Help ! tomato plants turning yellow !

[andytomato]

Hi all , i hope someone can help me ...
I have just started growing this year and have three lovely hanginging baskets full of tomato plants ( Garden Pearl , three plants per basket ) over the last couple of weeks the leaves on alot of the plants are turning yellow and dying.
What am i doing wrong? I water them most days , sometimes twice a day . I felt the bottom of the basket yday after not watering and it was still wet. Can i be over watering ?
Thanks all

[rustylady]

As long as you've good drainage it shouldn't be overwatering. Do you feed them at all? If it's just a few leaves affected it could just be that they've served their purpose (old leaves at the base of the plants)

[andytomato]

Hello thankyou
I am trying to grow organic so am using an organic fruit and veg feed once a week .. smells like marmite!
It started at the bottom but sees to be spreading over the whole plant.
Every time i water my bay plant underneath gets soaked so am guessing drainage ok , i used coir liners so didnt think i needed any holes ... Do i ?

[FionaH]

Andy, my garden pearl are doing the same thing. For me the yellowing has spread to branches and I have had to cut them off. From advice on here and from a neighbour I decided its the wet weather and temperature fluctuations.

[Redpepper]

Andy, you could try moving the baskets into a more sheltered position and see if it helps. If the weather has turned colder in Essex, I'd hold back the watering to just one per day.

[andytomato]

Hello Fiona,
Yes i have cut branches off too but still seems to be spreading , I have lots of flowers and some fruit forming so hope i wont loose the whole plant.
Are yours in baskets?

[gojiberry]

You don't say how the actual tomatoes are doing. If you have a good set of tomatoes then there isn't much of a problem as the fruit will keep growing without leaves. I would just remove the worst of the yellowing leaves and continue to water and feed. Removing the leaves will increase air circulation and the tomatoes should start to ripen quicker.

Ian

[andytomato]

HI redpepper ,
its raining for about the 4th day in a row but not allways heavy rain so have kept watering on and off.
Ill try moving them thanks.

[andytomato]

Thanks Ian ...
thats made me feel abit better , i was so proud of my first attempt and cant wait for them to ripen would hate to loose them all now.
Garden pearl is a bush tomato i think , i also have cordon toms (gardeners delight )growing in the garden and they are triffids !! no problems there.

[FionaH]

Hello Fiona,
Yes i have cut branches off too but still seems to be spreading , I have lots of flowers and some fruit forming so hope i wont loose the whole plant.
Are yours in baskets?

Mine are in pots. I have lost some fruit on dying stems. Fruit has gone dry and mouldy! I hope the rest might ripen before it spreads much further.
I am being careful about washing my hands after handling them. If it is bacterial I don't want it spreading to the greenhouse toms