They looked starved. My thought was there is probably too much wood in the soil mix (high carbon to nitrogen ratio). If this is the case that would be reducing or even preventing nutrient uptake.

If its been cool out where you live that could make the situation worse.

The wood issue can be addressed some by adding nitrogen.

If you dont rework the soil than you may have to fertilize more frequently so that the plant gets some nutrients. It's going to take awhile to break down all that wood.

They look a bit cool (purple foliage) and stressed (curling leaves). You don't say what your zone is -- it would help if you'd edit your member page (link at the very bottom of the page) to include it and your state. Many of us rely on that information to respond to posts.

You may have planted them out too early and they're showing the effects, though it appears that their early days inside were good ones!

Oh, sorry about that. I am in Northern California Zone 9, and though our last frost date is 4/15, we've had an unseasonably cold and rainy spring. I did a LOT of learning this year when it came to seed starting, so it's heartwarming to know you think I did okay with them up to the point that I planted.

That woody soil is only a thin top layer (a "compost mix" that I won't buy again!). Under that is a solid foot of nice "veggie mix" soil from a local dealer, so I'm leaning toward the cold problem and probably planting them out too early.

I'm thinking I should probably run out and grab some nursery starts before they run out. (weep)

Thanks so much for taking a look at these and giving me your thoughts!

Mulio have you never seen a garden spot like that, with wood on top? It looks like last years MG Garden soil. The wood wouldn't be any deeper than an inch. It rises to the top over time. It also could have been last years mulch. It really needs to be worked and probably amended with some ferts though. You could rake the top layer off but if worked in it would just improve drainage...if needed!

Lori how cold have temps been? It's been down to 36-38 a couple nights a week over the last month here and my plants have pulled through very well. If the plant in the first pic gets worse, I would pull it.

loribee

The plants may be fine even if they're stressed right now. Backups never hurt though, particularly if you have room for more tomato plants or you know someone you can give the extras to if these thrive.

No, they don't look right. ;) Agree with all of the above info - WAY too much wood chips and way too close to the plants - is that your soil or did you intentionally add all that wood mulch? Not enough nitrogen, and either it is too cool for them still depending on where you live or they are phosphorus (not to mention other nutrient) deficient.

We need more info please.

Dave

Sorry I see you answered my questions while I was posting. Thanks.

Dave

Those wood chips are from several bags of Kellogg compost we spread over the top of our beds last fall. I agree it was much more woody than I'd expected for something marked "compost". The soil underneath should be good considering it came from a reputable rock/quarry company and is new this year. But I do have a soil test kit and will check out my levels. I didn't think nutrients at all since the soil is new. Figured that was something I would have to worry about next year after I've had my first plantings.

Our night temps have hovered around the low 40's/high 30's, but we did get frost the other night. Argh, I really feel for farmers!

Exactly how...did you manage to get the new soil under last years compost?

I didn't think nutrients at all since the soil is new.

Then there is most likely your problem's source.;) Soil doesn't automatically come with properly balanced nutrients - and some can some with little or no nutrients at all or the pH can be so far out of whack that it might as well not have any since the plants can't use them.

And fertilization may easily be needed at planting time and will be needed throughout the gardening season. Commonly nutrient sources are added a couple of weeks before planting, at planting, during the season, and again in the fall to replace what was lost.

Without getting a soil test done there is no way to know what your soil may need but at the very least you need to supply the basics and will need to do so at regular intervals as the plants grow. Lots of ways to do that so the choice of fertilizer is yours.

Dave

No...these are new raised beds we built late last summer. We filled them with a good veggie mix soil that we had trucked in from a local supplier. But we under-calculated how much we needed, so rather than order more we went to Home Depot and bought some bagged Kellogg brand "compost" to top it off. I was quite disappointed when I opened the bags and found it looked more like shredded redwood than what I would call compost, but we went with it anyway figuring it was only a top coat.

I've actually had great results with these beds. Last fall, I put in a winter crop of lettuce, chard, broccoli and peas, planted marigolds and herbs and it all took off. This spring, my peas, pole beans, herbs, squash and cucumber are doing beautifully (with the exception of a little burning from the frost we had). It's only my tomatoes that seem to be struggling. I'm still not 100% sure what's wrong with them. I've got peppers right next to them that are thriving and growing.

I've gone ahead and bought nursery replacements for the maters. I think I'll try growing from seed again next year with a little more knowledge than I had this year. My plan is to make sure they're good and hearty before I plant them. I started these a little late and planted them a little early. I've probably over-watered them a bit. Throw in a cold spell and it pushed them over the edge, most likely.

I do plan to run some soil tests tomorrow though just to double-check.

I very much appreciate all your thoughts and advice! Thanks so much everyone!

Boy, I'd guess micronutrient deficiency just by the looks. Besides doing a soil test to check for Ph, N-P-K and minors, I'd spray healthy foliage and especially the terminal (axial) tips, leaf undersides and stems with dilute micronutrient solution a couple of times a day and look for improvement within a few days.

