Hi all! My tomatoes have been in the ground for about 3 weeks. It has been rather dry in Iowa but for some reason I don't think dryness is the problem. Here is how they were planted...in the bottom of the hole we placed half a banana peel...then after 1 week we put some tomato fertilizer stakes near each plant. No pesticide has been used, and I have gave them a weekly drink of water (because of the lack of moisture.) Now the branches are firm but the leafs are curling along with stiff leafs. New growth is sort of "shriveled." What do they have? (no sign of insect infestation) Viral? Bacteria? Over-Fertilization? Lack of Moisture? I just don't know...Need some advice. Thanks! Image link:

Herbicides can volatilize and travel great distances, so the source might have been a neighbor or someone you don't even know. Unfortunately tomatoes are particularly sensitive to herbicides. "Weed and Feed" type lawn treatments can be a problem. Not only can the spray travel, but grass clippings remain toxic for a while. Cattle and other animals that graze on plants treated with herbicides such as clopyralid and aminopyralid produce manure which can retain its toxic effects for a year or more -- even after being composted. Mulching with straw from treated fields can also cause problems. http://www.ext.colostate.edu/ptlk/1400-18.html

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/tomato Might want to post in the Growing Tomatoes forum, rather than the Tomato Pests & Disease forum. The former gets much more traffic. There's a couple things I see off hand that could be a problem. One is that a 5 gallon bucket is pretty much the bare minimum sized container that you'd want to grow full-sized tomato plants in. 10-15 gallon would be much better. The plants quickly get root bound and stressed much quicker and need watered and fed much more often in smaller containers. Dwarf plants will do okay in 5 gallon buckets. Can't tell if there are spots on the leaves or not but early blight or one of the many other fungus/disease that tomatoes get is a possibility. The treatment for all is the same though. Remove the affected leaves and start spraying with a fungicide. Also, general color of the plants, unless it's due to the camera, look anemic to me. Have you fed them at all? Rodney

Normal potting mix for a succulent generally retains too much moisture, and 50% coarse sand helps but probably does not tip the balance. If you do not want to hassle with creating your own mix from scratch, I would change the soil to 50% commercial "cactus mix" and 50% perlite. I prefer pumice to perlite since it is heavier and does not float. Since you have your own greenhouse, I am wondering do you have a lot of succulents, and are most of those in the same soil and thriving? Is there any chance the greenhouse becomes extremely humid or hot?