16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
i recently broke 2 plants
a jackfruit seedling, and a passionflower vine.
both were near the base.
i used duck tape, and both grew back strong as ever, with a bulge where the break was.
i dont see why a tomato would be different
if anything, tomatoes would be more forgiving than a tropical fruit.
it did seem to take th passionfruit a couple of weeks with no growth, but that could have been due to weather as well...
I think that you have just been lucky. In my experience, cutworms spend daylight hours under the soil surface, and they do their surface cutting at night. Birds don't get a chance to see and eat them.
I use plastic rings cut out of soda or water bottles. The rings are about 1.5" high, and there is a vertical cut through the ring so it can be placed around the stem. I try to push the ring into the soil about 1/4".
Prior to planting out tomatoes, peppers, etc , I plant radishes throughout the area. They are a quick, early crop but many get hit by the cutworms. Where I find a cut radish, I scratch around in to soil until I find the cutworm and squish it. I still get plenty of radishes, and most of the cutworms have been eliminated by the time that I plant the other crops.
Dave, thanks for mentioning the fact that the cutworms have to encircle the stem to be able to start gnawing, b/c I didn't get a chance to do that last night.
Martha,again, good to see you and IMO any kind of collars, yogurt cups and similar are not effective b'c the cutworms can still crawl up under them.
I always used sturdy twigs, most of the time from last years Queen Annes Lace plants that were around and it did help/
For those who say that this or that worked, remember that there are those years when there are NO cutworms around so you can 't say that this or that method worked.
The best prevention of all is to raise plants that have sturdy stems,plants that have been grown slow and cool.The cutworms prefer to go after wimpy stemmed plants first b/c those are the ones they can encircle the easiest. .
Carolyn
The growing medium is a mixture of 2 soils from my local nursery. Here are the descriptions:
Garden Mix Soil
This soil blend is ideal for a new garden. Lots of organic materials and nutrients makes it great for vegetable and flower gardens. This soil has a compost base and is blended with some sand. No green waste is used - less weeds & less problems!
Organic Garden Mix
Premium organic top soil containing fish meal, ultra-kelp, worm castings, alfalfa, composted fine bark, mushroom manure, and sourced low silt sand. Great for edible gardens and rejuvenating poor soils.
I bought half cubic yard of each and mixed the two for my garden this year. The wood is part of the medium as I did not add any mulch myself.
And yes, the tomatoes are in a container - 1 plant in each. I attached a picture of the planter. It is partially full of plastic bottles at the bottom (lined with landscape fabric) as I did not want to fill the entire planter with soil. I read Tiny Tims were good candidates for containers.
I transplanted them outside around the 2nd-3rd week of May.
They are situated on a south facing deck and gets sun for majority of the day.
Here is a link that might be useful: 
They look fine to me. I would not worry too much.
Depending on the lighting and the camera, they look a bit on the pale side to me.
Have you been fertilizing them ?
I think they can use a round of a liquid fertilizer.
Some times no matter how good and rich a garden soil might be, it can be lacking certain nutrients.
Thank you all for the replies. I had a full weekend of painting the house so I wasn't able to get a picture of the leaves yet, but they are definitely spotting / browning / yellowing. Of the issues listed with the Tomato Problem Solver linked above, the Sour Rot from some sort of fungus seems to most resemble the splitting in my tomatoes.
In terms of followup questions, I have a few:
1. Will using a fungicide at this point do anything for me? I've read that all fungicides are preventative and will not rid a plant of fungus after it's established. Will a fungicide allow any of the fruit to come to maturity or is this years crop kind of a lost cause?
2. DigDirt mentioned that the soaker hose was contributing to the problem. I'd originally started by hand watering the plants and set up the soaker hose so that a relative could easily water them while I was away on vacation. I continued using it afterward just for the convenience. Can anyone help me further my understanding with some info on how the soaker host contributes to the problem and what method of watering is preferred? For next year I'm considering setting up a drip irrigation system. Is that a bad idea as well? I know it's very different than a soaker hose but I don't want to spend the time and money if it's asking for problems.
3. I did find a fruitworm on the plant but, being inexperienced, I thought it was just a small caterpillar of some sort. Should I consider spraying my plants with pesticide as well?
With regard to fungicide / pesticide, what are the mildest options I have available? I'm not much into organic food specifically, but I'd like to use as little as possible (mostly to give my wife warm fuzzies).
