Better Boy Hybrid tomato

[fixit7]

So, your plant produced 1 bud/flower and it set a fruit. A tomato plant should produce dozens of buds/flowers and MANY of them will produce a fruit. What I think is happening is mainly not enough direct light followed by too much nitrogen. Nitrogen produces foliage but without enough sunlight photosynthesis cannot be maintained, thus limited foliage is grown. Secondly, too much nitrogen many times ties up or reduces the amount of P and K a plant is able to uptake. P is what determines buds and flowers on a plant. If the P available as uptake by the plant is reduced there will be few or zero flowers and thus no fruit. I would get another grow light and run both lights 12 hours per day and after a couple of weeks if no buds start to show reduce the amount of fertilizer.

Ok, I will do that.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Starter fertilizers have less nitrogen.

 

[fixit7]

I moved the plant to direct sunlight.

That should take care of the sunlight issue.

 

[Chuck]

I moved the plant to direct sunlight.

That should take care of the sunlight issue.

It will need an absolute minimum of 6 hours per day, 8-10 if you can manage it.

 

[fixit7]

It's in direct sunlight. It will easily get 10 hrs per day.
Sorry its out of focus.

 

[Chuck]

How many gallons is that container? For a plant that size you need a minimum of 5 gallons. How do you water? From the bottom up or from the top down. If from the top down much of the fertilizer will leach away. I would not fertilize at all for at least 3 waterings and when you water saturate all of the soil in the container, not just on top or halfway down but the entire volume of soil. What are your daily temperatures?

 

[fixit7]

It is at least a 5 gallon container.

I water from top down.

I was just watering the top 4 inches. I will wet all the soil.

Now that it no longer under my patio, water should not be a problem.
Should I cover the soil if a heavy rain is coming to minimize the soil getting washed out?

Temps are 75 to 90 degrees F.

 

[Chuck]

It is at least a 5 gallon container.

I water from top down.

I was just watering the top 4 inches. I will wet all the soil.

Now that it no longer under my patio, water should not be a problem.
Should I cover the soil if a heavy rain is coming to minimize the soil getting washed out?

Temps are 75 to 90 degrees F.

Your container has drainage holes doesn't it? And you have at least an inch before any runoff can occur but if you know a real frog floater rain is coming I would move the container to a secure location out of any high winds

 

[fixit7]

Yes it has drainage holes.

 

[headfullofbees]

My plant has produced one bud and it is growing.

Last I had a Big Boy Hybrid Tomato and it produced 4 green tomatoes.

But it died after a freeze.

I am not quite sure how to prune suckers. I trimmed off the bottom 6 inches of branches.

You are growing the most expensive tomatoes in Christendom.

 

[fixit7]

Gardening does indeed require learning.

 

[fixit7]

Since putting my plant in direct sun, the blossoms have increased quite a bit.

 

[Chuck]

Since putting my plant in direct sun, the blossoms have increased quite a bit.

Just remember that you will have no fruit set until temps drop significantly, probably late Sept-Oct.

 

[Meadowlark]

That's why growing outside fall/winter tomatoes is always a huge gamble here.

The timeline for 77351 goes like this:

Fruit set on a good year maybe by Sept. 20.

Then about 30 days more to get a mature green tomato (excluding cherry toms) and another 20 days to get a ripe tomato.

That places you around Nov. 10 or about 10 days past the average first frost date here. Too much work playing the cover-up game to prevent frost damage.

It's a gamble that I loose way more often than I win...but the good news is that fried green tomatoes are wonderful.

 

[Chuck]

Just remember that you will have no fruit set until temps drop significantly, probably late Sept-Oct.

IF,IF you have a good fruit set you will probably be able to get ripe tomatoes. I used to have a commercial tomato farm in the San Leon/Bacliff area, close to where you are and in a lot of years only had light frosts until about Jan. You can protect your plant with a product called Nsulate. It is a fabric and one layer will give about 6 degrees of protection, down to about 26F. 2 layers about 8 or 9 degrees.