are planning on growing them but have been having trouble with getting them to flower, this post’s guidance is all you need. Be sure to go through all of it and incorporate it into your planting strategy.