It can be very frustrating when the vegetable seedlings you cared for have grown and matured into large healthy plants that do not produce any fruit or fewer fruits than you expected.
This can happen with any type of vegetable where the harvested product is the fruit, and there are a few reasons this may occur. Once you diagnose the underlying reason that your fruit growth is stunted, there are steps you can take to encourage your vegetable plant to produce the fruit you hoped for.
Reasons Why Your Vegetable Plants Aren’t Producing Fruit and How to Solve Them
1. Too Much Vegetative Growth
If your plants are large and healthy but are not producing any fruit, nutrient levels may be the cause. When plants have too much fertilizer or an imbalance of nutrients available for uptake, they may direct all of their energy into growing new leaves, and therefore, may develop very few flowers and fruit.
High levels of nitrogen will encourage the development of new leaves and shoots, while adequate levels of phosphorus will encourage flowering.
Some growers choose to check the nutrient levels in their crop through soil or leaf analysis to determine the levels of nutrients available to or present within the plant.
With this information, they can adjust their fertilizer plans accordingly. If you suspect that your plant’s nutrient levels might be the reason they aren’t producing fruit, consider testing your soil and adjusting your fertilizer.
More: Learn How Macronutrients Affect Plant Growth >
2. Lack of Pollination
If your plants produce blooms but they do not develop fruit or the fruit that do form are misshapen, then you may have low or incomplete pollination. Many fruiting crops require cross-pollination to set fruit.
This is especially important in cucurbit crops like squash, cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins. A wet summer can also lead to low pollinator activity and result in poor pollination.
To increase your wild pollinator activity, dedicate pollinator habitat areas on your property or plant pollinator-preferred flower varieties among your vegetables. You could also add a beehive to your property or pollinate by hand if it is appropriate for the scale of your operation.
3. High Temperatures
In excessive heat, it can be common for flowers to abort and drop from the plant, even if the flower was pollinated completely. This is because the development of the ovary may not occur under very high temperatures.
Monitor temperatures, pollinator activity, and flower development to determine if high temperatures are to blame, and minimize any other potential stressors to the plants to encourage fruit growth.
4. Incorrect Planting Density
Incorrect planting density may affect growth and yield. Cucurbits are particularly sensitive to planting density and may not produce much fruit if planted too close together.
Pay attention to the recommended plant spacing to optimize fruit set and so that plants do not compete against each other. If using a seeder, be sure to calibrate it each time of use, as seed size may vary from lot to lot.
5. Irregular Harvests
Most fruiting vegetable crops are annuals, meaning they complete a full generation from seedling to seed development in one growing season. When mature fruit are allowed to remain on the plant, it is a signal to the plant that no new flowers are needed.
If you do not experience any of the challenges listed above and have a successful first fruit set, be sure to harvest regularly to encourage the plant to continue flowering and producing new fruit later into the season.
Final Thoughts
In order to harvest the fruit you’ve always wanted, it’s important to observe and listen to your vegetable plants. Once you know what they need to flourish, they’ll be much more likely to perform. If you have additional questions about why your vegetable plants are not setting fruit, please contact our Customer Service Department at 800.544.7938 and we will be happy to assist you.
Read More Tips for Growing
FAQs
Heat stress, over-fertilization and a lack of pollinators are among the reasons that vegetables may bloom – but not produce fruit – during the summer months.
Why are my vegetables not producing fruit? ›
Heat stress, over-fertilization and a lack of pollinators are among the reasons that vegetables may bloom – but not produce fruit – during the summer months.
Why do these plants not make fruit? ›
Poor Pollination: This is one of the most common causes of no fruit. Some plants cannot pollinate themselves. They require a plant of the same species, but a different variety for cross-pollination and maximum fruit set.
Which 5 fruits do people think are vegetables and are not why? ›
First, anything that contains the seeds of the plant is a fruit, not a vegetable. This category includes items many consider to be vegetables, including squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, eggplant and avocados.
Why are my tomato plants growing but not producing fruit? ›
If you have trouble with tomato plants not setting fruit, heat is likely to blame. Keep plants healthy to ride through the heat wave, and help prevent this problem by growing heat-set varieties. A soaker hose helps prevent diseases caused by overhead watering.
What causes poor fruit formation? ›
Inadequate irrigation and excessive water stress can also reduce fruit set, increase abortions, and reduce fruit carry. High temperatures and water stress reduce photosynthesis and the ability of the plant to carry fruits.
Why am I not producing fruit? ›
If your plants are large and healthy but are not producing any fruit, nutrient levels may be the cause. When plants have too much fertilizer or an imbalance of nutrients available for uptake, they may direct all of their energy into growing new leaves, and therefore, may develop very few flowers and fruit.
How to encourage plants to fruit? ›
With very few exceptions, fruits and vegetable plants are powered by sunlight. Fruiting plants are especially light-hungry; not only does a strawberry plant need a lot of sunshine to grow all that gorgeous fruit, but it also needs plenty of warmth to ripen and develop all those amazing sugars and flavor compounds.
How to make vegetable plants bloom? ›
The best thing you can do is to keep the plants healthy. It is not necessarily expected that you would have blossoms this soon. Keep the plants as weed free as possible, make sure they are in a sunny spot and that they are getting about an inch of water a week. Over and under watering can both be problems for plants.
Why are vegetables not fruits? ›
Botanically, fruits and vegetables are classified depending on which part of the plant they come from. A fruit develops from the flower of a plant, while the other parts of the plant are categorized as vegetables. Fruits contain seeds, while vegetables can consist of roots, stems and leaves.
Evidence shows there are significant health benefits to getting at least 5 portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables every day. That's 5 portions of fruit and veg in total, not 5 portions of each. A portion of fruit or vegetables is 80g.
Why are my vegetable plants growing but not producing fruit? ›
Besides a lack of pollen transfer from male to female flowers, there are other reasons that vegetables sometimes produce flowers but not fruit. In tomatoes, nighttime temperatures below 55 degrees F or above 75 degrees F can interfere with pollination. Daytime temperatures above 90 degrees F can cause blossoms to drop.
What causes poor pollination? ›
Rain, low light, or cold and hot temperatures can limit bee activity. Planting varieties not suited for your area or planting at the wrong time may also contribute to poor pollination. Depending on the vegetable, poorly pollinated plants may have fruit of normal color but are small and appear flat.
How do I encourage my tomato plants to produce fruit? ›
Prune off about a third of the leaves (and flowers, if any are present) at the top of the plant, removing the newest, smallest leaves. This will stimulate the plant to branch out lower on the stem, and eventually to produce flowers and fruit throughout its height.
Why are my peppers not producing fruit? ›
Incorrect Temperature Can Cause Peppers Not Flowering
Your pepper plants like a temperature between 70 to 85 degrees during the day, and 60 to 70 degrees at night. Cold temperatures or even a late frost can cause damage to pepper plants and result in them not producing flowers or fruit.
Why are my peas flowering but not producing fruit? ›
If both female and male flowers are present but no fruits form, a lack of pollination is one possibility. If there are few bees in the area, or if they are just not active, this could be part of the problem.
Why are my beans flowering but not fruiting? ›
Reasons for Beans with Blossoms and No Pods
Normal early season drop - Most bean plants will naturally drop some blossoms early in the season. This will pass rather quickly and soon the bean plant will produce pods. Lack of pollinators - While many bean varieties are self fertile, some are not.
