Poor Tomatoes

[binley100]

The inside toms and the ones sheltered by a low brick wall on the patio are fine . The basket ones and the ones further up the garden and ouside at the lottie have yellowy lower leaves .

[Potstubsdustbins]

Binley,

That could be the wind. However yellowing between the veins on the lower leaves is a classic sign of magnesium deficiency, if this is so standard feeding will make the situation worse.

To start with I would spray them with Epsom Salts 1/2 oz to a pint of water, this will do no harm and if it is MD you will see an improvement quite quickly.

Hope this helps Colin

[buzzingtalk]

Must be the wind - I am growing toms in a semi shaded spot with hardly any sunlight and they are flourishing (albeit a bit slower than others). they are perfect green, lovely growth, nice and big (about 1m now!) and flowering/fruiting. I have been feeding with tom feed and seaweed weekly. I'm growing costoluto fiorentio, gardener's delight and tumbling toms which are already setting fruit and fattening up. They are all grown in a protected enviroment (minimal wind as its city center) so it must be environmental

[SarzWix]

Lots of my plants have gone a bit of a sickly hue in the last week or so, and I reckon it's because the temp dropped below 5 on a couple of nights. Not quite freezing, which would have wiped them out, but cold enough to make them object. My beans, courgettes and a couple of squash plants are all looking pretty sorry for themselves, and the tomato plants next to the greenhouse door look a bit unhappy too.

Might be worth flinging a bit of fleece round them, give them a chance to recuperate a bit?

[Florence Fennel]

Oh dear, I hang my head in shame. I think I've been overwatering. As you know, it's the first time I've been able to water into saucers from the bottom and I think I've been a bit over zealous. I've just composted two of the plants and the tubs were waterlogged. I'm hoping if I let them dry out a bit they might recover sufficiently to give me some fruit. This will be a hard lesson to learn if I'm right.

[Lotsaveg]

It's very difficult to overwater a tomato plant. However, a problem can develop if they are constantly sitting in water that can't drain and it becomes anaerobic and stagnant. The compost also becomes saturated to a point where there's no air and the roots begin to rot. You can usually smell when this is starting to happen.

I had this problem in previous years when I sat my tomato pots in large plastic trays that I kept full of water thinking I was saving precious time with watering!.

My solution this year has been to force the tomatoes into producing roots right through the pot from their stems which I kept burying as they grew. I've also used the supermarket flower buckets but only made 4 pencil sized holes in the bottoms. Pots are filled with water twice a day and fed twice a week.

[Florence Fennel]

You've got in in one there Lotsaveg. I've been out this afternoon (in the rain I might add) and the compost in some of the pots is stagnant, I think due to inadequate drainage. Although some of the top growth is still flourishing, I expect it will die off, so there's going to be a severe tomato shortage here this year. I can't believe I made such a stupid mistake. We had so many tomatoes last year we were sick of them, so I've only grown half as many and now I'm going to lose nearly the whole lot. Gutted is not the word, I'm so upset I could cry.

[zazen999]

One of my schools does this all the time - last year they either didn't water at all or left them sat in water for weeks.

This year, I've taken their saucers/trays away and got them to just douse everything each day. At least then, the water drains away.

ps...last year we were still harvesting toms there in November, so chin up chuck.

[Florence Fennel]

Picked myself up, dusted myself off, but not starting all over again, taking your advice. I have potted up the 2 or 3 that have grown up in the bay tree pot though! Thanks Zaz.

[Lotsaveg]

Florence- Don't give up just yet... Tomatoes are amazing plants at recovering and rooting from any bit of stem. If I was you, I'd try and remove as much compost as possible from the top of the pots and then fill with fresh. I'd also poke a few holes in the side of the pots near to the bottom to allow air in and then only water from above. I bet you start to see some new shoots developing on some of the plants.

I know someone who sticks the side shoots he removes from his plants into water. These begin to root in a week and he and then pots them on and gets additional tomatoes from them!

[zazen999]

I know someone who sticks the side shoots he removes from his plants into water. These begin to root in a week and he and then pots them on and gets additional tomatoes from them!

You know lots of people that do this....

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...nge_54930.html

[Potstubsdustbins]

Florence,

If you have a plant your fairly sure is to die, cut of the growing tip abour 4" long and pop it in a bottle of water for about a week. This will throw loads of new roots and be ready to pot up in about 8/10 days. Because of the large root growth it will then grow like buggery.

Colin

[bronwen]

Finally took a couple of pics of my little tumbling tom's in their baskets. One is doing better than the other, but I am pleased to say they are both producing flowers and I think I saw the first signs of a fruit setting today

[Florence Fennel]

You lot are amazing, thanks for the encouragement.

[Florence Fennel]

I can hardly believe how hardy tomatoes can be. They're still quite moist, but the smell has gone and they're looking a little better. I'm going to feed them tonight as advised. Fingers crossed please and thanks for your help!