Yellow & Black Tomato leaves! And flowering but no fruits??

[Speroni]

Hi all, first time grower & poster and would really appreciate some help!
I decided to start growing some things this year - Tomatoes, Courgettes, Carrots, Salad, Strawberries, Cucumbers and Peppers. All are coming along very well except my tomatoes!

The plants have been growing like mad with plenty of trusses and flowers, but i have 2 main problems: the flowers aren't fruiting, and the bottom leaves are turning yellow & black.

I have 2 plants together in one long planter, using soil from a grow-bag. I haven't fed them anything, and was wondering if anyone can help me resolve the problem.

Also, another question on the side - will it cause any problems to the plants if i top up the planter with soil? The level seems quite low and there's a good 2-3 inches left to the top of it

Thanks

[WendyC]

They look very hungry, certainly top the compost up and give them high nitrogen feed to give them a boost. When they are a bit greener switch to tomato feed. Do you know what variety they are as you seem to have multiple stems, suggesting these are side shoots which might be better removed.

[Speroni]

Ok, I'll give it a go! Also should i remove the discoloured leaves? I hear they use up more nutrients....

They are Moneymakers, they originated with one stem so yeah there are multiple stems should i remove them too?

[solanaceae]

My goodness, you will want to get those out of that container asap! It is far too small to be supporting what looks like cordon tomato plants.

The size your plants are at now require a much deeper soil in order to gather all its nutrient needs. They are being starved of nitrogen( shown by yellowing of leaves ) and magnesium ( shown by the dark blotches). They can probably be saved, if you upgrade them to your garden soil or a big container, soon. I wouldn't leave it too long though. And you might want to do some pruning of the side stems, seems you have too many which could affect your overall yield.

Other than that nothing to worry about welcome to the vine

[WendyC]

Moneymakers are a cordon tomato grown on one stem. You need to remove all the side shoots which appear from where the leaves join the main stem, once you've worked out which is the main stem! Yes remove all but the main stem. Cut it off cleanly rather than snapping off. The leaves are discoloured as they need nutrients, not that they are using more than their fair share. The lower leaves suffer first because they are the oldest.

[Speroni]

Don't you worry,i know which is the main stem - it's by far the biggest of them all! And when you say cut it of cleanly, do you mean with secateurs?

And shall i just leave the old leaves there, if i do will they recover?

Thank you both for your help, it's very much appreciated!

[WendyC]

Yes use secateurs. I am always tempted to snap off larger side shoots which then tear the stem. I need to listen to my own advice. Leave the old leaves for now, they will help feed the plant when they are feeling better.
As also suggested you could repot but they are quite large unwieldy plants now with roots entwined. To increase the soil depth you can take the bottom off three large plastic pots to make collars. Drop these over the plants and fill with compost. Roots will grow from the stem.

[Potstubsdustbins]

If I am right that looks like a 6" x 6" trough They really want to be in something like a household bucket, one plant per bucket.

When you cut off the side shoots use some of them to produce more plants this way you will have some spares in case of trouble.

Take your side shoot and cut of the top 6" put this in a milk bottle full of water, kepp the water level topped up on a daily basis and they should start to throw roots in about a week. When the roots are about 2" long you can pot them up.