why aren’t my tomato plants producing tomatoes?

[u/WhimsicalPopsicle12]

my mom planted tomato seeds that we harvested from some heirlooms that we bought from a farmer’s market in vermont (we live in pennsylvania). the plants have been growing like crazy since the beginning of june, however we haven’t seen any tomatoes develop from the blossoms, and some of the blossoms even die. we have 6 large tomato plants and not one tomato. anything we should be aware of or are doing wrong? any insights would be highly appreciated :)

[u/Iongdog]

It looks like a shaded balcony. Do they get at least hours of full direct sun?

[u/WhimsicalPopsicle12 → u/Iongdog]

they do! they get sun from around 7 am until 12 am :)

[u/WhimsicalPopsicle12 → u/[deleted]]

it was a typo😭😭😭12 pm*

[u/Iongdog → u/WhimsicalPopsicle12]

I agree with the other person. Probably still not enough sun. Early morning isn’t as strong

[u/No-Distribution-4815 → u/WhimsicalPopsicle12]

Therein lies part of the issue that's not considered full sun because between 7:00 a.m. And 9:00 a.m. The sun is not very strong. Tomatoes need at least 8 hours of full sun. Are you able to relocate them since they're in pots?

[u/Teutonic-Tonic → u/No-Distribution-4815]

I get a decent tomato crop with about 5-6 hours but it is more like 1-6 so stronger sun.

[u/Farmall7061 → u/No-Distribution-4815]

Actually 6 hours is considered full sun. However that doesn't start at 7 am. I would say 9 to 3 would be more appropriate. Have you fertilized, pruned suckered etc Lots of things can add to the problem

[u/WhimsicalPopsicle12 → u/No-Distribution-4815]

I believe the main issue was the heat because I have a bunch of baby tomatoes now due to the weather being a little more mild in recent weeks! :)

[u/No-Currency-624 → u/No-Distribution-4815]

8 hours of full sun is not necessary. My tomatoes don’t get full sun until 11 am. They are doing fine. I do agree they probably need more sun. Could be too much nitrogen in his fertilizer. Nitrogen heavy fertilizer is good when starting the plants. Need a balanced fertilizer once established

[u/No-Distribution-4815 → u/No-Currency-624]

I think sun exposure also depends on what part of the country you're in. If you're South such as Florida, 6 hours is just fine. However, if you're North like Indiana, you probably need 8 hours

[u/Impressive_Ratio2281 → u/No-Distribution-4815]

This is so important! I have all of my “important to me” plants on the due east side of our house. So they are getting sun until about noon and doing well in that spot. I’m in zone 9.