Are my tomatoes dying?

ellie.macpherson · August 2019

I posted before about growing tomatoes as a beginner outside. I got myself a Sungold plant and it's really come in. I was so please and noticed my first tomatoes growing a few weeks ago however in the last 2-3 weeks the leaves have started to turn yellow and brown and it looks like it's dying however in the last few days loads have flowers have come on. I've plucked the dead bits off the bottom in the hopes to get the top healthy again but is there anything else I can do to promote growth and healthiness? It's outside, in a very sheltered area where it gets good sunlight. I give it food once every 1-2 weeks also. Thanks in advance.

The photos were taken today before I took some dead bits off.

Joy* · August 2019

No but they look hungry and dryish. You need to water them well regularly. If you are hit and miss with the watering the tomatoes are likely to split. What have you been feeding so far? I take it that they are a cherry tomato?

Busy-Lizzie · August 2019

I agree, they don't look as though they have been watered enough, a good watering every few days is better than a sprinkle every day. Put your fingers in the compost to see if it feels damp. When compost dries out it is difficult to rehydrate it, the water just runs straight through.

Sungold is a cherry tomato. You haven't removed the side shoots, which are the ones between the stem and the leaves. A bit late now, but I would cut the tips off the sideshoots and nip off any new side shoots. Don't nip off the ones with flower buds. Has your plant any support? The main stem should be tied to a cane to stop it breaking in wind or when the fruit are heavy.

ellie.macpherson · August 2019

Busy-Lizzie said:

I agree, they don't look as though they have been watered enough, a good watering every few days is better than a sprinkle every day. Put your fingers in the compost to see if it feels damp. When compost dries out it is difficult to rehydrate it, the water just runs straight through.
Sungold is a cherry tomato. You haven't removed the side shoots, which are the ones between the stem and the leaves. A bit late now, but I would cut the tips off the sideshoots and nip off any new side shoots. Don't nip off the ones with flower buds. Has your plant any support? The main stem should be tied to a cane to stop it breaking in wind or when the fruit are heavy.

Thank you for the tips! I'm still very new to this. I did have them supported with canes but it became so brittle it started to tear where I had it tied. I will give it a good watering just now with some food and redo my supports then! I'll have a go at taking off the side shoots

ellie.macpherson · August 2019

Joy* said:

No but they look hungry and dryish. You need to water them well regularly. If you are hit and miss with the watering the tomatoes are likely to split. What have you been feeding so far? I take it that they are a cherry tomato?

I was worried about over watering since they were outside but they do seem dry. I'll go give them a good watering and give them some food too. I've been feeding tomorite, but must admit I've not been consistent with feeding.

Skandi · August 2019

So long as the pot has good drainage it's going to be very very hard if not impossible to overwater that tomato

Fairygirl · August 2019

They've probably had too much food, and definitely not enough water. As @Busy-Lizzie says - a good soak and then leave until the top is drying out. It's important to have consistency with watering, and pots can dry out very quickly.
They don't need any food until there's a truss of fruits.

Not removing the side shoots has caused too many stems and they haven't had enough support. A good way of supporting is three canes into the pot with soft string/twine round them to form a sort of 'basket' [if you know what I mean!] which would be gentler on the stems.
If you can put the pot onto some soil, you could push three canes in round the outside of the pot, and attach the string. That would at least help prevent any breakage.

Not to worry - you have plenty of flowers, and you should get a crop

ellie.macpherson · August 2019

Fairygirl said:

They've probably had too much food, and definitely not enough water. As @Busy-Lizzie says - a good soak and then leave until the top is drying out. It's important to have consistency with watering, and pots can dry out very quickly.
They don't need any food until there's a truss of fruits.

Not removing the side shoots has caused too many stems and they haven't had enough support. A good way of supporting is three canes into the pot with soft string/twine round them to form a sort of 'basket' [if you know what I mean!] which would be gentler on the stems.
If you can put the pot onto some soil, you could push three canes in round the outside of the pot, and attach the string. That would at least help prevent any breakage.

Not to worry - you have plenty of flowers, and you should get a crop

Thank you! I'll redo the support canes and make sure they have plenty if water. I'll also try removing some of the bottom and side shoots that don't have any flowers. I'm hopefully to get at least a handful of tomatoes but I guess time will tell!

mrtjforman · August 2019

If it makes you feel better pretty much all my tomatoes ended up looking like that. Their constant need for watering makes them more comparable to a baby. I've long moved to plants that can look after themselves a bit more

From my understanding feeding too high doses of Nitrogen at this point will encourage the plant to produce new flowers instead of focussing on fruit production.

Are my tomatoes dying?

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