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Help me diagnose this problem... Desperate.

Posted by BigN_187 9 (nfinite4588@gmail.com) on
Sun, May 19, 13 at 19:33

All the leaves on my plants are curling in (like a taco, as I've heard it described elsewhere), and the blossoms are drying up about an inch up the stem from the flowers, and falling off. I've been deep watering / flooding with a bubbler about twice a week, and spraying water until it pools up a bit, on the rest of the days. I've been feeding them a 5-1-1 and a 0-10-10. The former for much longer than the latter. What is happening?!? I'm not as worried about my brandywines and matinas, because they are indeterminate. But I don't want my Tomas to totally fail!!! Please help, any advice is appreciated. Am I over watering? Under watering? Should I use the bubbler every day perhaps? Or not as often?

Also, would bud set or blossom set or whatever it is called help? Is it considered organic? (It's a small spray bottle, and you apply a few mists to every flower.)


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Help me diagnose this problem... Desperate.

There are alot of causes of leaf curl/roll. In most cases it's not a serious problem and will eventually resolve itself. Even if it doesn't the plants usually grow and set fruit ok.


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RE: Help me diagnose this problem... Desperate.

And what about the blossoms/blossom stems drying up?


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RE: Help me diagnose this problem... Desperate.

What have the temps been, which is the most common cause of blossom drop as a FAQ at the top of this page indicates?

Blossom set was developed to be used at cooler temps when pollination is not so good. Not when the temps are OK for pollination.

Blossom set induces what's called parthenocarpic fruits which develop in the absence of normal pollination, which have few to no seeds and often malformed fruits.

Yes, I know that almost every place says use it, use it to help set fruit, but it's sales they're after, not so much truth IMO.

Carolyn


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RE: Help me diagnose this problem... Desperate.

The weather has been back and forth. Today it was about 82F. A couple weeks ago, it was 100F with a lot of 90's days. Looks like mostly low - mid seventies this week, Monday being ~90F...


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RE: Help me diagnose this problem... Desperate.

Sounds to me like you are watering way too much. Let the soil dry out a bit between waterrings.


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RE: Help me diagnose this problem... Desperate.

Both leaf curl and blossom drop could be the temperatures, it always is for me. On the watering, it's definitely too much. We obviously live in very different climates, and I use raised beds where I control the soil, but I haven't watered yet and have 3 ft tall healthy plants.


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RE: Help me diagnose this problem... Desperate.

  • Posted by bets z6A ID (My Page) on
    Mon, May 20, 13 at 13:05

"I've been deep watering / flooding with a bubbler about twice a week, and spraying water until it pools up a bit, on the rest of the days."

Sounds like way too much water to me too. That could account for the leaf roll, it is a response to physiological stress. As Ohiofem said, you should let the soil dry out between waterings.

As a general rule, tomatoes need an inch of water every week. An inch of rain is exactly that, water that is one inch deep. One inch of rainfall equals 5.6 US (4.7 Imperial) gallons of water per square yard. Cool weather or soil with lots of clay needs will be less, hot weather or sandy soil will need more.

Dig down with your finger about 4", is the soil wet, dry, or just right? If it is wet, don't water, if dry then water. If it is just right, check again the next day. Water deeply once or twice a week. Watering daily encourages shallow roots which means the plant is affected more by variations in soil moisture. In my garden during the heat of the summer, I water deeply every 4-5 days, early spring I may only water every 8-9 days and when the weather is moderately warm (70-80 degrees F), about once a week.

Mulching heavily (to a depth of 6 - 8 inches) with compost, straw, hay, rotted leaves, grass clippings, even shredded paper or sheets of paper or cardboard helps maintain a consistent moisture level.

As for the blossoms dropping, you had some temps that are in the range that cause blossoms to drop. When the temps are moderated, you will get more blossoms that will set fruit.

I hope that helps.

Betsy


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