Hi, I have several beefsteak tomato plants which I have grown from seedlings on my fire escape I have since brought them indoors. I was finding a lot of pigeon feathers on the plants and assumed the pigeons might be eating the blossoms, although I never actually saw any blossoms . They have since grown to 3 to 4 feet high but are not flowering. I have no lights on them but they do get a lot of sunlight at the window. What do I need to do to get them to blossom ?
It is VERY difficult to produce tomatoes indoors with natural sunlight. I, myself, specialize in indoor gardening, and find myself almost always having to use supplemental light from a fixture. These can be a bit pricey when you go the route I did with good LED's. It does save you in the long run. There are many other options, such as Metal halide, or high pressure sodium bulbs. I do not ever recommend standard household bulbs, though.
As for your flowering issue... Tomatoes do not flower until the day and night temperatures are pretty close to the same. They can be a bit tricky to grow indoors, but if you have the proper equipment, and time... They can be a fun project to have all throughout the winter.
We have purchased beefsteak tomatoe plants 3 years from 3 different nurseries in a row only to find as they get to be adult plants they are actually growing grape tomatoes. They are planted nex to cherry tomatoes plants. Is it possible that they cross pollinate and become grape tomatoes or are our nurseries mis-labeling???
Tomato varieties will produce fruit consistent with the varieties planted. Again, any crossing in the current season affects the seeds within the fruit, not the fruit flavor or structure.
Plants can often be miss labeled in greenhouse situations.
I would like to locate sources in order to purchase seeds for Tidwell German, Pink Ponderosa and Riyal Hillbilly, Marizol Red Beefsteak tomatoes. I reside in Livermore, CA and need to know if there strains are suitable for this area? Does this web-site have a sales dept.?
Do a Goggle search for sources.
You can also check Ebay or Etsy, they are often good resources for seeds and plants.
If there is no evidence of disease, tomato trimmings can be put in the compost bin.
This year we couldn't findout usually brand of tomatoes which is Big Beef. So we settled for Beefsteak tomatoes. We bought 3 plants from Lowe's - Bonnie Organics Beefsteak Tomatoes Indeterminate. Twoof the plants are growing pretty good and the other not so good. But my tomatoes are not big at all! Almost all the size of golf balls maybe a little bigger. No where close to one pound though. We have never had a problem growing tomatoes before. Now I don't know what to do. Any suggestions?
There can be a few reasons for fruit to stay small.
This article will help you.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/tomato/tomato-fruit-stays-small.htm
I have 15 tomato plants in a raised bed garden. All are thriving except for the Big Beef and Beefsteak, which are wilting from top down. The lower leaves are also turning yellow. These are mature plants, and it started about a week ago. Some fruit has set but it looks small in comparison to other plants. Another Big Beef started from the same seeds, planted in a different bed is also thriving. I thought these varieties were resistant to fungal wilt so am confounded by this. I have grown tomatoes (including these varieties) in this bed for a number of years, with no problems.
Tomato wilt can happen from a fungal wilt.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/tomato/wilting-tomato-plants.htm
Make sure you are properly watering and that this is not the reason for wilting plants.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/tomato/watering-tomato-plants.htm
I would also encourage you to practice crop rotation with tomatoes. You mention you have planted for years in the same raised beds. Every 3 years you should plant your rotate any nightshade crops.
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/vgen/different-vegetable-families.htm
We planted this the last weekend in May and while it is growing up so fast, the tomatoes are all like the picture I am including.
That is tomato catfacing, a fruit deformity. It is prevalent in beefsteak type tomatoes and heirlooms. Here is more information:
https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/tomato/catfacing-fruit-deformity.htm