The question is not dumb at all. In fact, catfacing has not been well studied. Some sources site broad swings in temperature, or cool conditions. Others blame thrips. My observations are that it can occur without thrips and appears when the humidity is very high. The plants here are soaking wet every morning, sometimes from rain, other times from heavy dew. With humidity hovering around 96% every morning, the plants don’t dry off until the midday sun runs the temperatures into the 90s (32°C +).
I wonder if the flower gets damaged, infected by bacteria or fungi, leading to the disorder. The larger-fruiting varieties, especially Black Krim, are prone to catfacing. This year, Eva Purple Ball and Manon’s Majesty have shown no catfacing yet. The former is much better flavored. I’m not impressed with the flavor of Manon’s Majesty, but will let some fruits mature longer to see if it helps with their taste. The plants are not hybrids, yet show good disease resistance.
I have a tomatillo question: do they need to be close together to set fruit? I grow a few every year, but this year the 3 are planted in a triangle, about 3m apart reach other with tomatoes in between. Usually I plant them together and get lots of tomatillos, but I’m unsure if they’re just late. My tomatoes have lots of green fruit. They are very tall and have lots of flowers but that’s it. Zone 5, I think. Thanks!
Big fig harvest today! I have a potted Chicago Hardy fig that usually spends the summer on the front porch, but this year squirrels stole 6 of the 13 little green figs so I had to bring it back inside, which is annoying because the leaves smell like cat urine. I will have to rig up some kind of squirrel-proof netting for next year.
Not all varieties do! My first year with the plant I blamed my poor cats and went all CSI by ordering a black light and inspecting my entire house till I realized.
Most tomatillos need to cross pollinate for best production. This is normally carried out by a bunch of different bees. Bumblebees are attracted to larger flowers, and an assortment of smaller bees visit the blossoms.
With this in mind, it’s better to plant them side by side, so the bees tend to mix pollen between plants. Planting tomatoes in between makes a minor obstacle to this. If you’ve been having lots of flowers without fruit set, you can try using a small watercolor brush (e.g.: a #2 size) and hand pollinating between flowers, during morning hours when the flowers are open.
If you have only recently seen flowers, then they are likely just late.
You also might want to observe the plants in the morning to see what is going on with pollinators, bees.
The only seed source I could find was on Etsy, and there are a lot of incorrectly identified seeds there. Having purchased Er Jing Tiao dried pods from China, I know what they look like.
These are pickled, but more often dried, and are essential for proper Sichuan chili oil. They are not super hot, but contribute flavor and deep red color to the oils.
The plants are loaded with fruits. One of my main interests is to get the seed out there, available in the USA. It’ll get listed in the Seed Savers Exchange, once the seeds are processed and dry.
The other two peppers I’m growing are each different species: one Capsicum baccatum, one C. chinense and the Er Jing Tiao-C. annuum. In theory, they shouldn’t cross with each other. … … in theory!
Do you do anything to get the figs to blossom? I have a 3 year old plant that I move in and out of the garage each spring and fall. It’s a nice plant but it hasn’t produced any fruit.
Are the regular wasps in Ottawa enough to pollinate it?
Well, now that the tomatoes aren’t crowded by the sugar snaps, they are getting more sun, and apparently they are also more visible to critters. Two tomatoes that were just about ready to pick were absconded with mysteriously… We abut a wooded area so critters abound, so the culprit could be one of many animals. When we redid our garden this year, we replaced the deer fence, but we did not replace the chicken wire around each raised bed. So far it hasn’t been an issue, but I guess now we’re having an issue! Going to go out today to get some to put around each bed. If anyone else has any ideas please share…
It is self-pollinating so no wasps required! I put it in my basement utility room for the winter, where it’s about 10C and dark, then bring it back up in the spring. The first crop of figs emerges before the leaves return but never seems to ripen before falling off. I need to be more ruthless and pick them off next year. Then the second crop comes along in early summer.
I read online that having bowls of water near your tomatoes can help, as many critters are looking for water rather than fruit. I put out a big bowl a couple of nights ago and there hasn’t been much further destruction, although that may be because most of the tomatoes on the bottom two feet of my plants have already been either harvested or chewed on (and therefore picked and discarded).
Thanks!!! I read the same thing this morning so I am going to give it a try right now!! It makes sense - forecast here is 95° today so of course those little critters are looking for any relief/moisture they can get!
I waited too long to add this, but the article reads
“These days many of the fig varieties that we buy in grocery stores and at farmers markets in the US don’t require pollination . Mission, those purplish-black ones I bought, Sierra, Celeste, Adriatic, Kadota, and the Brown Turkey fig can all self-pollinate, says Ferguson. But the Calimyrna, which has a yellow-green skin and is typically sold dried, requires fig wasps for pollination.”
I sure hope that solves the problem!!
