|
| I was checking on my tomato plants today and noticed the bottom leaves were very yellow and weak feeling. I inspected a bit further and noticed the flowers are turning yellowish brown. Some of the leaves on the lower portion of the plant are curling as well The plant is a bit over 4 feet tall and has only started growing one tomato so far. The plants next to it are about the same height and all have plenty of tomatoes. It's an early girl and I am not seeing any pests. Google suggests to much water or not enough nitrogen? I haven't tested my soil recently so I can't say if that's the case for sure. Anyone experience this before? |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
| Losing flowers isn't that unusual. Since you say it's an Early Girl it seems like it should have more tomatoes. Can't really get a good look at the leaves from the photo. Are the leaves actually yellowing? Yes that might be overwatering. How's the leaf color on your other plants? Dark green? Have you fertilized much already? |
|
- Posted by Newatthis22 5 - IA (My Page) on Mon, Jul 1, 13 at 19:05
| I also noticed some of the same problems on my better boys as well. All three to four feet with a couple tomatoes. Not a lot by any means. The only reason the flower color concerns me is because I've never seen the "knuckle" turn brownish yellow as well? I included a picture of some of the leaves. I also used a bit of Bonnie's organic fert. A couple weeks ago. But we have had a lot of rain. Maybe it washed out? The last three to four days have been beautiful though. |
|
| Yeah that looks like too much water to me. The yellow leaves are finished so you might as well remove them. I'm assuming that the organic fertilizer was granular so it's probably still doing it's job. As long as the plants look healthy other than some yellowing bottom leaves you're probably ok. Looking forward to some drier weather! |
|
- Posted by Newatthis22 5 - IA (My Page) on Tue, Jul 2, 13 at 14:26
| Well, is too much water the only cause for the flowers to turn yellow/brown like that? All the way to the "knuckle" of the flower? It seems I don't have any new tomatoes forming because all of the blooms are like this. |
|
| You said you had a lot of rain. How much is a lot? Are they in raised beds? If you've had anything like the rain we've been getting here in the east, it's going to take a while for the growing conditions to stabilize. How much fertilizer did you give them? |
|
| Well, is too much water the only cause for the flowers to turn yellow/brown like that? Not the only thing but the most common things. Magnesium and nitrogen deficiency can also cause it. So can salt build up in the soil. I also used a bit of Bonnie's organic fert. A couple weeks ago. But we have had a lot of rain. "A bit" doesn't really tell us anything about how much you used and that isn't a commonly used fertilizer either so no idea what the nutrient/micronutrient content of it is. I can't find anything about it on their website. But there are signs of nutrient deficiency as well as excess watering so feeding the plants with something is definitely indicated. Organic granular fertilizers will only work if you have an active soil micro-herd in the soil to convert them to usable nutrients. So in a new garden, unless you have added large amounts of active soil bacteria and IF you only want to use organics, then well balanced liquid organic supplements will work better than granular. But they also need to be applied more frequently. Plus most organics are low N which under normal conditions is fine. But under excessively wet and stressed conditions, higher N fertilizers often work better. So I'd suggest a good feeding of all your plants. Dave |
|
- Posted by Newatthis22 5 - IA (My Page) on Tue, Jul 2, 13 at 16:33
| By a bit I meant two tablespoons in two gallons of water for five plants. I have raised beds that sit off of the ground and plenty of drainage. I posted a picture of the analysis of the Bonnies vegetable food. It's a liquid. I don't think it's organic. I'm assuming the rain washed out most of the soil nutrients. I'm not sure on the number of rain inches but most of the first half of June was rainy. I used this feeder yesterday. So I'm hoping it all ends up balancing in the next couple weeks. When I water, I wait for the first inch or two to by dry before i water. Is a different method recommended? |
|
| If the recommended mix is 1 T per gallon of water (2 per 2) then give each plant 1 gallon of the mix. I know that is going to be a problem unless the rain stops. But 2 gallons of mix spread over 5 plants isn't much per plant. Or if non-organics are ok with you just go buy a bag of 10-10-10 granular fertilizer and side dress each of the plants with it and let the rain soak it in. Dave |
|
| Yellow lower leaves if often normal. They do not get any light, they do not make any contribution to plant's well being and thus they are aborted. But if the upper leaves are also pale green, then there is water, nutrient and sun issues. Often a doze of fertilizer rich in nitrogen can help. By experience, as somebody put it, you have to read your plants when it comes to nutrients issue. But One should do it gradually rather than dumping too much fertilizer. That is why I prefer 1/3 recommended strength but twice as often. I do not believe in quick fixes. |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Growing Tomatoes Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
