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Tomatoes looking sickly??
sicklytomato5
Posts: 3
in Fruit & veg
Hi! I have a Longhorn Tomato and a Rote Herztomate Tomato plants and they are both looking sickly and wilted, with droopy leaves, as if I didn't water them enough. I've watered them more, watered them less, and added fish fertilizer, but to no avail. Does anyone know how I could get these plants to perk up and stop looking like they're dying? Thanks!
0
Posts
can you add a photo?
I remove a lot of the leaves once the fruit have started to set. They often look as you describe and removal allows more light and air to the developing fruit.
Check threads on here about compost contamination with pesticides just in case it's that. My plants have reached the top of the greenhouse but the top half is not setting fruit as well as expected. Make sure all least half the leaves are removed and you are feeding regularly
Why remove half of the leaves?
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
You open up the plant to air to stop sooty mould plus the fruit ripen better. The lower leaves are likely to get splashed when watering and this damages them. So leaf removal plus pinching out side shoots if not growing bush style are needed.
I do feel sorry for tomato plants being defoliated up and down the country - there's no need and it will harm the plant. They don't grow leaves for the fun of it - they grow leaves to breathe.
If a leaf is touching the ground I remove it. If a leaf looks a bit manky, I remove it.
Leave the leaves on the plant until ALL the fruit has swollen, then usually mid August remove lower leaves to improve air circulation to deter blight.Tomatoes ripen with heat - not light
It's a bit like preparing for a long car journey and removing half the engine oil on the basis it'll make the car lighter and therefore you'll get there quicker.....
Billericay - Essex
Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
That's ok if you have a long growing season. Ours is over by September and if you want all your fruit to ripen you need to start early. The light levels are lower until summer and the heat is not guaranteed so removing leaves after the first fruit sets and continuing through the season ensures the fruit ripen in time to get the most from a small amount of plants/space.