Just north of Dallas, and my tomatoes will not grow!!! HELP!

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Sethhayhurst Denton, TX(Zone 7b) Jun 03, 2008

This is my first attempt at gardening, so be gentle with me!

I have a garden with 8 tomato plants in it.: 2 Best Boys, 2 Rutgers, 2 Sweet 100's, and 2 Champion's. I also have 2 Jalapeno plants, 2 Tabasco plants. I have clay soil, but i tilled the top 8 inches, then tilled in Growers Mix (pete moss), then tilled in about an inch of natural compost. I planted the tomatoes in raised rows about 2 and a half feet apart. I then sprinkled green sand on the transplants.

I planted on May 24th, and this may be my problem as it may have been too late. But my plants have not grown at all yet. I know it has only been about 2 weeks, but shouldn't they show some signs of growth?

Thanks in advance,

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feldon30 Houston, TX(Zone 9a) Jun 03, 2008

Unfortunately, you are about a month and a half late.

What are you fertilizing your plants with? An inch of compost is a good start, but I would fertilize as well with a slow release fertilizer like TomatoTone, GardenTone, Vigoro, or Miracle Gro labeled for vegetables.

I put raised beds on top of my clay soil because it is just too hard.

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dreaves Hutto, TX(Zone 8b) Jun 03, 2008

Even late, there is still some hope. My math says that you planted only 10 days ago. That's just long enough for transplants to start settling in and getting ready to grow. I'm told that the roots start first, then the top of the plant follows. That seemed to be the case for my garden.

The pepper plants shouldn't mind summer heat, as long as they get some water. The tomatoes may be more of a problem, since the pollen goes sterile at higher heats. You might be able to cool them with a little shade. If you keep them semi-shaded and watered (at least an inch a week) then you may still get some tomatoes too. I know that some people plant two tomato crops in Texas, both spring and fall. If you can keep the plants alive through the summer heat then you should at least get tomatoes as the weather starts to cool down.

Good Luck!

David

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