Before and after on my cherry tomato yield after adding a fan

I had these cherry tomato plants on my south-facing balcony for 4 months and they barely grew tomatoes until I put a small oscillating fan out there. Within 2 weeks the airflow made the stems thicker and I got twice the fruit. Has anyone else seen that big a change from just adding wind?

2 comments

2 Comments

ray6482d ago

Wait, did you really go from almost nothing to double the fruit in just two weeks from a fan? That seems like a pretty big jump for something that simple... I've got some tomatoes on my porch and they get plenty of wind already, so I'm not sure a fan would make that much difference. Maybe your plants were just stunted from something else and the fan happened to help a little.

thomasm412d ago

You ever think maybe it's less about the wind and more about the actual movement? I've seen this with my own peppers on the deck - the ones that get a gentle sway from the breeze seem to set fruit way better than the ones tucked in a corner that barely move at all. With tomatoes, the stems need a little stress to get tougher, which helps them support more weight. A fan can do that steady back-and-forth thing that natural wind sometimes doesn't if it's too gusty or too calm. Plus it helps dry out the leaves faster, which cuts down on blight and rot. On a porch with good air flow already you might not need it, but for indoor setups or still days it can make a real difference.