Diagnosis help! New leaves curling down and in

7 years ago

I'm a novice gardener trying to grow tomatoes for the first time in Houston, TX (9a). I'm looking for help identifying what's causing the new growth on my tomatoes to curl downwards.

Instead of trying to describe it, here are some photos

^Sweet Chelsea from nursery planted about 10 days ago in 20" planter

^Black Vernissage that I started (badly) from seed and transplanted about a month ago in raised bed

As you can see, the new growth towards the top is curled down tightly. The lower leaves seem ok, the leaf color seems ok, and I see no obvious discoloring/pests.

I believe I've made the following mistakes recently.

-I over-fertilized a bit with 0.33-4-0.75 fish/kelp fertilizer used as a soil drench. I gave about 12 oz per plant in each instance 24, 48, and 72 hours after transplant. The soil also has an organic 4-4-3 plus Mg & Ca dry fertilizer mixed in.

-I also believe I'm over-watering a bit at about 3-4" of water per week. The top of the soil under the mulch has been moist (but not wet) every time I've checked.

Some information that may be relevant

-The leaf curl is more intense at the end of the day. It seems to ease overnight.

-The symptom is present in the tomatoes regardless of whether they are in pots/raised beds as well as the growing medium (reputable local vegetable garden soil/compost heavy mix/"farm dirt")

-The symptom is present regardless of whether I started the plant from seed (transplanted about a month ago) or I bought a seedling from a nursery (transplanted about 10 days ago); I see it in both the OP and hybrid cultivars I'm growing

-All the plants grew and have continued to grow noticeably since the application of the 0.33-4-0.75 fertilizer

-We've had a bunch of sunny, windy days with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s.

Looking through this informative forum, in addition to over-fertilizing and -watering, viruses and herbicide damage look to be possible causes. But as someone looking up at the learning curve, I'd feel much better if I could get some advice about the most likely cause(s) from some experienced gardeners.

Thanks in advance for any help

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Comments (3)

gorbelly
7 years ago
I think the most likely culprit is epinasty due to overwatering and potentially a soil mix that is too heavy (too much soil/compost in containers can compact and/or get sludgy).

The general rule of thumb for watering tomatoes, whether in-ground or in containers, is to dig down into the soil first to see whether it's dry a couple inches down (deeper for in-ground plants) and actually needs water. If the soil surface is still moist, watering is absolutely not needed and could be detrimental.

There's also a possibility that the mulch or compost or "farm dirt" could have been contaminated with herbicides, but herbicide injury is usually more distorted looking than that and usually is accompanied by yellowing or other discoloration. You can test this out by planting peas in the soil next to the tomatoes. If the peas germinate and emerge looking normal, herbicide is not the problem.

That doesn't look like any of the common viruses to me.
summer_is_coming (Houston, TX, 9a)
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Thanks very much for the detailed response gorbelly. On the tomato growing forum, the consensus seemed to be that this was normal tomato behavior. But given that I've noticed it much less since changing my watering/fertilizing routine, your explanation fits what I'm seeing better.

I recently read up on Al Tapla's posts regarding water management and fertilization in container horticulture. I've mixed up a batch of 5:1:1 mix and am about to plant a seedling in it to see how it does compared to the other containerized tomatoes.

I'm interested if a well draining mix works outdoors here in the Houston summer, as we're already seeing mid-day highs in the upper 80s. What led me to over-water in the first place was my fear of letting things completely dry out. I'm slowly adjusting my watering based on the moisture I'm finding in the top few inches of growing medium.
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gorbelly
7 years ago
It can be normal tomato behavior insofar as sometimes, conditions are wet, especially in spring in most of the continental US east of the Rockies, and tomatoes will often respond to it this way. You can't do much about rain, but you can also recreate conditions of too much rain by watering too much.

So it's normal in that sense. It's not "ideal", but that's nature for you.

The long-term impact should be minimal as long as you get your watering dialed in and Mother Nature doesn't flood you.

Diagnosis help! New leaves curling down and in

Comments (3)

gorbelly

summer_is_coming (Houston, TX, 9a)
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Diagnosis help! New leaves curling down and in

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gorbelly

summer_is_coming (Houston, TX, 9a)Original Author

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summer_is_coming (Houston, TX, 9a)
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