Why are my tomatoes dying from the bottom up?
tomatotomata
10 years ago
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Becky
10 years agoedweather USDA 9a, HZ 9, Sunset 28
10 years agoRelated Discussions
First time container gardener - Tomatos dying from bottom up
Comments (6)I've always grown tomatoes in 5 gallon containers. my opinion is it could be 1 of a few things. 1) pot bound when the soil is dry, grab the stem and lift the root-ball to inspect the roots, it the soil ball comes up very easily and you can see roots covering the surface, it's time for a transplant. if the plant doesn't come out very easy don't force it and cause more damage. just check the holes in the bottom of the pot, if they are showing roots it's time to transplant. 2) a salt buildup how often do you water between feedings. if salt is built up in the plant the lower leaves will die until the entire plant is dead. the salt comes from fertilizer that is not rinsed from the soil with pure water and builds up in the roots restricting nutrient uptake by the plant. to remedy this you would water with nothing but water for 2 weeks every time the soil goes dry. tis will flush out any built up salt in the soil. check your water as well becuz city water is sometimes too acidic for plants and will effect growth dramatically. 3) Watering Time watering in the morning before 11 AM or after 5 PM helps any plant keep cool during the hottest days. the hotter parts of the day are between 11 AM and 5PM so watering during these times of the day are best avoided to prevent steaming the roots. IMO i would say it is most likely the root bound issue....See MoreLavender is dying from bottom up - water problem or disease?
Comments (3)Matt, I see a drip hose in the pic. Right above the lavender that are rotten. No drip hose on lavendar. Lavender do not tolerate wet and heat at the same time. THe only time you can water them is at night, when it cools off. THe drip hose is watering them in the heat. I don't water my lavender at all, ever, so the only water they get is when it rains, and it cools off then. If you really want to grow them in clay, the above poster had it right. Lots of drainage. i grow mine on a sandhill. Literally. Easiest plant I have, I do absolutely nothing to it. LOL!...See MorePhlox - dying from bottom up
Comments (2)You might want to post this in the perennials forum. I'd like the answer, too, since mine is doing the same thing this year....See MoreDying from the bottom up - what am I doing wrong?
Comments (5)It is normal for the leaves on tomato plants to die off from the bottom up as the plant grows. So how old of plants are we talking about? Post-production plants or ones just planted? "Southern CA fruit well into fall or early winter" wouldn't be normal. You are lucky to have 2 separate tomato growing seasons while much of the rest of the country only has one but mid-summer isn't one of them normally. Your planting and ideal growing times are very different from much of the country. Maybe in the northern zones, but even here a spring planted tomato plant won't set fruit and continue production well into fall. It is just to hot to set fruit, you get blossom drop, plants get stressed from the heat, pests and disease. That's why we plant fresh plants in mid-late July so they will kick into production once the weather breaks in the fall. Dave...See Moretomatotomata
10 years agoBets
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