Dear Doug,
A few years ago, I received Potato Top tomato seeds from you. My husband used them and their offspring to grow this variety in our vegetable garden, along with a couple of other varieties such as Early Girl and Sweet 100. I should mention that this garden has become increasingly shaded by trees, which is why Early Girl has often been one of his selections. In the last two years, the Potato Top has produced very low yields, although the plants have been robust. The flowers are produced aplenty, but the stems immediately turn yellow before the tiny fruits have any chance to develop. The just-formed fruits, with petals still attached, drop off. There is no sign of aphids or whitefly, and the other tomato varieties do not exhibit the same problem. Up to a point, before realizing that the tiny fruit was formed, my husband was self-pollinating. There did not seem to be a lot of insects about.
Have any any prior experience with this variety to help me understand what might be the problem. I am especially wondering whether the decreased hours of full sunshine might be the problem now. These plants are not getting a full 5-6 hours of sunshine/day. Thank.
Susan Greenberg