Tomato Leaves Twisting

[km89]

Hi,

apologies if this has already been posted. This is my second time growing tomatoes in the greenhouse. Unfortunately, I have a problem. The new leaves at the top of the tomato plants have serious leaf twisting, almost like a corkscrew. Is this normal? Is it physiological or is it a disease? any help appreciated. Thanks.

Temperature Day: circa. 28-32°c
Temperature Night: circa. 15-23°c

[nickdub]

sometimes you get a bit of mechanical damage and then twisting follows - that's nothing serious - if they twist in the evenings and then straighten out by morning, it means they are not getting quite enough water in the day, which can lead to some of the fruit getting blossom end rot.

[km89]

sometimes you get a bit of mechanical damage and then twisting follows - that's nothing serious - if they twist in the evenings and then straighten out by morning, it means they are not getting quite enough water in the day, which can lead to some of the fruit getting blossom end rot.

Thanks for the info. So, should I be watering them everyday? as this seems to happen every night, then, as you say, they seem to improve by morning. I usually water every other evening, but I've not bothered today; due to this problem.

[nickdub]

If your plants are doing this then, yes you need to water more regularly or set up an automatic watering system. Its hard to give absolute guidance because obviously the plants need more water as they get bigger, and also they use a lot more when the weather is warm and sunny in order to keep themselves cool.

[4Shoes]

I've had a similar problem. Trying growbag trays to increase water to buckets.

[Snoop Puss]

In a greenhouse, you'll probably need to water every day. Even when it's cloudy, it can get quite hot in there. As summer progresses and the plants get bigger, you might even need to water twice a day.

Out of interest, if you've got them in pots, how big are the pots?

Hello and welcome, by the way..

[km89]

In a greenhouse, you'll probably need to water every day. Even when it's cloudy, it can get quite hot in there. As summer progresses and the plants get bigger, you might even need to water twice a day.

Out of interest, if you've got them in pots, how big are the pots?

Hello and welcome, by the way..

Thanks. Sorry for the late reply.

They're in grow bags. It's the 2 moneymakers and an Alicante that are the issue. The others are not having any problems and my cucumbers are okay. I was worried there may be a hormonal weedkiller in the grow bags, as I heard of the horror stories from a few years back.

The new growth isn't as twisted anymore, but it's still looking abnormal. I've been watering more often now.

I will more than likely be growing in pots next year, as I have a pepper in one and it's thriving. Just going to wait and see what happens and I'll report back in a month or so.

[nickdub]

One of the issues with peat based compost especially the layout you get in grow-bags is that if pockets of it get dry it can be extremely difficult to wet it again and almost impossible to do by watering from the top.
What I used to do when using grow-bags was to cut them in half and stand them on end , so converting them in to a type of pot. One advantage of this was you could stand the half grow-bags in a bucket of water, if you needed to get the compost thoroughly wet.

[km89]

One of the issues with peat based compost especially the layout you get in grow-bags is that if pockets of it get dry it can be extremely difficult to wet it again and almost impossible to do by watering from the top.
What I used to do when using grow-bags was to cut them in half and stand them on end , so converting them in to a type of pot. One advantage of this was you could stand the half grow-bags in a bucket of water, if you needed to get the compost thoroughly wet.

I will be using these ideas next year, I think. I will probably try pots for half and your grow bag method for the other. I guess it's just a game of trial and error.

I could buy the grow bag trays, but I feel it may be a bit risky lifting the bag up, as it may disturb the roots.

[nickdub]

no worries - live and learn, hopefully :-)

If you feel there may be dried up pockets of compost in your bags then make a small slit with scissors or a knife, so that you can get your fingers in to feel how damp things are - if there is a very large dry part then its necessary to do something. One approach, to avoid lifting the bag, is to wiggle as much of the dry stuff out as you can, put it in a container with some already damp compost and water and give the lot a good stir with a stick, leave for a bit - once damp push it back in the bag again.

[km89]

no worries - live and learn, hopefully :-)

If you feel there may be dried up pockets of compost in your bags then make a small slit with scissors or a knife, so that you can get your fingers in to feel how damp things are - if there is a very large dry part then its necessary to do something. One approach, to avoid lifting the bag, is to wiggle as much of the dry stuff out as you can, put it in a container with some already damp compost and water and give the lot a good stir with a stick, leave for a bit - once damp push it back in the bag again.

From what I could feel, it's quite saturated in there. I've added more compost to the grow ring to develop more roots. Will see what happens and I will keep up with the watering, although it's not entirely warm or sunny up north today.

[nickdub]

sounds like you're on top of the problem now, so I've no doubt you will get a crop - Happy gardening :-)

[km89]

sounds like you're on top of the problem now, so I've no doubt you will get a crop - Happy gardening :-)

Thank you, I'll take a look and thanks for your help, appreciated.

[Bumblingbroccoli]

So my greenhouse tomatoes are fine but my outdoor ones the leaves are folding in esp lower down. I thought at first I hadn't watered enough but looking more closely there's some sort of small black flying thing on the leaves and some have small black dots on the rear of the leaf. Any idea what it could be and what to do about it? For now I sprayed an organic bug clear on the leaves but would be great to prevent more and fear the spray may not have eradicated the problem completely....

[nickdub]

So my greenhouse tomatoes are fine but my outdoor ones the leaves are folding in esp lower down. I thought at first I hadn't watered enough but looking more closely there's some sort of small black flying thing on the leaves and some have small black dots on the rear of the leaf. Any idea what it could be and what to do about it? For now I sprayed an organic bug clear on the leaves but would be great to prevent more and fear the spray may not have eradicated the problem completely....

Certainly sounds like a bug problem. If you can get a hosepipe to the plants, try washing them off by directing a jet of water with your finger to the underside of the leaves. Check again a bit later and see how things look. If you still see some problem, then let us know how things are going please.