Side note, the guy we pay to cut our lawn thought he'd be "helpful" and move all of our potted vegetable plants to mow. The result was not good so some of my tomatoes may have more serious health issues than before. Guess I'll consider it a "learning season" and prepare for next year. :-)
May depend on how close is 'near'. Seysonn has a good point about requirements but side dressing can help that issue.
I don't consider myself a 'companion' gardener, but will often place palm on forehead when i run out of room and need a spot for something. I'm a sucker for something new and healthy and unusual at my local, same altitude, family run nursery just 2 miles away...
Most likely information is ingrained from the early 90's and organic gardening magazines.
So i will plant things that make sense-ish. I've always, once the tomatoes are in, open up a 6inch x 10ft path between, pushing aside the straw, and plant carrots very thick. Start harvesting in mid August and consider it thinning, then have about 20-30lbs at thanksgiving, well after the toms are over. It works where i am and lots of room down the middle of my toms. My tomatoes always get priority attention, : )
Broccoli bolts in my area, but cauliflower and brussels do really well in their own bed. A bit of broccoli rabe does ok if i get it in early. Last late spring was very cold, then very hot overnight. From down vest to t-shirt/nude. Cool crops bolted without some shade.
May seem off-topic but some crops that provide shade in the heat of middle/late July, like tall vine growers... toms and beans, just might be a good 'companion' in your garden.
Yeah - for practical reasons, I liked the accidental "companioning" of broccoli and tomato that happened last year, which is why I did it on purpose this year. The broccoli occupied a vacant, lower-to-the-ground space that was available near the tomatoes, without growing into the more leaf-crowded area, and they were pretty tough growers that handled the competition well. The tomatoes gave some shade that kept the soil around the broccoli from drying out and kept the plants from bolting when it got hot, and, in fact, the tomato plant that was nearest the broccoli was less affected by whatever disease my other tomatoes were suffering from (can't remember the name now). I later read a study that showed that broccoli residue was suppressive of certain tomato diseases (once again, can't remember which - posting too late at night!), so that was another reason to try it again this year. But then I read the article that caused me to start this post and I thought, whoops!, maybe not so good.
Carolyn - I'm sorry to say I didn't save the article, so I can't provide a link. If I find it again, I'll post it. But at the moment I'm satisfied that it's probably a non-issue.
If you can access the middle of the plant you can thin out the leaf branches as needed to improved the air circulation if needed. Remove a few completely or trim some back by half as needed.
So much of adequate air circulation depends on local environment - dominant wind direction amount of wind/breeze, etc. - which is so different for all of us So if the amount of air circulation in your garden is minimal and prone to 'none' then yes some thinning will help. But if your garden is in an open area where there is a steady breeze blowing most of the time it is probably fine as is.
Dave
Aside from the general pruning or not pruning practice, I would prune the lower branches to allow air circulation under the plant and prevent rotting and possible soil born diseases. bacteria thrive and multiply in stagnant and moist environment. The top part also needs air circulation. A thick and tightly woven top would resist winds too and may increase the chances of plant tending to fall over, especially if it is staked supported by cheap cage.
drip system is only on for 3 minutes every 2 hours with 1/2 gph drip
That is a very unusual pattern. Can I ask why you have it set up that way? 3 mins. with 1/2 gph emmiters is no more than a tablespoon or so of water at a time. Is this every 2 hours around the clock? If so then they are only getting something less than 1 cup of water every 24 hours. That results in shallow rooted, water-dependent plants.
Running the system for 2 hours at a time once a week or similar (maybe 2x a week in very hot and dry weather) if far more normal as it delivers the needed 1 gallon deep watering on a much less frequent basis for the deep rooting the plants thrive on.
Dave
Well I had this setup for my containers as well and the water drains all way through the container with this frequency. I have checked the soil below the surface and it is wet but not sopping.
I mainly did this frequency because it worked very well last year and I had a good crop.
3 minutes every 2 hours would be 36 minutes in a day, and a little more than 1/4 gallon per day. Unless my math is wrong...it happens :)
But I see your point in the deep rooting and will change the frequency and amount to see if it helps.
Digdirt: since I have slit the straw on the side, won't it expand with the stem without constricting it?
That would be true only if plastics had the same expansion potential as living tissue which is not the case. As the stem expands the straw may expand slightly along the slit but it will reach its expansion limit long before the stem will so will constrict the stem and compress the healthy epidermis of the stem. Think about a rubber band around your finger and left in place.
Plus moisture is trapped beneath the plastic and that part of the stem that is covered doesn't dry out as there is restricted air exposure. Bacteria and fungi can grow there.
