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sherry_bell_gw

Whats going on with my plant?

Sherry_Bell
12 years ago

The leaves, I notice sometimes they have a white vein'ish look to them, and other days they dont. I never let the soil dry out so maybe im over watering? I feel as if they are yelling at me for somthing. They are big enough now that I will be transferring them to 5 gallon containers this week, maybe that will help.

From Zone 9 Vegetable Garden with Containers

Comments (9)

  • missingtheobvious
    12 years ago

    You have leaf miners, which are fly larvae that live between the top and bottom layers of the leaves and eat the thick green middle layer.

    A tomato can lose a few leaves without much of an effect, but you don't want the problem to get worse. Are you using an insecticide? The best control is a healthy population of the leaf miners' natural insect enemies.
    http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r783300911.html
    (You'll find photos at many of the links.)

    I will be transferring them to 5 gallon containers this week -- What varieties are your growing? 5 gallons may not be large enough.

    In really hot weather, black pots sometimes cause problems: if the sun shines directly on the pots, they absorb too much heat. Sometimes the roots cook.... You can insulate the pots, wrap them in something white or reflective to absorb less heat, or put something in front of them to block the sun from reaching them.

  • zzackey
    12 years ago

    I pick or cut off the leaf when I see leafminer damage. I don't think there is a chemical that can penetrate the leaf to kill the bug.

  • springlift34
    12 years ago

    Tomato plants laugh at leafminers. No big issue in my experience. But I plant by numbers allowed by space.

    Take care,
    Travis

  • Sherry_Bell
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    Wow such great info u guys gave me. After reading I decided to try the trim the leaves approach and see what happens.

    They are Sweet Olive Grape Tomatoes.

    I have used any pesticides, I was hoping to do this w/out extra chemicals if I can. If Im reading your link correctly, they are trying to make a point of what type to use to not kill the killer.

    5 gallon buckets from home depot Is what I am going to buy in the next few days. I also am using the (ugg forgot the name) miracale grow? soil.

    Didnt think of the insulation.. didnt even cross my mind. Going to put some thought into that one for the future.

    u plant by numbers? what does that mean?

    All advice is soooo welcome! and very much appreciated.

    Here is a pic of after I cut the leaves. {{gwi:1380839}}From Zone 9 Vegetable Garden with Containers

  • missingtheobvious
    12 years ago

    Yes, the Cal site was saying that use of insecticides could wipe out the leaf miners' natural enemies, resulting in more leaf miners. What I said wasn't clear. 8-( For what it's worth, the worst leaf miner infestation I've seen in tomatoes was in stressed plants (seedlings that hadn't been planted yet; in too much sun); no insecticide had been used.

    Sherry, I'm not familiar with your Sweet Olive Grapes. And I don't grow tomatoes in containers. But I see many threads about 10 gallons being better for most varieties. Some shorter varieties can do well in 5 gallons. I hoped someone knowledgeable would address the issue. From the little I've found about your variety, it's determinate and has fairly short internodes (the space between the leaves); I don't know enough to say whether that means it's small enough to do well in a 5 gallon container.

  • digdirt2
    12 years ago

    If 5 gallon buckets is all you can afford then by all means use them. If larger containers are financially possible then bigger is 10x better. More importantly, FILL the containers no matter what size you use.

    Leaf miners are no threat. Ignore them.

    I also am using the (ugg forgot the name) miracale grow? soil.

    Do NOT use Miracle Grow Garden Soil. It is not for use in containers. Says so right on the bag. Use one of the soil-less potting mixes only.

    Check out the Container Gardening forum here for more info specific to your method of gardening.

    Dave

  • Sherry_Bell
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    I want to look into these 10gallon containers. Where is the best place to find them? I had plans on going to home depot for the 5's but I dont see that they have 10's.

  • Sherry_Bell
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    As for the soil... that one threw me for a loop lol... ok back to my research to figure this out.

  • missingtheobvious
    12 years ago

    Yesterday in Walmart I saw a type of inexpensive flexible plastic pot that I hadn't seen there before (which doesn't mean much, as I haven't looked at WM pots this year). They're the ones in at least five sizes and colors. The largest was about 15" diameter at the top, and about as tall. I have no idea how they'd hold up outside (I was considering them for indoor winter tomatoes).

    If the pots are the size I estimated, they'd hold about 7-7 1/2 gallons. (231 cubic inches per gallon)

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