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Gardening in Oz

Dying tomato bush

9 years ago

I'm posting to see if you folks can help me with one of my tomato bushes, the poor thing was doing wonderfully (it's 1.5m tall and has a fair amount of fruit on it) until about a week ago when it started to have issues.
I've attached a photo so that you can see how it looks. Basically about 30% of the leaves has withered and dried up. There is still a fair amount of healthy looking green on it though. This plant is situated in a row with 4 others, one of which is starting to show similar issues.

I keep it fairly well watered, the soil never totally dries up as it is mulched and gets a deep water every 3 or so days. The soil is mostly organic compost and broken down Lucerne.

I give them a little worm tea from my worm farm about once a fortnight, but never too much.

What do you guys think? It's such a shame as the plant was doing so well!!

Cheers,

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Comments (5)

funnelweb
9 years ago
Could be a bit of over watering; what's the drainage like? Any sogginess? Also, how decomposed was (is) the compost and Lucerne? And sunshine: tomatoes, like roses, like around 8 hours a day.
B.
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glenn-brisbane
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the follow up. The soil doesn't get too wet, it dries pretty quickly. The lucerne and compost are pretty decomposed now, the bed is about 3 months old.

They are getting sun from around 7am until 2pm, which should be enough I thought.

Not sure if it makes a difference but I check the tomatos on it last night and they all have blossom end rot too! :(
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Sorry but from the information provided so far there simply isn't anyway to know what is wrong. Could you possibly post pictures of the plants? We also need to know all about your growing conditions - if these are in containers or not, how big the containers are because they could be root-bound, what potting mix you used, how often and how much you have fed them, same for water, how old the plants are, how tall or how long since planted (they are determinates so may just be done growing), what your weather and temperatures have been to cause the blossom drop (they normally turn brown, not black), etc. etc. Dave
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catterwallin, Hello,and I hope you have a really good Christmas. To directly answer some of your questions or thoughts,my small opinion.....as far as wondering how hard it would be I guess is up to you,and how you are feelng. I can relate to questionable health,physically speaking. It really does effect things.(to a point) I guess the only reason I mention high nitrogen is just a thought that I have regarding the fact that a healthy,strong,quick growing plant, really has a better shot(to me) than one that grows slower when it comes to dealing with multiple issues. In other words, I want to make sure that the plant becomes a plant strong and visually large enough. I will worry about the nitrogen negatives when I get to the second stage. It is worth a shot. That is how I have been shaking it lately. The covering was literal. Mulch is best,even better when you cover the mulch so that is does not blow away(leaves). If you were to manage find a tiller,and someone willing to help(if not yourself),and work whatever a row up, and then stick sturdy fallen tree branches into this area........then cover these branches as well as adding enough topsoil to where in the end you would still have a raised row,enough to withstand the gradual runoff that time will give you, I bet it might help with the clay. So long as when you are done with all the work, you cover it with a blanket,a pillow, tarp, clothes. I am not sure by a long shot since this type of communication is a long shot. If I was your next door neighbor, and you presented this question to me, it would be much easier. Anyhow, I hope your health stays with you in the best way it can. Take care, Travis
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Before it started "dying" i didn't use any pesticide, but once I saw it and saw the spiders we sprayed with Ortho Home Defense 3 in 1 insect killer. We only sprayed once. I don't think the blueberry is dead though... As for the Iron deficiency , I bought Miracle Grow for acid loving plants. Will try that tomorrow and see if it heals! I checked the pH in the soil and it was actually 7. So hopefully it is just iron deficiency. The roots are in good shape :)
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I've been growing tomatoes in PB Co for 20 years now, and only two seasons produced a glut of tomatoes. (apparently I'm not an expert!). You can be certain that disease will hit - usually hard. I think the best thing to do is keep the leaves dry - a lot of that depends on the weather, because of the humidity and heavy dew. put the tomato plants where they will receive the most sunlight - ideally as early in the day as possible so they can dry off.Try not to crowd the plants. Consider trimming off dead leaves/branches a daily chore. What type of tomatoes are they? I've only grown heirlooms, but next year, I'm going to plant some disease resistant hybrids as well. I rarely have insect damage, so I can't dentify a pest .( my vegetable garden is overrun with lizards and cobwebs.) Those plants may not recover, but if you can find some transplants , you could give it a second try this season - there's about 2 months until the rains start, and the diseases set in.
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funnelweb
9 years ago
Blossom-end rot! It's a deficiency disease that effects the fruit. To quote my reference: 'Lack of calcium for the growing fruit causes the blossom end of the tomato to be brown and sunken. It's a complex situation and is also known to be associated with stress caused by irregular watering. To control, add sufficient lime and superphosphate to the soil before planting out. Do not use high quantities of fertiliser containing sodium, potassium and ammonium. Good soil drainage is important but the soil should not be allowed to dry out."
For those reasons I always to prefer to grow vegies etc., in the open garden. Mother nature takes care of the checks and balances.
B.
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keithgh
9 years ago
I am on the coast south of Melb, I only have space for 2 tomato plants in the same spot every year, which is a massive NONO.

What I have always done is plant a tomato seedling into large pots using a good quality potting mix.

Dig a deep hole and bury the pots leaving a few inches above the soil line.

Watering twice a week using the old water from the fish tank.

I have cut bigger holes in the pots for added drainage, no ferts used as the old fish tank water is full on nutrients from the fish waste.

Keith
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tropicbreezent
9 years ago
It could be nematodes, they'll reduce a healthy tomato rapidly like that. They infect the roots and the first sign is wilting in the heat of the day with some recovery when it's cooler. As more of the roots are damaged the plant goes down hill until it dies. That's why some people only grow tomatos in pots - to keep them away from the ground where you get nematodes.
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