Re feeding the toms with Tomorite (or any other brand for that matter). I have only been feeding them once a week, at the recommended dose rate. If that is too much, how often should I feed them (bearing in mind that the outdoor toms, & one in the conservatory - as previously mentioned identical to those in the greenhouse - have been given identical treatment, without any problems)?
There is obviously something else going on - probably the mould you suggest - and I need a way to find out what. It's a mystery that I need to resolve, or it's likely to raise its ugly head again.
As well as spraying ES on the leaves yesterday, I also gave the greenhouse / conservatory toms a good soak (I used a mini watering can - capacity 0.7 litres - per plant. Does this qualify as a 'good soak'?), directly and carefully to the roots, without splashing. This is the first watering in 4 days. I'll check them again at the weekend.
I'll keep up a running commentary on what I'm doing, when, and any results - a sort of scientific experiment! Hopefully, this will help myself and others.
The bottom line with feeding toms is that that they're not "hungry" plants. You'll see it said around the internet that they are but it's more of the misinformation that floats around the ether.
Container plants need more food than plants in the ground for an obvious reason. Every time you water a container plant you leach out some of the nutrients. They dribble out the drainage hole in the bottom of the container with the excess water. They need to be replenished.
The same doesn't apply to plants growing outdoors in limitless soil. Those nutrients stay in the soil - not forever, obviously, but they're present for the roots to access until they're exhausted and that can take months. Bearing in mind, also, that decent soil has a whole nutrient supply of its own to offer the plant.
So given that toms aren't "hungry" in the first place, you could safely feed container plants maybe once a month. Certainly not once a week. The roots would barely get a rest from the nutrients before more arrive. The plant doesn't need that, and, ultimately, it does more harm than good. There's an old tomato adage that more toms are killed by over-feeding than by neglect.
Most serious growers only feed their outdoor toms three times in a season. First, a week or so after planting; second, when the first fruit starts to set; third, late in the season to replenish the soil for the plants that are, by then, starting to tire. This presupposes decent soil in the first place and yours is more than decent.
Only you can determine, by observation, the container plants' water needs. Were the plants showing any signs of distress? Had the mix dried out completely? Anyway, four days sounds reasonable and far preferable to every day. A "good soak" means exactly that. Saturating a dry - not still damp - mix until water trickles out the bottom of the container.
One of the advantages of growing toms outdoors in the garden is that you can drive the roots down deep into the soil - both away from the warmth/heat of the surface, and deep enough to access the soil's inherent goodness. Infrequent but very deep watering is the way to go outside. I'm now watering mine - about 10 hours a day of baking Tuscan sun peaking in the high-30sC - very very deeply every three days.
You'd have to have the crook leaves tested to determine exactly what happened. Plants weakened in any way - by a deficiency, by over-feeding or over-watering - are more vulnerable to disease than plants healthy in themselves. As in humans, lowered resistance is an invitation to disease.
My guess is that the over-feeding and over-watering, combined with a possible deficiency, left the plant vulnerable to a disease that's very very common in greenhouses. You're heading in the right direction in terms of working against it happening again.
Lack of sunlight will certainly hinder their development. To perform at their absolute best, tomato plants need 6 to 8 hours a day of sunlight. They will perform - produce - with less but the performance drops as the hours do.
Although I'm following all of the advice, the problem persists unabated. On some plants the more serious form of leaf problem is approximately 2/3 the way up the plant. Most of the leaves are now completely yellow and the worst are more brown than yellow, and are hanging limp. How much of these affected leaves should I remove? If I take too many, I might not have any leaves left.
On one of the tomato plants, although there has been a good growth of flowers, the flowers/petals have dropped off and have left tiny pinhead fruits on all of the sets. These fruits are not getting any bigger. Research seems to suggest that this is 'Dry Set'. The suggested cause is the air being too hot & dry. This plant is right next to the door, which has been left wide open every day, and as for it being too hot and dry - the only sunshine I've had is the wet stuff.
The plant next to this one has yet another problem - 'Blossom Drop' - the flowers are breaking off at the nuckle. Suggested problem - dryness at the roots and in the air - suggested remedy is watering regularly spraying the flowers.
