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Tomato Plants suddenly wilting
Jamie 23
Posts: 1
in Fruit & veg
I wonder if anyone can help?
I have three alicante tomato plants raised indoors from seed that have grown to around 15 cm high and looked really healthy. Today I began the hardening off process as weather was good and placed them in a mini plastic greenhouse with the door open for ventilation. Came home from work to find them all droopy and wilted but still a healthy green colour. Any suggestions as to why this suddenly happened and what can I do now to revive them? I have watered them evenly since they were small and didn't think placing them in a warm greenhouse with ventilation would be a problem...
0
Posts
Presume you have given them a good drink. At the size they are now, they can dry out very quickly - in summer sometimes you have to water twice a day and proper soak them. It will have been very warm in that mini greenhouse. If they are going to be brought in at night, I would have suggested that today you might have popped them outside for a bit instead of a hot mini GH. Don't know what others think? Was lovely and warm here today. T shirt weather.
Mine drooped today and I had them outside I checked the pots and they were a little dry. They are sucking up some serious moisture now I watered them yesterday. I watered them and they perked up within a few hours.
Jamie, plastic greenhouses can generate a lot of warmth even with a door open for ventilation. Sounds like they suffered a bit of heat shock. Check the moisture levels of the mix and give them a day in the shade to recover. They should be fine. If your daytime temps are at least around the mid-teens, the plants don't need the greenhouse.
I agree with Italophile....those plastic greenhouses can become veritable bake-houses during quite moderate sunny days.
Keep the mini-greenhouse wide open during the day in all but the worst of weathers - just shut it up at night.
They should be used more like a cold frame than a greenhouse.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.