That's odd. It missed the last bit of the post. Maybe the software got bored with all the words.
Anyway, here's what was missing:
It means establishing the plant's requirements and watering - approximately the same amount - accordingly.
My plants, in the ground, in (obviously) the same weather conditions as Ettore's plant, are watered every four or five days, very very very deeply, driving the roots down deep into the soil for their moisture, away from the heat of the surface soil. And they love it.
Hi All. Went to my greenhouse this morning and the problem has worsened. In various stages, it's near to the top of the plants.
I have taken off some of the worst affected leaves and taken photo's of the same, which will hopefully be attached
. Can anyone give me a definitive answer to what the problem is, and the most expeditious remedy.
N.B. I have two other identical tomato plants, planted exactly the same way (compost, tubs etc) outdoors. Other than the fact that they are slightly less advanced than those in the pictures, they are in perfect health, even after suffering the almost daily deluge of the past few months. The only difference is that God is watering them, not me.
Gard, that's not a watering problem. It looks either fungal or bacterial. I'll get back to you, but, in the meantime, if you can, move the affected plants away from any healthy ones nearby.
Following Sotongeoff's advice yesterday, I haven't watered the tomatoes since, and I understand what Italophile says...
'Geoff is right. The biggest mistake you can make with toms is watering by rote - automatically, regardless of conditions. The rule of thumb is simple: water toms when they need it. When do they need it? When the mix - in the case of containers - dries out. You can let the mix dry out. It will not hurt the plant. Leaving the mix dry for a week obviously will hurt the plant but over a day it won't.'
Assuming that the problem is overwatering (and hopefully this can be picked up from the pictures of the affected plants), and that I can recover the existing tomato plants to good health, how (and this may seem like a daft question) can I tell if the mix has dried out? I can obviously check the surface, and insert my finger into the compost, but that still leaves the best part of 12" (30cm) of compost mix in a buried pot that I can't check, which may be as dry as a bone, or completely waterlogged.
I also appreciate what Italophile says about regular watering...
'so the watering pattern needs to be regular. That doesn't have to mean every day. It means establishing the plant's requirements and watering - app'
...but (appreciating my very limited knowledge on the matter) I'm confused as to what is regular watering, as even the responses to this post gives conflicting advice.
Italophile, can you go back to basics for novices like me. How often should I water (and feed)? How much water/feed? At what time of day should I water? How do I vary any of this if the conditions are particularly hot, cold, damp (as it's been in the UK for the past few months)? How does this differ between tomatoes grown in a greenhouse and the outdoors? Likewise those tomatoes grown in pots, and those grown directly in the soil?
Gard, check my post just above your last one. Your problem, in this instance, isn't over-watering. It's disease. I'll get back to you on it. And your follow-up questions.
All of my tomato plants in the greenhouse are affected to some degree.
I also have bell peppers and a cucumber plant growing in similar pots/compost next to the tomatoes (no signs of any problems - the cucumber is doing really well) in amongst the pots are basil and French marigolds (also doing well). On staging on the opposite side of the greenhouse I have plants grown from seed/cuttings at various stages of developement - all doing well.
All of the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, are in large pots, sunk into the ground (sandstone) - there is next to no soil in the garden.
Are the tomatoes likely to cause the other greenhouse plants problems, or should I leave them? I don't really have any suitable places to put them.
No, there are definitely lesions on the leaves, particularly in the photos of the plant. The photos of the removed leaves show whatever it is has progressed. Magnify the photo and you can see very crusty lesions on the edges of the leaves in the second of the removed leaves photos. It's hard to tell some of the fungal diseases apart without a very close look at the lesions themselves. Even magnifying the photos isn't showing the image clearly enough.
Gard, can you have a good look at the lesions - those individual brown spots, like blisters - on the leaves? Check whether they have a light halo around them? Whether the blisters themselves are made up of concentric rings? You might even need a magnifying glass. And is there any sign of damage to the plant stems?
If it is fungal, and I think it is, all you can do is remove the affected leaves. Spraying doesn't help once the problem is established. Spraying is only useful as a preventive measure. Fungal spores are everywhere in the air, it's virtually impossible to avoid them. Unless you spray preventively, all you can do is provide plenty of air circulation and avoid getting the leaves damp or leaving them stay damp.
No, they look like pretty classic disease-based lesions. It's a matter of which one. For example, Early Blight lesions are made up of lots of little concentric rings. Septoria Leaf Spot's lesions have wee tiny spots at their centre.
It's also rare for a tomato to suffer from deficiencies once it's established. It would have to be the poorest of very poor soils to lack, for example, enough magnesium. Deficiencies mostly occur when the plants are at the early seedling stage and growing in sterile or very basic potting mix.
