I have been growing my tomatoes for about 2 months now and some of the branches seem to be turning yellow and falling off. I have attached a picture of the leaves. I was wondering if the problem is that I am overwatering them, underwatering them, or are they not receiving enough nutrients?

I planted them in 5 gallon bucks with organic kellogs soil that already has fertilizer in it. I just put in Jobe's organic tomato fertilzer in it yesterday.

Thank you for your help!

I bought it at Lowe's the guy told me it would be good.

I have 4 plants (2 shady lady's, 2 sweet 100), but they could definitely use more sun. I think I will set up my laptop with a camera on my coffee table to record where the hits every hour and then see where I can reposition my tomatoes to get the most hours in the sun.

So the flowers that were dying, do you think those will become tomatoes?

Also, when you say leggy, what exactly does that mean, just stretched out trying to get some sun?

Thank you for all of your help and advice.

Good! Container grown plants don't need drainage substrate in the bottom, and in fact, don't want it. In every growing medium, in the ground, and in potted plantings, there is a level at which the soil's "wicking" ability to suck water upward (think about a paper towel dipped in water) balances the downward gravitational pull. This is called the perched water table. Below the perched water table, the soil is saturated with water, which can suffocate plant roots and encourage root rot. Above this level is usable soil. By adding a gravel substrate, instead of increasing drainage, you're actually moving the perched water table UP in the container, so the plant has even less room to grow. In other words, skip the rocks.

Article that explains perched water tables (Link corrected)

As for whether or not your growing medium is appropriate for containers.... maybe. Your leaves look like the typical overwatered tomato plant, one that has roots that are water logged or drowning. There just isn't enough information about the product on Lowe's site to say for sure, but I did find other sites that list the product as OMRI certified, but that still doesn't tell us how the stuff acts in the bottom of a large container. You might ask over in the Container Gardening Forum, surely someone has used it and can give some feedback on the results. I searched but didn't find any information on it, so you probably need to ask.

"Also, when you say leggy, what exactly does that mean, just stretched out trying to get some sun?" Yes, that is exactly what that means. The "cure" is ample sunlight. Eight hours or more per day is best, although they can get by on six hours.

Betsy

Note: Corrected Link for Article on perched water tables

Gravel is not needed, at all. If your holes are large enough for your growing medium to drain out, you can cover them with a single piece of broken pottery or a piece of weed cloth or something similar.

"In my Opinion, any stagnation of water at the bottom may/can cause rotting and infection and breeding place for bacteria."

Every container has a layer of water in the bottom portion of growing medium, adding gravel just moves it up higher in the pot. Hopefully one is watering well enough to flush out any "stagnant" water. The issue with raising the perched water table is that you cut down on the usable growing medium in the container and increase the probability that the roots of your plant will drown and rot.

In the "Tomato plants turning yellow" discussion (I've provided a link to it below), I replied to your post advising Lilypadlanding to put gravel in the bottom of her containers with four different links that say you should not do that. Three of those links are publications from universities, another is a newspaper's gardening column. If they all say don't do it, I figure there is a good reason not to.

Betsy

Screen the bottom holes, or if you feel like it, use a wick to pull excess moisture away. But good container soakings will drain away any old water anyway.

As for bacteria pooling at the bottom, it will only be the beneficial bacteria that normally gather around plant roots.

Plants will love the extra inch of dirt they are given when gravel is excluded.

Tomatoes tend to be fast growers and heavy feeders. Growing them with only organic ferts in a container can be challenging. In addition to watering issues you could be seeing some nutrient deficiency.

I throw my hat in with the "no rocks in the bottom of the pot" clan.

How often do you think I should water them and how much do you think I should give them each time I do water them?

Also, should I add some type of wicking now? Is that still possible? and if so, what do you recommend?

Thank you!