I've also discovered that the organic fertilizers that contain the microflora colonies, AKA micorrhiza, (there are several great producers now) can make a big difference. Most contain the micros in the right proportions as well.

Otherwise,I'd guess Ph or a phosphorus or potassium problem. Maybe nitrogen.

Just my two cents.

Cheers

I doubt it was cold temps if you have peppers right next to them that are doing good.

The underside of the leaves appear to have aphids. Maybe its the photo, but I see aphids.

Jane

No, it's just the photo. I keep thinking there are black spots on the leaves, too, but it's just dirt.

I did have more time this evening to continue my web surfing on the subject, and stumbled on a non-viral form of tomato leaf roll. It has several causes, two being excessive watering (it has been wet here), and extreme pruning. The pruning thing caught my eye because I did catch a black crow lopping off the branches of my plants. He'd done some serious damage before I could chase him away and get them covered with netting. That certainly seems to fit the bill. They claim it's temporary and most plants will recover, though I think I'm still going to pull these and try again next year.

I am drying a soil sample overnight to check the nutrients, as the color concerns me too. Like those tricky episodes of House, I could be dealing with a couple illnesses at once and I've got to sort out the symptoms between the two.

Thanks for the help with the brainstorming! This one has been a stumper!

Poor quality soil mix.

Top coat of insufficiently decomposed wood chips drawing off nitrogen.

Lack of sufficient nutrients in root zone.

Poor quality transplants,
with root damage likely caused by chronically saturated starter mix.

Cold temperature shock.

All combined to ruin those plants.

I also live in Northern California and had to postpone my transplanting because of the terrible weather. I transplanted four days ago and now the plants look miserable. THey droop and almost all of the lower leaves of the 30 some plants are turning yellow and seem to be dying. The tops look vibrant and healthy. Is there a specific reason for this or is it a similar problem than described above?

The seedlings were doing really well in the greenhouse but got too big (most went to bloom).

Thanks.

I definitely see aphids in your second picture. I got a pack of Blacks that looked EXACTLY like your 2nd and 3rd pictures. They were from the Farmer's Market, last month. I potted them up in Miracle Gro, kept smashing any aphids, and they recovered just fine.

Greenmonk, is your soil clay? That's sounding like too much water (and they're predicting rain this week!).

My beds are raised, but underneath them is a bed of clay and when I get the water meter down far enough, it's registering wet. I know the photos don't show it, but when I pulled the plants out yesterday and "unfolded" the little leaves, they're clearly yellow which is a sign of too much water. I've also got some yellowing of my peas, squash, and other tomato plants not pictured.

My soil tests showed that I'm only a little low on Nitrogen, which someone on another forum said is typical for California soil. I gave the bed a nitrogen boost yesterday, am going to refrain from watering for a while and trust that everything will pop back as soon as they dry out a bit and we start getting some heat.

At least our night time temps don't seem to be dipping into the 30's anymore.

Completely unrelated question, Greenmonk: Do you heat your greenhouse? And when did you start your tomato seedlings? I've been toying with buying a cold frame that I would use to house my starts after I've potted them up (somewhere around early April), but am wondering if the night temps would still be too low without some additional heating.

(And Star_stuff, thanks for the info! It's good to hear they recovered!)

Hmm, I am also in zone 9, northern California, but might be in a warmer part of it than you are (some maps I've seen put me in zone 10) and our tomatoes are going gangbusters here. They've been in for about a month.

I don't trust the bagged stuff from Home Depot, frankly. It took me a while to realize that my native soil was better.

Yeah, I'm pretty annoyed they marketed it as compost when I would have been hard pressed to even consider it mulch. And now I've read that the breakdown of all this wood is sucking the nitrogen from my beds. I'm going to have to do some serious amending this fall.

Where are you? I'm in Sonoma County, but the micro climates are intense around here. I'm only a few miles from Santa Rosa but we get the coastal fog and valley winds that keeps us significantly cooler even though we're just over the hill. Congrats on those tomatoes! I'm jealous! :-)

Yes Loribee, the soil is mostly clay. That would make sense that it's the watering. And it IS raining right now... oh boy.

I also put down a fair amount of partly rotten straw mulch, I'm not sure if that's going to cool down the soil or keep it warmer because of the decomposing, but it definitely keeps the ground more moist.

Yes, I heated the greenhouse and I even built a 3x3x8 insulated germination box with a heat mat.

Here's another question: some tomato growers say to have the plants only about 6" tall when transplanting outside. Is that beneficial? If it is, I've definitely started my seedlings too early.

I haven't heard the 6" rule. I'd be curious to know myself, as I'd planned to start next year's tomatoes earlier so they'd be sturdier/bigger by the time I planted.

Thanks for the info on the greenhouse, BTW!

I'm in Sacramento, so probably a bit warmer than you are. Although I'm downtown and close to the river, so we're not as hot as outlying areas here.