Tomato Plants Help

[Alibob]

Please can anyone help.
I am new to growing my own vegetables and I am growing some tomato plants.
I have grown them from seed (on my kitchen window sill under a propogator) and now the plants are no longer under the propogator and remain on the windowsill. They have been growing strong in the air and are now around 9" tall and strong and healthy - but they have suddenly developed a problem with their leaves. This seems to have started withthe lower leaves and moved up all the plants but not reached the top healthy leaves.
They have turned 'see through' and then they eventually die and the stem they are attached to has also died (however the main stem of the plant remains unaffected).
Please can you help as i do not know what this is and what i need to do.
Thank you
Ali

[BumbleB]

I am not sure, but it sounds like they may be getting too much bright sunlight? Have you got them in full sun? They need lots of light but not full on sunlight.

Someone more in the know will be along to advise

[Alibob]

They are on a south facing window which has the sunlight on it all day.
Do you think they will survive if i place in a more shaded area,as only about a quarter of the leaves are affected.
Thank you so much for your help

[Maximillian]

Hi there. I looked on the Internet for you be it sounds like nitrogen deficiency. Maybe repot your healthy ones in fresh soil and see how they go

[Alibob]

Thank you so much for helping. Typical my first time trying to grow veg and this happens. I will repot the healthy ones and see how i go.
Thanks again

[smallblueplanet]

Can you put up a picture of them alibob?

9" high? What size pot are they in?

[Lottieval]

Don't despair, Alibob, we all have problems from time to time, I always reckon that's how you learn, you're doing well,keep at it.

[Maximillian]

Don't worry and don't be disheartened! You still have time! Otherwise get a couple of tomato plants to start yourself off, you still have to tend and look after them :-)

[Maximillian]

Another thing. After re-reading your post looks like they were quite large to be still in propogator. Put them in bigger pots. Are the leaves quite full now?

[Alice]

I think we really need to see a pic Alibob, but if they are still in small pots move them up to 5" pots, move them back out of direct sun and if the weather is fair put them outside during the day and take them in at night if you are planning to grow them outside. If you have a greenhouse put them in there.
If you go into personal profile you can show us where you are in the country. It helps to unserstand your growing conditions.

[teakdesk]

The green in plants is chlorophyll which the plant makes from sunshine by photosynthesis.

If a plant is too warm it will try to grow rapidly but if there is not enough light for this rapid growth the plant will move chlorophyll from its lower leaves to the top leaves so the lower ones go yellow and then thin and see-through.

Also, if a plant does not have enough nutrient in its compost the photosynthesis cannot work either (even if there is lots of light).


To solve this, make sure they are in fresh compost, in lots of light and (importantly) not too warm. A sunny windowsill can be too warm during the day so outside during the day would be better.

But don't worry, they will soon recover.

[Flummery]

The compost you sow your seeds in will have lost its nutrients after about 6 weeks. At this point the plants could realy do with fresh compost. (Mine don't always get it - I try to time the sowing so that they can go in their final place at that point but weather, temperatures etc don't always oblige!)