16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

Do you guys think that compost tea would help the soil (in the fall once I harvest what I can). I also love the top to bottom fix, which I will do! IT's a great solution.

Also I've transplanted some of the plants into containers. I hope they make it.

I did a basic soil test and it read the soil at 6.5. I will have to get a more comprehensive one done but for now it's what i have.

Phytophthora. Search it up. It's a horrible viral condition that occurs when you have poor drainage as you do. I built my raised bed where water collects and found out that some of my plants were extremely stunted, yellow and diseased. I pulled one up and the roots were brown and very unhealthy. If you pull one out and look at the roots, you'll definitely be able to tell. But judging from your first picture of the tomato, phytophthora is definitely a possibility.

Bad soil mix and do you have drain holes in the containers?

Transplant/root shock will hold them back for a while, it depends on how bad the root structure was. Another sign of transplants with bad root structure is having plants wilt in the heat of the day, then perking back up at night.

But i agree with what everyone posted above, lack of oxygen flow in a compacted potting medium will stop plants from growing. It needs to be a potting type mix. They may linger in their stunted form for a while, put out a few "survival" tomatoes, then yellow up and die a few weeks ahead of your other tomato plants.

Hopefully that's not the case, but two weeks without growing is a long time imho.

Here's picture of my black plums. They are still green. They are egg shaped, and this is normal. Little bit larger than a quarter.

The second picture is a picture of sungold cherry tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes are smaller than a Quarter.

I planted them on April 1st.

Thanks for all the feedback. If it's not really a Black Cherry I guess that would explain the elongation. And it was a Bonnie. It's not very tasty, and has a thick skin. Anyway, here's a shot for scale:

I plan to pull it and replace with another, maybe real, Black Cherry.

All of those things would prefer their own pot because of the different needs they have. The tomato looks like it might recover and grow if given it's very own, larger (perhaps much larger depending on variety) container. Soon. It also looks like maybe it has had too much water recently. Cheers!

Cindy,
I think tomato plants are a lot easier to grow in the ground. If you can find some room in the garden it could make your first tomato growing experience more enjoyable.
Gail

Hi Mr. Beno, Growing some in containers was an excellent decision this year. They will do fine......almost impossible to overwater, and they will keep draining well with only minimal problems.

This post was edited by edweather on Wed, Jun 12, 13 at 20:11

I have found out(could be wrong) that curling leave is due to cool temperatures. It is a way to minimize surface exposure to cold: less exposure = less heat loss. I cannot understand why a leaf would curl because of too much water?!

Populations vary from year to year.

Nothing is a constant in a garden. Just when you thik you have all your ducks in a row, nature changes the game plan.

I was told kale can be a magnet to aphids. My kale is covered with aphids, but less than 3 feet away the tomato is fine.

Thanks AJ. That is quite a bit more dramatic then what I was dealing with but still, never knew it was one of the signs of herbicide damage.

Thanks ajsmama

They look harder hit because glyphosate has been sprayed directly onto the plants. I did suspect this but thank you very much for confirming it.

Steve

Its not your particular plant. I've many an the plant that produce big tomatoes. I am combing my plant for one but I have not found one yet.

I kind of like the funky shaped tomatoes that come from these type of blossoms. Maybe not so great for the market, but I think they often have their own beauty.

Dig something ugly, man!

I've heard you shouldn't save seed from them though since they're easier for the pollinators to get into (and therefore cross pollinate).

I may have found my answer... "Grey mold" can resemble the reproductive phase of late blight. Okie dokie, I can sleep better tonight! :)

Yes, gray mold. aka botrytis.