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Growing Tomatoes

I think my tomatos are having issues - pics

16 years ago

This is my first attempt growing tomatos and also the first year with my garden. I bought these from a local garden shop, they were nice and green (really green) and about a week after I put them in the garden, the stems turned brown and the leaves started to act like they were going to die. They seem to be slowly coming back??? and the better boys (small ones not in cage) seem to be growing. The others in the cage are romas.

The soil is mushroom compost mixed with a little topsoil and black kow. Something seems wrong with them - does anyone see a problem or am I over analyzing this? We had some cold nights (in the low 40's) after I planted them on April 1 - maybe that is the issue???

Roma 1

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Roma 2

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Better Boy

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Comments (5)

jbann23
16 years ago
right coaster - Hi, looks to me like they weren't sufficiently hardened off when they went in the ground and got a bit stressed by the cold, wind, etc. Pick off those old dead leaves and give 'em a weak shot of fish/seaweed emulsion to give them a little food. It's too cold for the soil to be really active and the plants are probably getting hungry. They'll come back.
dave1mn2
16 years ago
Your plants have issues. You are not over analysing but if they are coming back, all is not lost.

I'd be careful about adding any fert. You could try a foilar feed on just a few leaves and see how and if they respond differentially. It should'nt take more than 2 days tops to have noticable effect but I'm suspecting too much fert already.

If at a garden shop these plants had been outside. Yes?

How did you store them for the week prior to planting?

At the moment of the pic, leaf texture is fine so perhaps its not moisture.

Are they getting enough sun?
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Everything I see in those pictures says to me "minor nutrient deficiency, particularly insufficient nitrogen, and low light, combining to cause low level of photosynthesis." If you plan to keep those plants indoors much longer, pot them up in a larger container so you can bury the stems a little ... but not so deep that the root wad is at the bottom of the container 'cuz you'll drown the roots. Choose a tall container. Feed the plants after potting up. Use something balance. Those plants need nitrogen and potassium for sure. The main stems are too spindly and hard looking ... need to be stockier, plumper, etc. And then harden the plants off, if they've not already got that treatment, so you can eventually expose them to some real sunlight. They need some sun ... but not all at once ... and some fresh outdoors air. I'm not a real fan of "potting mix" for starting and holding young transplants. Maybe when they get outside in large growing containers. But while they're still in starter cups they should be in starter mix ... nice and fluffy with plenty of aeration for the roots. And I think Miracle-Gro potting mixes are just too damned fancy for tomatoes anyway. You need something soilless and well drained and without all that BS additive moisture retention crud in it. Just my opinions.
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right_coaster
Original Author
16 years ago
Thanks for the follow ups... here are some answers to questions:

-- I sprayed the entire garden with the miracle-gro hose end feeder thing 1 week ago (2 weeks after initial planting). No other fertilizer has been added.

--If at a garden shop these plants had been outside? Answer is no, they were inside a green house

--How did you store them for the week prior to planting?
Answer is I left them outside for about 1 day before putting them in the garden.

--Are they getting enough sun?
Answer is - I think so, they get sun from about 9:30AM to about 6pm or so - and it is full sun. Filtered sun earlier than 9:30 and same for after 6pm.

One of the better boy plants seems to be doing good. It's stem has gotten a lot thicker and it has quite a few new leaves that look pretty good. The same goes for the romas - there is one plant that seems to be doing the best of the 4.

From your questions, it appears that I should have waited before putting them in the garden? I really want to see these come back, but it will definitely be a learning experience at the least!
dave1mn2
16 years ago
I miss-read, my bad.

Yeah, they needed to be eased out. Transplant shock, sun and wind stress are the likely culprits.

Good Luck
suburbangreen
16 years ago
You should be okay. Tomatoes don't really thrive in cool weather. When it warms up you should see a turn around. Also as mentioned earlier, stay away from the fertilizer for a while.
Most of my family lives in Myrtle Beach and Oak Island.

Pete

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