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Why Are My Tomatoes Not Getting Big – 6 Main Reasons

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Even the most experienced gardeners can sometimes go through some problems with growing fruits and vegetables.

However, it would be best if you remembered that every season is different, and every plant is unique. If you aren’t getting the desired results, there might be several factors attached to that.

If you keep asking yourself the question, “Why are my tomatoes not getting big?” We’re here to answer just that.

Let’s get to know more about the factors in the article below!

Why Are My Tomatoes Not Getting Big
Are my tomatoes supposed to be so small? – via Reddit

Some Factors That Affect Growth

Under-watering Your Plant

Most of the growth-related problems that your plant faces are due to the stress on the plant.

If you continue to let the plant go through extreme heat and not water it properly, the plant’s fruit will also be smaller in size and not grown properly.

Tomato plants can’t survive in extreme drought and heat, and their fruit yield decreases significantly. The plant stops sending energy into the fruits and flowers, which significantly reduces the yield of a plant.

One of the most common reasons is the lack of water. Tomato fruit stops growing if it faces a lack of moisture. You have to keep the soil consistently moist otherwise, your plant will show many indicators of stress, and your fruits will be affected.

Many gardeners buy self-watering containers for their tomatoes. Tomatoes need a lot of moisture, and these are a good way to ensure that your plant is getting the proper moisture that it needs for fruit development.

You can also get a soil meter to monitor the soil around your plant.

Heat

Another factor that is known to cause small tomatoes is heating. If you live in a particularly hot area, you will suffer when you try to grow tomatoes. This is because the fruit doesn’t adapt well to the heat, and the plant is stressed out.

This is mainly because of the fact that tomato plants need lots and lots of moisture. If this moisture is not given to them properly, they might get dehydrated. This causes the fruit that comes out of the plant to be smaller in size.

One way to ensure this doesn’t happen is to keep the plant in a shaded area or a room where the temperature is controlled.

How do I make my tomatoes grow bigger
Small, hard, not ripe red tomatoes. What’s happening? – via Reddit

Wrong Kind Of Fertilizer

Another common misconception is that all types of fertilizers are good for your plant. This is not the case at all, as fertilizer only helps the plants in growing big. This is especially true in the case of nitrogen-dominated fertilizer.

While some chemicals do help in fruit growth, it is not commonly the case. Especially with nitrogen, if the plant gets too much of it, it will undergo poor fruit production.

Fertilizers rich in nitrogen only promote leafy foliage. Too much of the chemical leads to a smaller fruit yield.

One thing you can do to increase the size is to ensure that proper pollination is happening around the plant. Increasing the pollinator activity around the plant can ensure proper pollination and help you in increasing the fruit size.

Pests

Pests and insects can seriously hinder everything related to the plant. Pests suck out all of the nutrients from the plant and seriously affect the flower growth, fruit growth, and overall plant size.

You need to use pesticides to take care of this problem consistently. One problem with this is that it gets hard to keep track of the pests if the plant grows too big.

It would be best if you got quality pesticide that isn’t harmful to humans but kill all the insects. This will ensure that your plant is free of any pests that want to suck out all of the plant’s juices.

This will also improve your fruit yield and the fruit size getting bigger.

Disease

Another common factor that influences fruit growth is a disease. One disease, in particular, can be a problem for you.

Tomato blight is a form of fungi attack which your tomato plant can go through.

It also affects the size of the fruits. If your plant is undergoing a fruit drought in general or a smaller fruit yield, it is likely going through this disease.

It is very easy to distinguish between plants that are undergoing blight disease. The tomato that they produce is very weird-looking and has cuts through it.

Container Of The Plant is Too Small

Another reason for the small tomatoes could be that the container in which you have kept your plant is too small.

This can cause the plant’s roots to be contained in a smaller place than they are supposed to be, which will result in inadequate nutrition for the plant. This results in smaller tomatoes.

This is one of the more important factors because even if you are doing everything else right, this one thing will not let your fruit yield improve.

So make sure you give your plant enough room to breathe. Another thing you can watch out for is that you can see the preferred soil type for the plant. See if this is close to the one you are using.

This is important because every plant either prefers compact or loamy soil based on the needs of the plants.

Some plants want less air in the soil around them, while others want a much more airy environment for their roots. Make sure that your plant’s needs are satisfied with the type of soil you’re using and that the container for the plant isn’t too small.

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Conclusion

Tomatoes are one of the most versatile fruits. Although people don’t usually prefer to eat them alone, they go in a lot of dishes and improve their taste.

If your tomato yield is affected, it could be due to a number of reasons. Some of those reasons are given in this article.

I hope this article was of help in answering your question of “Why are my tomatoes not getting big?”

Happy gardening!