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No fruits on toms or cucumbers

turmericturmeric Posts: 830
in Problem solving
Evening everyone, I've finally given up waiting and being optimistic so here goes.  I grow cherry toms and cucumbers in my conservatory every year.  They do really well.  This year I'm trying a new variety of cucumber because I couldn't get hold of anything else in lockdown (I think it's Beth, a mini cucumber for indoors).  So far the two plants are about five foot high with lots of flowers but not one fruit (they were sown in very early April).  The tomatoes are beef tomatoes that were given to me by a friend when the plants were about 4 inches high.  They're now six foot tall with a few sparse flowers at the very tops, just leaves lower than that and not one single fruit.  I'm bored of waiting.  My mother-in-law keeps giving me tomatoes because "yours don't seem to be doing very well" :#  I'm watering daily and feeding everything with tomorite once a week.  Should I just put them all in the green bin? They're collecting tomorrow, I could do it right now...help!
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  • JilbertJilbert Posts: 15
    edited July 2020
    I’m new to all this so could be wrong, but my understanding is you should feed once the first fruit has set. Doing so before then encourages leafy growth I think. Might be worth knocking that on the head and seeing what happens? Perhaps they also got too hot in your conservatory during the mini heatwave we had in spring.
  • turmericturmeric Posts: 830
    Hi Jilbert, thanks for your suggestion but I only started feeding once the flowers appeared which is what I do every year. And it always gets hot in my conservatory but this is the first year I've not had any fruit.  It's too late now to start cutting them up for tomorrow's collection so it looks like they'll stay to fight another day!  
  • GemmaJFGemmaJF Posts: 2,286
    edited July 2020
    The usual advice is to feed when the first fruit set for tomatoes, so when you see the first tiny toms, rather than flowers. It was my thought also, but if it has not been a problem in the past, perhaps poor pollination? Do you try to pollinate artificially in the conservatory?
  • turmericturmeric Posts: 830
    Thanks Gemma but no, I've never hand pollinated and I'm not going to.  Toms and cucs have been a doddle in the past not a chore.  I'll put it down to bad luck etc and junk the lot I think.
  • floraliesfloralies Posts: 2,718
    This does sound like a pollination issue to me, maybe you do need to hand pollinate them. Sorry I can't be of more help as mine are all grown outdoors and there is no problem.
  • steephillsteephill Posts: 2,841
    You can aid pollination by vibrating the stems. An easy way to do this is to use an electric toothbrush - switch it on and touch the back of the head against the stem. You can also just tap the stem by hand, light finger drumming will do the trick.
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    You've got cucumber flowers but no nascent cucumbers? 

    Not too surprised on the beef tomatoes. I'm growing crimson blush beefsteak this year, my plants are at least 4ft tall and only have 1 truss. Beef toms grow tall first (although I'm sure someone will point out a tumbling beef variety only 6" high!)
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Beef tomatoes usually take longer from sowing to fruiting than other types... they’re also larger plants ... stands to reason when you think about it ... and they have fewer but larger fruits. 
    Maybe beef type tomatoes aren’t for you 

    😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • NewBoy2NewBoy2 Posts: 1,813
    Ive got 3 tom plants  and 2 cue plants growing well on the allotment.

    The toms are about 1 inch and the cues about 1/2 big..

    ? Should I start feeding now and can I use comphrey juice please.
    Everyone is just trying to be Happy.....So lets help Them.
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Yes to both questions.  Dilute comfrey liquid down so the water looks like weak tea which is usually about 20:1 but depends on how 'strong' your comfrey brew is.  Once a week is sufficient.  You normally start feeding as soon as you see the first fruit forming.   
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
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