I have 2 tomato plants in pots on my deck. One is doing ok, the other has no tomatoes whatsoever and just a few yellow blossoms. Some of the leaves have yellowed as well. I wonder what I could have done to prevent this?

I have 2 others in the backyard surrounded by a chicken wire fence. The cherry tomato plant seems to be doing well, while I just saw 1 tomato on the beefsteak or whatever plant it is. It is very tall though, and the leaves look to be good. Maybe I should have used fertilizer?

Can you post pictures?

For the potted tomatoes, yes, absolutely you must use fertilizer. Regularly.

Noted re: fertilizer. Since I've posted the question I noticed a couple small tomatoes, so maybe at then end of next month I'll have some worth picking.

The other plant is doing ok, last evening I picked a ripe small/medium sized tomato from it. The pots are raised from the deck floor to keep them away from heat. I learned to do that last year on this forum. My main issue is the plants getting eaten, so this is kind of a makeshift crude chicken wire barrier. If this works out well I'll make something better next year.

I have another small but very protected garden in the back yard with cherry and beefsteak(?) tomato plants. No ripening yet, but seem to be doing ok without any signs of predators. I have a separate question about that which I'll post later with a photo.

I'd like to see more leaves on those plants. They probably do need food, and maybe support? I don't know what your insect situation is. I hand-pollinate my tomatoes and peppers with an electric toothpick.
Looks like this, but mine cost only $10 https://www.gosupps.com/waterp...

Yes, not many leaves on the deck plant. Good idea using something like the Waterpik.

Here's the garden in the back yard. It's very small, but it's an experiment this year. A majority of my tomatoes were eaten last year, maybe by squirrels? I made it small because I didn't want to invest a lot of time/money and end up with the same situation. The fence on the bottom is referred to as 'cloth' - very small spaces, and expensive. If results are good this year, I will expand it next year. There's also chicken wire on top. So far it appears nothing has been eaten, and the 2 plants seem to be doing well.

Maybe try to find a bigger pot that is a lighter color for the deck for next year. Dark pots can get too hot in the sun and overheat the roots. Or you could try to finagle a way to shade the pot while the foliage is still in the sun.

purpleinopp said: Maybe try to find a bigger pot that is a lighter color for the deck for next year. Dark pots can get too hot in the sun and overheat the roots. Or you could try to finagle a way to shade the pot while the foliage is still in the sun.

Ok - so I guess even not having them directly on the deck floor the pots can overheat. Although some leaves yellowed a bit, the cucumber plant seems to be doing well.

You seem to be on a good track: proceed with caution, experiment with your environment and correct where necessary.
Happy gardening!

You have too much nitrogen in the soil when the plants are without tomatoes.