the leaves on my tomato plants are drooping

[suzan]

they are flowering but also drooping with all this heat, will they carry on growing or will that be the end of them, they are in a green house which has the door and window open from early in the morning until late at night.

[Nicos]

Oh gosh- I don't have a greenhouse- but they sound like they are too hot- and not enough water?
Do you have a max/min thermometer in there?....certainly worth the £
My gut feeling is thatthey are too hot.

Have you whited/screened the glass?

It's sooo hot at the moment- I'd have thought you need to do something to keep the heat/strong sun out.

Your tomatoes should just about be starting with their crop- for the next few weeks!

[veggiechicken]

Do they look perkier in the morning, before it gets too hot?

[Bren In Pots]

Susan I'm not to far away from you and I'm leaving my GH door, louvre and window open over night during this heatwave.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I haven't closed a GH window or door for sometime now.

As well as making sure they are well watered try pouring water over the GH floor. This will help reduce the temperature and keep the humidity up.

Potty

[suzan]

they do seem to look perkier in the morning and droopy as it gets hot during the day, the thermometer in the greenhouse has been reaching 35 degrees, i gave them plenty of water about 7.30pm and they do look a bit better now, but come tomorrow by about dinner time they will be droopy again.

[suzan]

Thanks, will give that a try

[suzan]

I haven't closed a GH window or door for sometime now.

As well as making sure they are well watered try pouring water over the GH floor. This will help reduce the temperature and keep the humidity up.

Potty

thanks, will give that a try

[Bren In Pots]

Suzan just wondering do you have any shading on your GH, because that along with the other suggestions should get the temp down.
Here's a photo of the charity shop net curtains I use for shading.

[rustylady]

What are you growing your tomatoes in, and how big is your greenhouse?

[MrsCordial]

My tomatoes are outside, but some of the lower leaves are yellowing and crisping up. I've been heeding the advice not to over-water tomatoes but they're getting a good soak once the sun's over tonight, and I've just been out to put wet newspaper mulch round them. My marrows had the same treatment as the leaves were lolling about, and they perked up within 10 mins - it was like magic!

[rustylady]

I've been heeding the advice not to over-water tomatoes

Who on earth gave you that advice?

[MrsCordial]

I've come across it in a few places. According to whatever it is I've been reading (lots of different books and articles) too much watering causes flavourless, split fruits, and encourages roots to the surface (though I know that's more to do with little-and-often watering). I do water them, probably a couple of times a week they get a good soak, but it's not every day. I do think though that in this extreme heat it's got to be different!

[rustylady]

Mine are in the greenhouse, in Morrisons flower buckets, standing in large plastic saucers. I water into the saucers (they're about an inch deep) and keep them topped up.

The aim is to keep the compost evenly moist and watering from below like this encourages the roots down into the bottom of the pots.

The main cause of problems with tomatoes is erratic watering, compost going from dry to soaking wet. This is what causes blossom end rot and split tomatoes.

[MrsCordial]

I don't want to hijack this thread, but for tomatoes grown outside, would a sump be the answer? I can imagine that keeping that topped up every day would give the tomatoes' earth that consistency of dampness. I might dig in a couple more tomorrow. I use plastic 4 litre milk bottles with the bottom slit off and the lid removed, set into the earth top down and ideally their full depth, though a few stick up a bit.