Why Won’t Those Tall Tomato Plants Produce Any Fruit

Why Won’t Those Tall Tomato Plants Produce Any Fruit

JD Collins/Townsquare Media

Tall, Green, and Not-So-Red: My Tomato Struggle is Real

So here we are. It's late July, my backyard tomato plants are basically skyscrapers, and guess what? Not. A. Single. Ripe. Tomato.

They're tall, they're leafy, they're greener than a frog on spinach, but where’s the red? I’m starting to think these plants are just in it for the some kind of height competition, not the fruit production.

Now before I accuse them of slacking off, I did a little digging (not just in the dirt). Turns out, super tall plants with lots of green can mean one thing: too much nitrogen. Nitrogen makes your plant grow leaves like it’s in a jungle, but not necessarily fruit. Basically, I’ve been feeding them a leafy buffet instead of the tomato version of a steak dinner. In my defense it was kind of an experiment. We planted them and added some leftover potting soil from last year. That may be the culprit.

How tall are they? That's Penny the amazing Great Dane photobombing the picture not some little Beagle. They're tall! And the photo was taken a couple weeks ago.

So what now? I did some research and 'they say...'

  1. Ease up on the nitrogen-heavy fertilizer. Switch to something with more phosphorus and potassium—those are the nutrients that help with flowering and fruiting.

  2. Prune like a boss. All those extra suckers growing in the crotches of the branches? Get 'em out. They steal energy from the main plant and slow down fruit growth.

  3. Sunshine and water balance. Tomatoes love full sun (like 6-8 hours a day). And don’t water too much! Think "spa day" not "monsoon." With our recent rain and wind events, this has been tough!

  4. A little stress is good. When the plant’s comfy, it gets lazy. So let it work a little harder and focus on producing fruit instead of more leaves.

If you’re in the same boat as me, don’t worry. The tomatoes are coming… probably. Hopefully. If not, we’ll just call it a successful season of growing very attractive foliage.

Keep your fingers crossed and your shears handy. This tomato drama ain’t over yet!

Back To Top