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Young tomato plants yellowing

MigwireMigwire Posts: 12
in Fruit & veg
We have some cherry tomato plants growing from seed indoors and noticed a few leaves have started yellowing and drying out.

Cut back on watering and started putting a fan on in the room they're in to aid ventilation and they seem to have picked up a bit but wondering if anyone has any idea what causes this?

Last year when we put them in the greenhouse they suffered something similar and we were advised to drastically improve ventilation. This year we've a series of fans to circulate air around the greenhouse when these ones finally go in, about two weeks time.


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  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    Did you grow them inside then transfer to the green house? Where are you located,(name sounds Irish??) Don't hit me if I'm incorrectly guessing. Why would you hold off watering of the plants are dry. Yes, ventilation IS important in a packed green house which has been closed up for months.
  • MigwireMigwire Posts: 12
    Northern England I'm in Nancy.

    I thought maybe they were being overwatered and now only water when the top of the compost is dry.

    They're still inside at the moment. I don't tend to put them out in the greenhouse until the third week in May.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Have they been close to window glass at night?  It's been very cold at night and glass doesn't really stop the low temperatures coming in. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    I was wondering cold damage also Dove, how big are the plants, difficulty telling from the picture?
  • MigwireMigwire Posts: 12
    Dovefromabove said:
    Have they been close to window glass at night?  It's been very cold at night and glass doesn't really stop the low temperatures coming in. 
    They're on a windowsill. The window is double glazed. Have around 20 plants and maybe 6 are like this. 
  • MigwireMigwire Posts: 12
    Nanny Beach said:
    I was wondering cold damage also Dove, how big are the plants, difficulty telling from the picture?
    Some are around 4 inches high. The more established ones, not affected by this are about 8 inches.

    At first I was concerned something was in the compost but doesn't seem to be that.
  • hatty123hatty123 Posts: 125
    I had a similar problem with my gardeners delight. Potted on about three weeks ago and also started putting in green house during the day but still bringing in house at night. A week later they all seemed a bit yellow. Like you I was worried about the compost but other plants were fine. I cut back on watering, think I overdid it in the first few days worrying that they would dry out in greenhouse. Also got some shading up. Gave them a weak feed (half strength) about a week ago. They're looking healthier and greener now, still not sure what I did wrong in the first place so would be interested if anyone has any ideas.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Even double glazing isn't enough to keep the cold off young plants on a windowsill ( I put newspaper against the glass overnight)
    I water every other day, into the tray not on the plants, that way you can see what has been used by the plants and not water if there is still water available. 
    There has been drastic changes in temperature this year, and I think most people are struggling to keep plants happy until we can plant outside late May.
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    The shouldn't need feeding.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    A combination of sunburn and cold probably @markmcguire76 . 
    If it's a sunny window, they need ventilation for a while during the day. Young foliage can get burnt quite quickly. Equally, they can get cold at night if foliage is touching the glass . I draw the blinds overnight while plants are small, as my kitchen [where mine are] can get surprisingly hot by about 8 or 9am. Less of a problem now as the plants are quite healthy and strong. 
    Better not to overwater too , and water early rather than late so that they aren't sitting in damp compost overnight. That bigger one might even need potted on - check on the roots to see if they're coming through the bottom.  :)

    No food - each time they're repotted, there's plenty of nutrition in the compost.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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