Posts
That's odd. It missed the last bit of the post. Maybe the software got bored with all the words.
Anyway, here's what was missing:
It means establishing the plant's requirements and watering - approximately the same amount - accordingly.
My plants, in the ground, in (obviously) the same weather conditions as Ettore's plant, are watered every four or five days, very very very deeply, driving the roots down deep into the soil for their moisture, away from the heat of the surface soil. And they love it.
Sorry about writing a book.
Gard, that's not a watering problem. It looks either fungal or bacterial. I'll get back to you, but, in the meantime, if you can, move the affected plants away from any healthy ones nearby.
Following Sotongeoff's advice yesterday, I haven't watered the tomatoes since, and I understand what Italophile says...
'Geoff is right. The biggest mistake you can make with toms is watering by rote - automatically, regardless of conditions. The rule of thumb is simple: water toms when they need it. When do they need it? When the mix - in the case of containers - dries out. You can let the mix dry out. It will not hurt the plant. Leaving the mix dry for a week obviously will hurt the plant but over a day it won't.'
Assuming that the problem is overwatering (and hopefully this can be picked up from the pictures of the affected plants), and that I can recover the existing tomato plants to good health, how (and this may seem like a daft question) can I tell if the mix has dried out? I can obviously check the surface, and insert my finger into the compost, but that still leaves the best part of 12" (30cm) of compost mix in a buried pot that I can't check, which may be as dry as a bone, or completely waterlogged.
I also appreciate what Italophile says about regular watering...
'so the watering pattern needs to be regular. That doesn't have to mean every day. It means establishing the plant's requirements and watering - app'
...but (appreciating my very limited knowledge on the matter) I'm confused as to what is regular watering, as even the responses to this post gives conflicting advice.
Italophile, can you go back to basics for novices like me. How often should I water (and feed)? How much water/feed? At what time of day should I water? How do I vary any of this if the conditions are particularly hot, cold, damp (as it's been in the UK for the past few months)? How does this differ between tomatoes grown in a greenhouse and the outdoors? Likewise those tomatoes grown in pots, and those grown directly in the soil?
Thanking you in anticipation.
Gard, check my post just above your last one. Your problem, in this instance, isn't over-watering. It's disease. I'll get back to you on it. And your follow-up questions.
Hi Italophile.
All of my tomato plants in the greenhouse are affected to some degree.
I also have bell peppers and a cucumber plant growing in similar pots/compost next to the tomatoes (no signs of any problems - the cucumber is doing really well) in amongst the pots are basil and French marigolds (also doing well). On staging on the opposite side of the greenhouse I have plants grown from seed/cuttings at various stages of developement - all doing well.
All of the tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, are in large pots, sunk into the ground (sandstone) - there is next to no soil in the garden.
Are the tomatoes likely to cause the other greenhouse plants problems, or should I leave them? I don't really have any suitable places to put them.
Many thanks.
Looks like a magnesium deficiency to me, caused perhaps by too much high ptassium fertiliser?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
No, there are definitely lesions on the leaves, particularly in the photos of the plant. The photos of the removed leaves show whatever it is has progressed. Magnify the photo and you can see very crusty lesions on the edges of the leaves in the second of the removed leaves photos. It's hard to tell some of the fungal diseases apart without a very close look at the lesions themselves. Even magnifying the photos isn't showing the image clearly enough.
Gard, can you have a good look at the lesions - those individual brown spots, like blisters - on the leaves? Check whether they have a light halo around them? Whether the blisters themselves are made up of concentric rings? You might even need a magnifying glass. And is there any sign of damage to the plant stems?
If it is fungal, and I think it is, all you can do is remove the affected leaves. Spraying doesn't help once the problem is established. Spraying is only useful as a preventive measure. Fungal spores are everywhere in the air, it's virtually impossible to avoid them. Unless you spray preventively, all you can do is provide plenty of air circulation and avoid getting the leaves damp or leaving them stay damp.
Aaarrrgh! You're right (of course). But do you think the lesions could be secondary to a deficiency?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
No, they look like pretty classic disease-based lesions. It's a matter of which one. For example, Early Blight lesions are made up of lots of little concentric rings. Septoria Leaf Spot's lesions have wee tiny spots at their centre.
It's also rare for a tomato to suffer from deficiencies once it's established. It would have to be the poorest of very poor soils to lack, for example, enough magnesium. Deficiencies mostly occur when the plants are at the early seedling stage and growing in sterile or very basic potting mix.
But he's feeding weekly with a potassium-rich feed, and he's been watering daily and magnesium is so water-soluble it could be leeching out.
Maybe we're looking at two problems?
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.