Lots of green leaves, no blossoms

by Holly
(Salt Lake City, UT)

Q. I have large, green, healthy tomato plants with no blossoms. Why?

A. An abundance of tomato foliage with few or no blossoms is most often attributed to too much nitrogen, whether in the soil or added through your fertilizer.

Check your fertilizer content, which is listed as a series of 3 numbers on the package label. An example is 15-10-5. Nitrogen is the first number listed in the trio, with the other two being phosphorus and potassium.

Nitrogen encourages leaf growth, which is why fertilizers with higher ratio of nitrogen (the first of the three numbers) are an optimum choice for lawns and grasses. But in tomatoes, excess leaf growth discourages blossoms and fruit.

Phosphorus (the second number) encourages flowering. Potassium (the third number) promotes fruit development.

So it's likely your plants have been getting too much nitrogen, whether by excessive nitrogen in your fertilizer, or naturally in your soil.

You can promote blossoms and fruiting by applying a balanced tomato fertilizer, like Miracle Gro Tomatoes or Tomato Tone.

Before planting each year, conduct a soil test to measure nitrogen amounts in the soil. Amend the soil accordingly.

Good luck and happy gardening!
Your friends at Tomato Dirt