I agree the idea sounds good in theory and would work early on as long as the stem is narrower than the straw. But that won't last for long.
Dave
I also want to thank Dave and many of you guys who post here.
After having sold my condo I now live in the country and wanted to plant 3 or 4 tomatoes bought from a store.
Just reading you guys contaminated me with the TPV, Tomatoe Passion Virus, and I started 210 tomato plants from seeds.
Up to now 50 survived and my 1st stupice is about to be ripe.
All this is thanks to Dave and you guys.
So yes, thank you, not only for the tomatoes I'm gonna eat, but above all for the fun of it, and the good brain training that goes with reading you, learning about something new, trying to understand the scientific links posted around.
I'm really extremely grateful for the time and energy you spend around here sharing your knowledge.
You've opened a whole new world to me, that I knew nothing about, a world that revolves around tomatoes ! And there are discoveries every day, it's really great !
Hello, I can absolutely "ditto" what Francoise said. I love her term for my malady......TPV! A friend and I share the passion, both of us newbies. I can't tell you how many times I have related a "little know fact" to her followed by "Dig dirt says" or Carolyn says! How fortunate we are to have their expertise here. Thanks so much to both of you and thanks too to the other newbies, without the questions, we may not get the answers!
I grew 120 darlings from seed and planted 23 for myself. My Sophie's Choice will be my early winner. Smile!!
Hm that does sound like a good guess, I feel like my plant is extradinarily small (4 inches at most) and the sweet n neat seem to be around a foot tall with the tomatos being much bigger than the ones I'm getting from this little guy. Maybe he will stay a mystery for forever, I am trying to grow the seeds I got from one his tomatoes so maybe that will grow to full height? Hm so many possibilities!! Thanks everyone!
Umass charges $10 for what you see and I'll make sure to follow up with them and try to get an answer about Pb and Al.
I think my raised bed is only 6" high but i got the point about covering it. I only have 3 32sq feet beds so it's easy. I water manually approximately 1/2 gallon to each plant every 3 or so days depending how dry the soil looks.
I like learning it!
Here is a link that might be useful: updated link to soil test
Fe is high, your Pb is fine.
Tomato plant can take a gallon at a time when mature - depends on hot hot it is and how fast-draining your soil is as to how often. I dry-farm main;y b/c I don't have electricity/water in my main growing area and have to haul water by hand, in periods of drought (like 2012) I was watering my plants 1/2 gal each at a time just to keep them alive.
$10 isn't bad for that info, looks like quick turnaround too. CAES is free, I think UCONN charges $8 I will have to look into it but I like to have each of my beds tested every year or every other year and I have 4 main outside beds, the house garden is mostly all the same soil/amendments so can get away with 1 test and new high tunnel has 10 12-ft long "beds" 5 along each side and 1 big wide one in the middle. The side ones are mostly the same (might have double-dug and mixed some a little deeper than others with the native soil), the middle one is 2ft deep composted manure on top of compacted (not double dug) native soil. So I guess I really only need 2 soil tests for the tunnel and actually the beds really should be close to all compost since only the bottom 4" or so of each 8-10" deep bed was mixed with soil, then topped off with the compost. The established beds are sandy loam that have been amended (with manure, leaves, lime, other amendments) over the years and 1 was purposely not limed to keep the pH low for potatoes, then beans, now have tomatoes there this year.
Yeah I agree that raised rows (aka wide-row gardening) dries out faster but not that much faster. As drmbear said if you are using the soil surface as the indicator for watering then you are over-watering.
I use a soaker hose under heavy mulch on my 3' wide raised rows and once every 7-10 days is plenty for them even in my much warmer and drier climate here.
Please give some thought to modifying your watering regimen.
Dave
Nitrogen level at any given time depends on organic mater one used for the soil, i.e. compost, manure etc and its processing. What I am looking in the plant is a color of green, i.e. green and green is different. Ability to branch out and grow well, push those sideshoots plenty and multiple- that is all telling me I have plenty of nitrogen supply. Generally if I apply good compost- manure either in the fall or early spring, there will be plenty of nitrogen in the soil for plants. Ability of plant to use it generally is not a problem, it is other components and minerals that often are not presented in the form plant can use, even if they are present in the soil. Famous Ca comes to mind.
As for liquid ferts, I recently switched to Urban Texas tomato fertilizer and All purpose TF. When you go on tomato- veggie forum and it has a lot of rave reviews from unedited posters, you know you got a winner.