My one large tomato plant in the conservatory - well away from all of the other plants - not only has 'Blossom Drop', but is also developing a nice collection of lighter coloured spots over the most of the lower leaves. I haven't discovered what that is yet.
The way things are developing, I will shortly be an expert on tomato problems, but not on actually growing them, as at this rate, it looks like I will not have a tomato plant left.
Unfortunately removing diseased leaves is the only means you have of slowing the disease's spread. For that matter, the disease is defoliating the plant anyway, so it's one and the same thing. No one knows how many healthy leaves a plant needs for sufficient photosynthesis but the question usually becomes academic anyway if the disease has a grip.
Undeveloped fruit isn't uncommon. I've got some on a couple of my plants. It's a pain in the backside in one case because I need to save seeds from that plant this season. Blossom drop can have many causes - lack of pollination, too much humidity, too much fertiliser, and so on. I tend to get it here because of excess heat. When the temp is 42C+ for the plants, something's gotta give.
This could be a tomato annus horribilis for you, Gard, which would be a shame. Unfortunately it's part and parcel of growing toms. I've had more than my share.
Fungal problems, in particular, hit every tomato grower, Gard. They would certainly account for most of the tomato threads around here. Growing indoors only increases the chances of problems because it's an environment that plays into the spores' sticky, grubby little hands.
Hi my tomato leaves look like yours. I always get problems but not so early in the year. I think I grow them to close together as I have a tiny green house which is very old. I also share it with my cat. He likes to sleep in it !
Gard, I'm going to add onto your thread with my leaf problem, as it has a great thread title and pictures, which people can use/compare for reference if they wish.
I have noticed the last couple of days my leaves getting sort of white/mouldy looking, and today shows signs of brown. On top of that, the leaves at the top have all started to curl inwards. They are in multi-purpose compost. My peppers now have little white spots on the leaves as well if this helps. They are next to each other.
I've added a few pictures. Hopefully someone will recognize what it is for me. Thankyou
Posts
Re feeding the toms with Tomorite (or any other brand for that matter). I have only been feeding them once a week, at the recommended dose rate. If that is too much, how often should I feed them (bearing in mind that the outdoor toms, & one in the conservatory - as previously mentioned identical to those in the greenhouse - have been given identical treatment, without any problems)?
There is obviously something else going on - probably the mould you suggest - and I need a way to find out what. It's a mystery that I need to resolve, or it's likely to raise its ugly head again.
As well as spraying ES on the leaves yesterday, I also gave the greenhouse / conservatory toms a good soak (I used a mini watering can - capacity 0.7 litres - per plant. Does this qualify as a 'good soak'?), directly and carefully to the roots, without splashing. This is the first watering in 4 days. I'll check them again at the weekend.
I'll keep up a running commentary on what I'm doing, when, and any results - a sort of scientific experiment! Hopefully, this will help myself and others.
Thanks again,
Gard.
The bottom line with feeding toms is that that they're not "hungry" plants. You'll see it said around the internet that they are but it's more of the misinformation that floats around the ether.
Container plants need more food than plants in the ground for an obvious reason. Every time you water a container plant you leach out some of the nutrients. They dribble out the drainage hole in the bottom of the container with the excess water. They need to be replenished.
The same doesn't apply to plants growing outdoors in limitless soil. Those nutrients stay in the soil - not forever, obviously, but they're present for the roots to access until they're exhausted and that can take months. Bearing in mind, also, that decent soil has a whole nutrient supply of its own to offer the plant.
So given that toms aren't "hungry" in the first place, you could safely feed container plants maybe once a month. Certainly not once a week. The roots would barely get a rest from the nutrients before more arrive. The plant doesn't need that, and, ultimately, it does more harm than good. There's an old tomato adage that more toms are killed by over-feeding than by neglect.
Most serious growers only feed their outdoor toms three times in a season. First, a week or so after planting; second, when the first fruit starts to set; third, late in the season to replenish the soil for the plants that are, by then, starting to tire. This presupposes decent soil in the first place and yours is more than decent.
Only you can determine, by observation, the container plants' water needs. Were the plants showing any signs of distress? Had the mix dried out completely? Anyway, four days sounds reasonable and far preferable to every day. A "good soak" means exactly that. Saturating a dry - not still damp - mix until water trickles out the bottom of the container.
