Failure of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant to set fruit
• Most likely due to very warm or very cool nighttime temperatures
Blossom-end rot of tomatoes and peppers
• Varies with variety but is most often due to very dry soil conditions. Water well and mulch!
Poor plant growth with small fruit size on tomatoes
• The transplants were too old, too large, or overly hardened off. Young transplants of 6 weeks do best.
Cucumber plants wilt suddenly
• Bacterial wilt disease, most likely. Cucumber beetles carry the disease and introduce it as they feed on the plants. Control the beetles.
Bitter-tasting cucumbers
• Caused by a substance called cucurbitacin, which develops in hot, dry weather. Keep plants watered during dry periods.
Poor fruit set on cucumbers and squash
• Usually due to poor pollination. Get yourself a bee or two (or 2,000) or an artist's paintbrush to transfer pollen to female flowers.
Forked or misshapen carrots
• Stones or large clods in the soil will cause roots to branch or take on an abnormal shape. Carrots crowded in the row will sometimes twist about one another.
Poor sprout development on Brussels sprouts
• This happens when temperatures are too high. Plant Brussels sprouts only for late-fall harvest. Pinch stem tips when first side buds are forming.
Poor root development of radishes
• High temperatures and long days stimulate shoot and seed stalk development at the expense of root development. Plant radishes early or late in the season, but don't grow them in summer
