The plant needs nitrogen. That's all.

Needs more water is not so simple. If you are watering too often you will also get yellow leaves. If you water too often then the soil stays soggy and this is what can happen: Soggy soil holds less oxygen and since plants and bacteria are not fish they cannot take the oxygen they need from the water. Because of the low levels of oxygen in soggy soil the aerobic bacteria die and anaerobic bacteria come to life. in addition to competing with the plant for what little oxygen is left anaerobic bacteria cause existing nitrogen to be unavailable to the plant. This is why overwatering causes leaves to turn yellow. While you could very well have a nitrogen deficiency in the soil be sure you are not watering too often which keeps the soil soggy.

In the first picture, the plant to the left has beautiful green foliage. So unless you are fertilizing this plant different from the yellow one, or when you prepared the soil you did not evenly distriubute the fertilizer, then you cannot just say that a nitrogen deficiciency is the culpret. If all the plants in the garden looked like yellow then nitrogen would be a stronger consideration. I did not see any significant epinasty, so that is good.

If your soil is not overly soggy then try and add a water soluble fertilzer that is high in notrogen. Unless your temps have been in the high 90's watering more often than 4 days a week is too often. When you water flood it, but don't water too often. The sloil has to have time to drain - otherwise the ehtylene levels rise and the root tips begin to die (in as little as 2 days). Then the plant cannot take up enough water in order to carry out the physiological processes it needs, and so on.

First evaluate how much water you give the plants and how often you water. If you decide the soil is not too soggy then try a water soluble nitrogen fertilizer. Also, plants take in nutrients through their leaves 50 times faster than through their roots. If the roots are damaged, then there is no point to watering with a nitrogen fertilizer because the roots can'take it up anyway. Foliar spray with a combination of fish emulsion and seaweed 2 times a week to help the plant get some nutrients quickly. After ruling out improper watering then move to watering with a nitrogen fertilizer.

Tom

The pattern of leaf yellowing indicates nitrogen deficiency. Some tomato plants require more nitrogen than others. The fruit quality on the cherry tomato plant doesn't indicate over watering, so I'll stick with the diagnosis of nitrogen deficiency.

Thanks for the feedback. I don't water frequently if at all honestly this summer because of the rain. The only time I have "watered in recent weeks has been when applying my fetilizer (which is just that Miracle Grow tomato stuff). I user the sprayer cotnraption, and then water for 12 seconds and move to the next plant.

the plants are in a row along a slight hill and the MWC are at the bottom of the grade, so it is possible that the gound there is the dampest.

Is there another fertilizer you would reccomend at this point? Hmmmm...sounds like I am gonna have to have DH build a retaining wall to level out he bed for next year.

Yea...give that thing some food (water-based, preferably). =)

There's a lot of new growth at the top of that yellowing plant and the new growth is robbing the old leaves of their nitrogen. New growth requires nitrogen to carry out photosynthesis and cell division ... more new growth.

Since nitrogen is mobile in a plant, the new shoots move the nitrogen stored in the old leaves up into the new shoots. Therefore, the older leaves yellow because they no longer have sufficient nitrogen to conduct photosynthesis and produce chlorophyll.

Also, cherry tomatoes can produce quite a load of new green fruit in a hurry. Most tomato plants need a boost of nitrogen when they set a lot of new fruit.

Since you say it's rained a lot and you apparently are foliar feeding (spraying the Miracle-Gro onto the leaves?), I would sprinkle some cheap granular fertilizer around the base of the yellowing plants and atop the root zone out say a foot or so from the point where the stem emerges from the ground and use a little hand tool to just lightly scratch the granules into the top half inch of the soil. That way you don't have to water it in and cause additional excess moisture if that happens to be an issue during this exceptionally rainy summer.

You can get some cheap granular fertilizer at Dollar General, Family Dollar or Walmart. I think it's called Pennington or PennGreen. Something like that. It comes in 9-12-12 analysis or there abouts and will either say flower and vegetable food or tomato food. Either will work. It runs a couple or three bucks a box. A slight handful will work just fine.

hmmmm...I am not sure if I am foliar feeding...I water only at the base trying not to get the leaves wet...maybe that is the problem?

Yikes...got a lot worse...I sprinkled some MG slow release pellets on the ground...anything else I can get a walmart?