Plan the perfect garden with our interactive tool →

My Vegetable Garden Has a Lot of Green But No Fruit

...
tomato plants image by JLycke from Fotolia.com

Excepting salad vegetables and root crops, vegetable plants should produce leaves and vegetables. The leaves help the plants to produce energy through photosynthesis and shade the vegetables from sunburn. If your plants produce plenty of leaves but no vegetables, it may be indicative of a larger problem. Troubleshooting a lack of vegetable production can help resolve the problem.

Shade

Vegetable plants need a minimum of six hours of sunlight daily to produce new vegetables. The plants use sunlight to create starches, sugars and carbohydrates they use for energy. As plants receive fewer hours of sunlight, they will produce fewer vegetables. Plants that grow in deep shade will produce no vegetables. Warm-season vegetables such as tomatoes are less tolerant of shade conditions than cool-season vegetables, such as peas.

  • Excepting salad vegetables and root crops, vegetable plants should produce leaves and vegetables.
  • The leaves help the plants to produce energy through photosynthesis and shade the vegetables from sunburn.

Temperature Extremes

Many vegetables have an optimal temperature in which they will set vegetables. Once temperatures deviate, the plants no longer will pollinate or set vegetables. For example, tomato plants no longer produce blossoms once summer temperatures climb to more than 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Pollen produced by plants such as summer squash becomes sterile once temperatures climb into these ranges. Plants that survive summer heat often will produce vegetables again when temperatures fall in late summer or early fall.

Fertilizer

The wrong fertilizers can encourage foliage development to the detriment of vegetables. For example, fertilizers high in nitrogen facilitate the abundant production of green foliage. Fertilizer high in the other two major nutrients, potassium and phosphorous, will help with energy transfer, plant maturation and root development. Plants need some nitrogen, but the nutrient levels should be proportionate to the other major nutrients in the fertilizer. The best food for vegetables are general purpose, balanced fertilizers such as 10-10-10.

  • Many vegetables have an optimal temperature in which they will set vegetables.
  • Fertilizer high in the other two major nutrients, potassium and phosphorous, will help with energy transfer, plant maturation and root development.

Vegetable Harvest

Some plants will produce fruit only if they are continually harvested while the vegetables are young and tender. When the fruit begins to mature on the vine, and the seeds inside the vegetable also mature, it releases hormones into the plant that halt fruit production. To keep plants such as cucumbers producing vegetables, one must continually harvest them as soon as they ripen.

Drought

Vegetable set also may be inhibited by drought conditions. Vegetables typically have a high water content. When the plant undergoes drought conditions, the plant shifts into survival mode. In addition to lack of vegetable production, the plant's canopy may die back. If the plant receives adequate water before it dies, it will produce new shoots and blossoms, then set and produce vegetables again.

  • Some plants will produce fruit only if they are continually harvested while the vegetables are young and tender.
  • If the plant receives adequate water before it dies, it will produce new shoots and blossoms, then set and produce vegetables again.

Related Articles

The Average Height of Vegetable Plants
The Average Height of Vegetable Plants
What is the Coldest Temperature that Vegetable Plants Can Handle?
What is the Coldest Temperature that Vegetable Plants...
How to Grow Vegetables in a Greenhouse
How to Grow Vegetables in a Greenhouse
How to Increase Zucchini Yields
How to Increase Zucchini Yields
What Vegetables Grow in the Rainforest?
What Vegetables Grow in the Rainforest?
How to Add Boron to the Vegetable Garden
How to Add Boron to the Vegetable Garden
When to Plant Vegetables in North Carolina
When to Plant Vegetables in North Carolina
How to Grow Vegetables in the Basement
How to Grow Vegetables in the Basement
Plants That Grow Under Fluorescent Light
Plants That Grow Under Fluorescent Light
What Are the Causes of Spindly Tomato Plants?
What Are the Causes of Spindly Tomato Plants?
How to Grow Vegetables in a Hothouse
How to Grow Vegetables in a Hothouse
What Eats the Leaves & Tomatoes on Plants?
What Eats the Leaves & Tomatoes on Plants?
When to Plant Watermelon in Tennessee
When to Plant Watermelon in Tennessee
Maryland Vegetable Planting
Maryland Vegetable Planting
Lowest Temperatures for Pepper Plants
Lowest Temperatures for Pepper Plants
Garden Guides
×