16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
There is a wealth of information about need for light by tomato plants but little is known about absolute thresholds for growing. I acted against the advise of a plasticulture expert and Horticulture professor in using shade cloth over 2 high tunnels of tomatoes last summer and the results were great. I will repeat the method again this year, not to limit sun but to hold heat (produced by sun) to a more tolerable level.
as for plants producing a few ripening fruits and taking a break I see it now in many potted tomato plants that I have remaining for sale. Stress will cause many tomatoes, peppers and other fruiting plants to ripen the few fruits established rather than putting on more vegetative growth- Carolyn knows that since she just commented on it a a recent thread. It is not a big issue with cherry/grape varieties and it gives the plant buyer/grower the unique opportinity to see what type of fruits the plant will produce.
Thanks everyone, for taking the time to comment. I've been reading a lot on these forums in the last couple of months and you have all been really helpful.
I know that the tomatoes need heat to ripen rather than sun, so I figured that it wasn't that. The break in ripening and flowering happened around the same time we got a bunch of rain and I was fighting fungus gnats and then early blight on all of my plants. Since I have been getting those two things under control they have been blooming more. It was probably the stress of that.
On the flip side, I have been trying to stress out the patio tomato so I can be rid of it already. Every day I go out and cut off a few more leaves and stab the soil a little more while saying "vee have vays of making you talk." It is ripening two now, and it looks like a couple are going to start. We have designated that corner of the balcony Plantanamo Bay.
As far as maximizing the sun goes, I mirror might work. I tried to make a reflector out of what I had on hand (cardboard and foil) but my one cat found the corners too delectable. Cats are supposed to hate foil, but this cat, well, she's our "special child."
At this point I'm going to stake them with longer stakes to support the high branches so they can continue breaking into the sunnier areas.
This has been a pretty funny, and interesting thread. It kind of amazes me how different we all are and of course how very different our experiences are on any given day.
Raptor, it seems like you have put in some effort and time to try to research how to go about growing these plants but at this point, I would be asking myself if I really wanted to pursue it.
What sticks in my mind, is that your original reason to impulsively bring home these plants was to 'save money' growing your own vegetables instead of buying them. I think most of us start out with that intention. Are gardeners really 'saving money' growing their own vegetables? I think I’ll start a new thread on that topic.
If you had gotten the plants home and dug a hole in the ground and found great soil then it might have been a piece of cake. Once you dug that hole and found all that thick clay, it becomes more problematic. You can overcome that, for sure, but it will require more effort and time and money. If you have become more interested in the activity of gardening, then it may be worth it for you to pursue it, but if you are only trying to ‘save money’ growing vegetables, it might take an initial investment that would take some time to recoup before you were saving money.
I hope you will continue with it and as Lucille said so well, ‘Learning to garden is a process. Chill, read, and join the community here and by next year, you will be ready to grow big bowls of beautiful tomatoes and veggies.’
How about for the others that are ready to plant, you dig your holes and mix in some additional soil and compost and call it a day? Forget about all of the other things for now and just get them in the ground with a minimum of ingredients.
I'm by no means an expert gardener - it's my second year, really, but I have already learned that it's pointless to stress over things... they will grow or they won't. LOL. You may be surprised at how hardy they can be, and if they don't make it then you know what not to do next year. :)
Good luck!
(PS, I live in GA and we have lots of clay as well... I mixed in some top soil and compost and that was it, and mostly everything is growing great)
My plants did great in the basement this yr under the shoplights and were quite large when I planted out first week of May. They have fruit up to 3inches but the blight is gonna be early again. But I will have late tomatoes from a neighbor and the three driveway plants so all is not lost.
If you are ORGANIC, there is NEEM OIL .
I have both Daconil and Neem oils and use them both.
Yellowing and eventually aborting leaves is the plants natural response to its limited resources. Lower leaves get the pink slip first to reduce the burden on the plant.
A well fed young plant seldom will abort leaves.
Thanks, wardda, seysonn, and Ohiofem.
Yes, I saw that thread, thanks, seysonn, and I'm in awe of the production, especially in Hudson's later photos. Most folks around here just grow celebrity or whatever bonnie plant caught their eye in the checkout line at HD, so it's hard to choose when you have very limited space and not much chance even to sample the fruit from other varieties.
@ ncrealestateguy
Yea plenty of blooms, but with my particular climate I have the luxury of pinching off until I'm ready for fruit.. I like to let them get to at least 3+ feet before I allow them to put their energy towards fruit production.. It's just about that time..
I had what seems to be a mild version of this on one of 14 plants this year. I had tried to get rid of about 8 hard wood weeds. I cut them to about 6 inches, put red plastic solo cup cuffs around each stump, brushed each stump with a foam brush dipped in a bit of round up. Closest "stump" probably 30 feet away. So far the plant has survived. Probably the stumps will too.
This post was edited by nanelle on Wed, Jun 18, 14 at 17:22
Yes, it still looks like the primary issue is nutrient deficiency - the inconsistent coloring of the leaves, all the leaves that show interveinal chlorosis (green veins but pale leaf tissue).
You have some secondary issues (plant leaf chews/holes, and perhaps a touch of Early Blight) but the main issue is nutrients (see causes in link below).
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Causes of chlorosis in plants
Okay thanks again, Dave. I removed all the leaves that looked like that which also opened up the bottom part of the plant for air circulation. The growth on the top 2/3 of the plant looks good so I will just hope that the fertilizer regimen is working, and spray neem oil as well for the possible blight.
Last week it was in the 70's during the day and high 50's at night but it rained all week. The past couple days have been very humid and in the mid 80's. The parts that look dark green in the pic are almost black looking in real life. Maybe it's the variety?
It is phosphorous deficiency and both of the fertilizers you are using are low phos so some additional supplement is needed. Soft rock phosphate is the quickest acting organic, a dose of MG the fasted synthetic solution..
You can Google pics of 'phosphorous deficiency in tomato plants' for pics to compare if you wish.
As Linda said, it is difficult to grow organically in containers. There is no soil food web to feed the plants so you have to provide all the nutrients on a regular basis and during periods of heavy rain that often means weekly.
Dave.
Nope, No idea about the spots, but I had similar spots on my Brandwine OTV, perhaps even a bit larger.
It was the only tomato out of 9 heirlooms, (all Beefsteak) that had any spots~~~~~~alto I will check my Red Brandywine for spots too~~~~~~thanks for the "Tip"
I'm gonna eat them anyway!!!!!!
Gary
The two most common causes of the symptoms you describe are (1) over-watering and (2) lack of nutrients.
Which of the two is the most likely? Posting a photo of the plant would help. Otherwise we need more details - containers or in ground, size of the container, potting mix used if container. fertilizer used and how often, age of plant, how often do you water, variety, etc.etc.
Dave
Now when I planted the tomatoes I always plant deep.You know like they said deep they'll put out more roots.then after planted we put down the red plastic.I couldn't believe all those tomatoes and as big as they were on one plant.We did it again this year.The one plant hardly has any leaves but theres about 6 tomatoes in a clump about 3" round 4-5 tomatoes.I did pick a red one last weekend from that clump.Its working for me.My hubby loves tomatoes.
Ok, I have another theory, but I'm only half serious about this one. Maybe the red plastic tricks you into thinking your tomatoes are ripening. We are growing tomatoes in those bright orange Home Depot buckets and the bright orange reflects onto the bottom of the fruit making them ALL look like they have just started to blush. I drives me crazy.