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Tomato leaves drooping

rlewrlew Posts: 73
in Problem solving
New to doing tomatoes (Gardeners Delight)

Why are thr leaves drooping? I water it regular and i keep the cover down to generate a bit more heat....? 

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    edited May 2023
    It's just tooooo cold for them to be in an unheated environment at the mo.
    Mine are about 8" tall atm - I took them out of the heated propagator yesterday and they're now on the staging in my unheated greenhouse.

    Sorry to say your plant is quite weedy too - due to not enough good sunlight.
    Gardener's Delight is a cordon variety - so the 2 long side-shoots should be removed.
    As should any other side shoots that grow

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    edited May 2023
    As the lack of light and heat has done this to the plant, I would be inclined to pinch out the top , above those flowers, and use one of the low down stems to grow the tomato plant again. It's about the right height for this time of year, will replace the weak stem, and still give the same amount of tomatoes @rlew
    When you have picked the tomatoes from the original stem it can be cut off at the base. If you try to continue with what you have already,  there will be fewer trusses of tomatoes and they will be very high up on the plant.

    P.S. at this time of year you will need to hand pollinate any flowers, I use a little paint brush.
  • rlewrlew Posts: 73
    purplerallim said:
    As the lack of light and heat has done this to the plant, I would be inclined to pinch out the top , above those flowers, and use one of the low down stems to grow the tomato plant again. It's about the right height for this time of year, will replace the weak stem, and still give the same amount of tomatoes @rlew
    When you have picked the tomatoes from the original stem it can be cut off at the base. If you try to continue with what you have already,  there will be fewer trusses of tomatoes and they will be very high up on the plant.

    P.S. at this time of year you will need to hand pollinate any flowers, I use a little paint brush.
    Thanks for your advice. 👍
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    purplerallim said:
    As the lack of light and heat has done this to the plant, I would be inclined to pinch out the top , above those flowers, and use one of the low down stems to grow the tomato plant again. It's about the right height for this time of year, will replace the weak stem, and still give the same amount of tomatoes @rlew
    When you have picked the tomatoes from the original stem it can be cut off at the base. If you try to continue with what you have already,  there will be fewer trusses of tomatoes and they will be very high up on the plant.
    That's a good idea!
    In addition to the 2 side shoots as cuttings, you could also take the top of the plant and use that as a cutting too, then get rid of the rest of it.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • rlewrlew Posts: 73
    Pete.8 said:
    purplerallim said:
    As the lack of light and heat has done this to the plant, I would be inclined to pinch out the top , above those flowers, and use one of the low down stems to grow the tomato plant again. It's about the right height for this time of year, will replace the weak stem, and still give the same amount of tomatoes @rlew
    When you have picked the tomatoes from the original stem it can be cut off at the base. If you try to continue with what you have already,  there will be fewer trusses of tomatoes and they will be very high up on the plant.
    That's a good idea!
    In addition to the 2 side shoots as cuttings, you could also take the top of the plant and use that as a cutting too, then get rid of the rest of it.
    I've got a reserve of 5 tomato plants that are about 6" tall too.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I'd focus on them and put the weedy one out of its misery :)
    Good light balanced with warmth is what they need.
    The sun is strong enough now to provide good light, so let them get as much sunlight as they can whilst not letting them get a chill.
    Ideally the temps need to be no lower than around 12C, but short spells lower than that will be OK.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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