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| I'm a newbie and having problems with my tomatoes. I've searched forum after forum but can't get what I feel is a definitive answer. I started tomatoes from seed and just put them outside 10 days ago. They are heirlooms. At the time of planting, the lower leaves were "crispy" around some of the tips, some were falling off. I thought the reason my be lack of fertilizer or light and assumed they would recover once outside. I hardened them off over the course of a week. They are planted in self watering planters sold by Gardener's Supply in the organic self-watering soil. It's new soil. I fertilized them with the fertilizer sold from Gardener's Supply. As shown in the photos, the leaves at the bottoms of the plants continue to brown. We have recieved a lot of rain, could this be overwatering, stress, or some fungus/blight? Would you treat these tomatoes with anything at this point or see if they pull through without? Any help you experts can provide would be appreciated. Some of the seedlings that have not been planted (still in the small planting pots) look better than those I have planted. |
Here is a link that might be useful: tomatoes
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| From what I can tell from your photos the new growth looks healthy, correct? These older leaves are showing some signs of environmental stress and nutrient deficiency that can be caused by several issues including the excess rain which means - if nothing else - they need feeding. The problem with using organic fertilizers in containers is that there is no active soil food web developed in the container to convert the dry fertilizers to useable nutrients for the plants. Liquid organics, ones that can be suspended in water, are the quick fix in that case. Things like fish and kelp emulsions and even epsom salts for magnesium to eliminate the yellowing. The environmental issues should disappear as the plant settles in and matures although you may lose the damaged lower leaves. For next year I would suggest planting them much deeper as there is a great deal of leggy stem exposed that may weaken as the plant grows. Are they getting enough sun? Dave |
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| Thank you for the quick and informative reply. I will definitely get some liquid organics on them and see how they respond. This was my first shot at starting from seeds (which I pulled from a great tomato appetizer at a restaurant last fall). For next year, I think my light/heat set-up needs some work so I don't get that leggy stem you mentioned. I suppose I could try to reset them a bit deeper, but that wouldn't be wise at this point, right? Sun in our yard is a problem. Right now they get sun for about 10 hours a day. That will go down a bit as the trees get some more leaves. |
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