what should my tomatoes and peppers look like?

Hi,

I am in the Okanagan. What should my tomato plants look like? I planted transplants, right on time and they are only getting flowers now and are not very tall (they are supposed to be vining). This is my 1st time with tomatoes and so I am not sure if everything is going ok or not. How about peppers? I did have some growing but then I sprayed the plant with soap and oil for aphids and well peppers and some leaves fell off. that plant still doesn't have new flowers but a couple others are just now showing some flowers growing.

Is all this normal or is something wrong?

thanks, kari

I am in the opposite part of the continent (Michigan), but since there have been no replies as of me writing this, I thought I would venture an answer. I wonder what the temperatures have been. Tomatoes and Peppers are warm weather plants, they like a certain amount of heat in the soil and at night, and if the night-time temps are too cool, they just grow slower.

My weather has been very cool so far this year, we have had a total of 3 days above 80 degrees F (27C) and most of my plants are just now coming on decently. I have 4 tomatoes on the vine right now, but none of the tomaotes are over Knee high (I am fairly tall) which unusual for my garden, but I did have to replant, had a fairly cool spring/early summer, so I suppose that's to be expected.

I usually don't get my peppers on until Mid to late July, so I try to make sure they stay watered and have enough compost to make a bumper harvest.

So that's a pretty round about answer to, yeah, it's probably normal depending on the weather you're having.

Mark

I have tomatoes varying from 14-48 inches tall at this point. There is more than a foot of variation within the same variety. I am starting to get lots of fruit with this first setting, but have blossom end rot on many because of the weather.

My peppers are the same way. The variation within the same variety is 6-8 inches of height, and a couple of my habanero plants are only about 7 inches tall now.

I am with Mark in blaming the unusually cool weather we've had. The plants themselves are healthy, just slow because of the low temps in my area.

Hi,

Yes we have had a cool wet spring. We have only had a couple of hot days which is playing havock with the plants very rainy then very hot. It also is getting quite cool at night. So I guess I won't panic yet. Hopefully we will get some normal weather. This is my 1st SFG and I am hoping for a good crop of tomatoes and peppers so I can can tomato sauce and salsa.

thanks, kari

tegaan wrote:Hi,

so I can can tomato sauce and salsa.

Picturing dancing tomatoes flicking up their little leaves!

" 'Maters do you think that you can learn to do the can-can, broccoli will be absolutely jealous of you..."

Sorry! Couldn't resist! Must be Boffer's influence!

GG

Ok, maybe asking them to dance is a little too much, how about just grow then?

kari

tegaan wrote:Ok, maybe asking them to dance is a little too much, how about just grow then?

kari

They will. Don't worry too much.

tegaan wrote:Ok, maybe asking them to dance is a little too much, how about just grow then?

kari

With you there!

Three things that contribute to a good tomato crop, and the first two are: Weather and weather. Western Oregon had such a dismal summer last year, that I'm cheating this year to get a ripe tomato. So far, what appeared to be an early tomato amongst three fruit sets on Early Girl ended in failure: they all rotted. The Julia Child tomato plants being coddled in the greenhouse have good fruit set and may give us the covented ripe one. Lots of green ones outside in the SFG beds near Early Girl, but they're little, very green, and a long way from ripening. August? Perhaps.