I am having a WTF issue with my tomato plants.

[Curmudgeoness]

I bought some Bloody Butcher tomato plants---the name was just too tempting not to try this one, it sounds really red and really juicy. I hope the name is not just hype!

The weather here in PA is still crappy with not enough heat and too much rain. Yet......the tomato plants are only about 6 inches tall and have just been put in the ground a week ago, and they are starting to flower. Is this normal? I have never had a plant that did not grow large before the flowers started, and I am not sure what to do about this. Let it go? Pinch off the flowers? Hell, it cannot even be established in the garden yet.

Any help would be appreciated.

[trud]

1. I've had tomato plants do that

Even in normal years. Doesn't seem to harm the plants. I can't recall if those early flowers actually set fruit.

I don't prune my tomato plants because I'd rather have smaller tomatoes.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. It never occurred to me that they would not set fruit.

I guess that is a possibility. And I have never pruned in the past either. Good to hear that this has happened to you without adversely affecting the plant. Thanks.

[trud]

6. rumor

who knows if it's true, tomatoes don't set and keep fruit until night temps are 50 or over.

[LiberalEsto]

3. Tomatos like warm soil

The stores offer tomatoes and peppers for sale weeks before the ground is warm enough for them.
Same with peppers and eggplants.

I'd pinch off the early flowers so that more of the plant's energy goes into root development for now.
Sometimes early flowering in a plant is a sign of stress -- the plant is trying to reproduce quickly as a survival tactic. In this case maybe your tomatoes are a little stressed because of the cool weather. As it warms up, they'll do better.

[Curmudgeoness]

4. I also feel that this is due to the conditions at the store.

You make a good point about the survival instinct being triggered early. I also was concerned that the roots would never have the energy to develop properly with flowers so soon. I have two plants doing this, and unless I hear a definitive answer, I may just experiment by pinching off one and leaving the other alone. I usually grow my plants from seeds, but this year, I just didn't do a good job of it and had to go with Plan B. But this is not the first time I have bought plants, it is just the first time I have seen this.

[NRaleighLiberal]

5. Bloody Butcher (which I think is just something that exists that Burpee renamed)

is a very early variety - similar to Stupice and Kimberly - and those types do flower and fruit very early. What I find is that tomatoes will kind of sit there and sulk until the soil warms - root growth is occurring as the top part waits - once the soil warms, it will be fine. I don't pinch any flowers - allowing them to develop doesn't really stunt the plant (in my experience, one of a zillion urban garden legends!)

[Curmudgeoness]

7. I will go with your experience over urban garden legend.

Although from my study of botany, I seem to remember that plants put a lot of energy into producing fruit at a cost to the rest of the plant. Not worrying too much about this right now, I have decided to go with what the plant wants to do. It may be a mistake, and in that case I will be buying tomatoes at the farmers market. Thanks for the feedback.

[NRaleighLiberal]

8. I've been doing it for years - with both tomatoes and peppers - with no ill effect...

Right now I have about 120 peppers, 16 eggplant and 140 tomatoes in pots of various sizes - hoping (praying?) that we don't have a solid summer of 90 plus degree weather (last year was a disaster!). So far so good - open flowers everywhere, fruit set starting! Can't wait for those first Sungolds!

[Curmudgeoness]

9. Whoa, you really are serious about this gardening thing.

That is a LOT of work!

Best wishes for a good year.

[NRaleighLiberal]

10. Thanks! I am big time into the heirloom thing - since the mid 1980s.

Kind of a fun hobby! Current project is leading a worldwide all volunteer project to breed new short growing but large fruited, good flavored tomatoes of all sorts of colors (and none of us are making a penny off of it - just doing it for fun!)....we got 9 of them into seed catalogs this year!

[Curmudgeoness]

11. I am grateful to people like you who have raised

our conscienceness about heirlooms. I have only been growing heirlooms for about 10 years. That was when I started to read more about them and the reasons why they are so important. It had never occurred to me what was happening to our food supplies until this got more attention. Glad there are people like you watching out for us.

[NRaleighLiberal]

12. No problem! A passion....and sometimes you get lucky!

When J D Green sent me Cherokee Purple as an unnamed variety in 1990, I grew it, named it and sent it to two seed companies....also found/named Cherokee Chocolate and Cherokee Green, and developed Lucky Cross and Little Lucky. You just have to be observant and...yes, lucky! I am happy to share seeds - next season PM me and I will send you some interesting things to grow.

[Curmudgeoness]

13. I rarely say this, but I am impressed. Thanks for the offer. nt