Tomato problems

[kathyd]

Hi, I'm a bit concerned about some of my tomato plants - some of them have yellow / spotty leaves, and some have leaves which are curling up. My own best guess would be a) mineral deficiency of some kind and b) frost (or sun??), but it may be something else. Can anyone advise pls?

They're behind glass (unheated), south facing, and some are fruiting.

I've been feeding them, but the feed was quite old and looked damp so may have lost its goodness - I've now bought some new stuff.

We did have a few frosty nights not long ago, and they weren't fleeced once or twice.

Curiously, I have some others which are in the same place, but face east, and these look healthier although have been treated the same! I also have some in the chicken shed (yes, really), which is quite light but not direct sunlight, and definitely not as light as the porch, and these also look healthier.

ALSO: One of the attached photos shows a leaf which is curling right round - several of the plants have done this at times, and it doesn't seem to harm them, but I'd love to know why? I thought it was the weight of the fleece at first, but that wouldn't apply now.

Thx

[WendyC]

Tomatoes do sometimes curl their leaves. I know it's nothing to worry about but can't remember why they do it. Something to do with flucuating temperatures I think. I'm sure someone will let you know.
As for the yellow leaves, I can't work out which ones are yellow. Is it just the older ones, in which case I wouldn't worry and just remove them. Or is it newer ones further up the plant? Or all over?

[rustylady]

Pity your photos are all close-ups, as it's hard to judge the health and appearance of the whole plant that way.

However I would say that you have nothing to worry about unless there are a lot of yellow leaves. From what I can see the plants look healthy. The curling leaves often happens, specially when the plants are growing fast.

[SarzWix]

Curling the leaves up like that means the leaves transpire (lose water) less. I've read that the plant might do that if the roots haven't developed as quickly as the leaves, so can't keep up with the water needs. They seem to unfurl eventually, so nothing to worry about

Some of your leaf problems might be down to scorch, which isn't fatal, but I'd see how they do with fresh feed too. Magnesium deficiency causes quite a lot of leaf symptoms which improve quite quickly with a feed.

[kathyd]

Thanks everyone, I feel better already .

[judy2shoes]

Leaf problem on tomatoes - I'm sure its not blight but what is it?

Hi - sorry if I am butting in on a thread but I have a problem with some of my toms and wasn't sure whether to start a new thread or join an existing. I'm still working out forum etiquette!

Last year all my toms in the pt and potting shed had some kind of leaf issue that didn't cause any problems with the harvest but spread gradually to the whole of all the plants.

This year I sterilized all my pots etc and it looks like its starting again. It starts on the lower leaves and gradually spreads.

Anyhoo, here are the leaves and a pic of healthy ones higher up. Anyone got any advice?

[Dotty Sarah]

I'm not an expert but the purplish colour can be a symptom of phosphorus deficiency.

[kathyd]

Butting in is usually good - it means we don't get dozens of threads all about the same thing . However, it may mean you don't get as many responses because folk will think it's already been dealt with - if no-one else replies to you, suggest you start a new one.

I have no idea about your leaves unfortunately - but it doesn't look like blight to me, don't panic . There's a thread on here about blight, take a look at it and compare pictures. Mine are all doing weird things too, but thinking back I suspect they always do... I'm just watering and feeding as usual, and assuming that if they're still flowering and fruiting they must be OK.

[judy2shoes]

Thanks ladies.

[rustylady]

I think too many people expect their plants to have perfect green leaves all the time, regardless of the age of the leaves.

Minor discoloration is perfectly normal.

[Potstubsdustbins]

I am with Rusty on this one. If I worried every time I had a brown, holed, discoloured, deformed leaf.

I would be in a hospital by now.

However having said that if you are new to gardening then I can understand your worries and safe is better than sorry.

So ask away.

Potty

[leonmc0708]

I find tom's to be very sulky - said it a few times.

Curling, purpling, yellowing, browning leaves are comkon place in my four greenhouses.

Never lost a plant to date (touches wood) and never really removed any leaves or plants when these things happen.

IF you notice then I would say its a good thing as you are at least keeping an eye on them.

[judy2shoes]

Thanks, but they look so nice when they are nice and green!