The 3 best things you could do for your plant are A) Get it into an appropriate soil at an appropriate time. I don't know where you live, but in the US that would vary from late May to Early July. You can devise a plan based on the plant's natural (seasonal) rhythms, so you'll be working with the plant instead of against it. B) Get the plant outdoors as soon as night temps are reliably above 55*. C) Get started on a nutritional supplementation program, using a good fertilizer with an appropriate NPK ratio. RATIO is different than the NPK %s, and more important. If you remove leaves, remember that you're removing the factories that provide the plants only true food. Plant food is the carbohydrates manufactured during photosynthesis, so reducing its leaf surface area reduces it's food supply. If you're going to partially defoliate, make sure the plant is at least in good health and stable or gaining vitality. Even though the leave's appearance is spoiled, the leaves are still able to carry on photosynthesis. Chemical messengers will tell the plant when the leaves are net USERS of energy instead of net producers. If that occurs, the plant will shed the parts that are taxing the plant. You might find the link below to be of some interest. It will help you avoid almost all the common pitfalls encountered by growers relying mainly on trial and error, or the advertising promises on products aimed at the gardening community. Al Here is a link that might be useful: An overview - if you click me.

I am wondering about the possiblity of verticillium wilt. I have had trouble with this- when you cut off a wilted stem, check the cut part. If you see some browning in the stem where the channels are that transport water up the stem you may have the verticillium. Verticillium is incurable and usually terminal, but sometimes plants just present with stunting. The most important thing is to not spread it, so wipe your pruners with alcohol. Botrytis can also cause wilting, but moving the plant to a sunnier location and pruning off the affected parts might help the plant through. And as Sue said, good hygiene in the fall. I have had to dig up several peonies and discard them because of verticillium.

All the dissolved solids flushed from the soil are in the effluent - you don't want them making their way back into the soil, else why bother to water correctly in the first place? This is especially true when using fertilizers that have NPK %s significantly different than the ratio at which nutrients are used because nutrient concentrations in the soil solution and effluent quickly become badly skewed and create problems related to EC/TDS and antagonisms. And now the 'extra holes' are good for gas exchange? That's a switch from improved drainage. If we focus on providing plants with media that supports very little perched water, gas exchange won't be a problem. Gas exchange issues become significantly more limiting as water retention increases and air porosity decreases. Plants sitting in puddles, no matter how many holes in the container, is not conducive to good gas exchange or a well oxygenated rhizosphere. Something I wrote about using hydrogen peroxide several years ago: H2O2 has an extra O atom (compared to H2O) in an unstable arrangement. It's the extra atom that makes it useful in horticultural applications. Generally, we're not concerned with aerobic forms of bacteria normally occurring in container media or on roots. Since H2O2 is an unstable molecule, it breaks down easily. When it does, a single O- atom and a molecule of water is released. This O- atom is extremely reactive and will quickly attach itself to either another O- atom forming stable O2, or attack the nearest organic molecule. Reduced O levels and high temperatures encourage both anaerobic bacteria and fungi. Many disease causing organisms and spores are killed by O, and the free O- H2O2 releases is very effective at this. Additionally, when plants growing in water-retentive media are treated with H2O2 it will break down and release O into the area around the roots. This helps stop the O from being depleted in the water filled air soil air spaces until air can get back into them. High O levels in the rhizosphere can encourage rapid healthy root growth and discourage unwanted bacteria/fungi. . I know H2O2 comes in several different strengths, the most common of which are 3% and 35% solutions. Least expensive is the 35% product which you dilute (to an approximate 3% solution) by mixing 1:11 with water. I have used the 3% solution at 1-½ to 2 tbsp per gallon as a cutting dip/soak, and have mixed it into irrigation water for plants in extremely water retentive soils at up to 3 tbsp per gallon, both with good results and nothing adverse apparent. H2O2 in high concentration is a powerful oxidant and quickly oxidizes almost anything it contacts, so be careful with it if you use it. A solution that is too strong can destroy any organic molecule it contacts. I’ve seen this chart posted several times as suggested strength solutions for use in watering plants. You may wish to start at a lower concentration , such as I’ve used, and experiment. TO THIS AMOUNT OF WATER ADD THIS AMOUNT OF 3% HYDROGEN PEROXIDE --OR-- ADD THIS AMOUNT OF 35% HYDROGEN PEROXIDE 1 cup, 3% - add 1-1/2 teaspoons … 35% - 7 to 10 drops 1 quart, 3% - add 2 tablespoons … 35% - 1/2 teaspoon 1 gallon, 3% - add 1/2 cup … 35% - 2 teaspoons 5 gallons, 3% - add 2-1/2 cups … 35% - 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon 10 gallons, 3% - add 5 cups … 35% - 6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons 20 gallons, 3% - add 10 cups … 35% - 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Al

The label should tell you if you need to wait a certain number of days to harvest. IIRC, Daconil has no wait time to harvest when used on tomatoes. It would be almost impossible to avoid spraying your fruit if you're spraying correctly. Remember that you have to spray all stems, foliage (both top and underside), and preferably also all developing fruit as well. If you can do that and avoid getting anything on mature fruit, you are very talented.