One of the advantages of growing toms outdoors in the garden is that you can drive the roots down deep into the soil - both away from the warmth/heat of the surface, and deep enough to access the soil's inherent goodness. Infrequent but very deep watering is the way to go outside. I'm now watering mine - about 10 hours a day of baking Tuscan sun peaking in the high-30sC - very very deeply every three days.
You'd have to have the crook leaves tested to determine exactly what happened. Plants weakened in any way - by a deficiency, by over-feeding or over-watering - are more vulnerable to disease than plants healthy in themselves. As in humans, lowered resistance is an invitation to disease.
My guess is that the over-feeding and over-watering, combined with a possible deficiency, left the plant vulnerable to a disease that's very very common in greenhouses. You're heading in the right direction in terms of working against it happening again.
i have just watched beechgrove garden on iplayer and some of the tomato problems are due to lack of light this year, i dont know if this helps
Lack of sunlight will certainly hinder their development. To perform at their absolute best, tomato plants need 6 to 8 hours a day of sunlight. They will perform - produce - with less but the performance drops as the hours do.
Although I'm following all of the advice, the problem persists unabated. On some plants the more serious form of leaf problem is approximately 2/3 the way up the plant. Most of the leaves are now completely yellow and the worst are more brown than yellow, and are hanging limp. How much of these affected leaves should I remove? If I take too many, I might not have any leaves left.
On one of the tomato plants, although there has been a good growth of flowers, the flowers/petals have dropped off and have left tiny pinhead fruits on all of the sets. These fruits are not getting any bigger. Research seems to suggest that this is 'Dry Set'. The suggested cause is the air being too hot & dry. This plant is right next to the door, which has been left wide open every day, and as for it being too hot and dry - the only sunshine I've had is the wet stuff.
The plant next to this one has yet another problem - 'Blossom Drop' - the flowers are breaking off at the nuckle. Suggested problem - dryness at the roots and in the air - suggested remedy is watering regularly spraying the flowers.
My one large tomato plant in the conservatory - well away from all of the other plants - not only has 'Blossom Drop', but is also developing a nice collection of lighter coloured spots over the most of the lower leaves. I haven't discovered what that is yet.
The way things are developing, I will shortly be an expert on tomato problems, but not on actually growing them, as at this rate, it looks like I will not have a tomato plant left.
Unfortunately removing diseased leaves is the only means you have of slowing the disease's spread. For that matter, the disease is defoliating the plant anyway, so it's one and the same thing. No one knows how many healthy leaves a plant needs for sufficient photosynthesis but the question usually becomes academic anyway if the disease has a grip.
Undeveloped fruit isn't uncommon. I've got some on a couple of my plants. It's a pain in the backside in one case because I need to save seeds from that plant this season. Blossom drop can have many causes - lack of pollination, too much humidity, too much fertiliser, and so on. I tend to get it here because of excess heat. When the temp is 42C+ for the plants, something's gotta give.
This could be a tomato annus horribilis for you, Gard, which would be a shame. Unfortunately it's part and parcel of growing toms. I've had more than my share.
Thank you for the comments Italophile.
It would be interesting to know if I'm the only one having these problems, or if others are sharing my problems!
Fungal problems, in particular, hit every tomato grower, Gard. They would certainly account for most of the tomato threads around here. Growing indoors only increases the chances of problems because it's an environment that plays into the spores' sticky, grubby little hands.
Hi my tomato leaves look like yours. I always get problems but not so early in the year. I think I grow them to close together as I have a tiny green house which is very old. I also share it with my cat. He likes to sleep in it !
Gard, I'm going to add onto your thread with my leaf problem, as it has a great thread title and pictures, which people can use/compare for reference if they wish.
I have noticed the last couple of days my leaves getting sort of white/mouldy looking, and today shows signs of brown. On top of that, the leaves at the top have all started to curl inwards. They are in multi-purpose compost. My peppers now have little white spots on the leaves as well if this helps. They are next to each other.
I've added a few pictures. Hopefully someone will recognize what it is for me. Thankyou
Thanks again.
Becks. xx