16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
I bottom water in a tray when soil is fairly dry I don't over water. Yes there are drain holes.
These seeds are from Longkeepers a standard non-hybrid variety. As stated in my recent post the seeds I used in my current test are from the same seeds that I planted in the same window last year and grew just fine.
I'm really stumped on this.
I'd water them more often and see what happens. It's either that or the seed-starting mix.
I started three trays of seeds -- mostly tomatoes -- each a week or so apart. The first and third were normal and happy, while the plants in the second tray were an odd color, not as lush, and shorter than the younger third tray. I used Burpee's seed-starting mix with all three: most of a bag for the first tray, the rest of that bag and part of a second for the second tray, etc. No explanation, though the second batch were happier after being potted up.
Similar to Earthbox, which I grow in. A SWC (self watering container) known as a closed system. Earthbox was invented and developed by a professional tomato farmer in Florida. All the ferts get used instead of washing away. It is not uncommon to have plants do better than they would in the ground. Typically use the same type of solid ferts as would be used in ground, be it organic or synthetic. ONe thing about many patio, bush type determinate plants is that a lot of them have a different leaf type which is heavier and greener than even potato leaf tomatoes. It is called Rugose, maybe that is what you are seeing.
Here's where to find out more info about the dwarf project.
http://www.dwarftomatoproject.net/History.php
Also, there are a number of crosses that have originated in
the U.S. One is Brawny, which I did a couple of years ago
to make a Dwarf Cuostralee... which is still a work in progress.
Check out tomatopalooza.org for lists and images of many of
the dwarf varieties that have been sampled over the past
few years.
Summertime Gold is the best, imho, followed closely by Rosella Purple.
Lee
Yes, Craig only goes weekends.
The dates and times are given at his blog, but he's through for the year right now.
I think you should go to the go to the next Tomatopalooza, which is organized by Craig and Lee. So you can meet Lee as well and all the others who attend.
Lee, does that Tomaopalooza link give the directions to Efland where it will held again this year? A storm is coming and I don't want to take the time to take a look, and besides I'm also thinking of Yellow Bosnian. LOL
Carolyn
Agree that pics are of great help with such vague symptoms. I also suggest you begin looking at the photos of the leaf problems linked below to help narrow it down.
Yellowing leaves can be most anything from over-watering to nutrients to serious diseases so much more info is needed.
Also check out Nutrient Deficiency Photos
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: TAMU Tomato Leaf Issues
I had this question myself, I switched to organic soil with chicken manure added instead of shellfish...what little research I found said that 1. people react to the proteins in shellfish 2. the proteins are broken down during composting 3. so there should be no problem. So far all I have growing in that is basil, and me and my father are both eating that basil right now, and we are both allergic. Ill let you know what happens.. I planted all my other herbs and veggies in the soil with chicken manure, just because the idea of shellfish makes me paranoid and why deal with it if I dont have to. If I would have read the first bag with the shellfish I problablly would have bought it. STILL what I've read says there is no problem....
All of my plants are planted in the ground. They have been in the ground for about 8 weeks. The wilting started about 3 weeks ago, and the weather has been in the high 80's the last two weeks. However, these plants only receive direct sunlight for about 5 hours a day. Thanks also, for telling how to post a picture. One picture can be worth a thousand words. Only the top parts of the plant are showing the curling of the leaves.
Richard,
Is the "wilting" occurring in the evenings, but they look fine the next morning? That is relatively common when one is watering frequently but shallowly. Shallow watering does not encourage deep root penetration, which means the roots are near the surface and far more affected by variations in temperature and moisture levels of the first few inches of soil, which may account for the wilting of your tomato tops.
Cool weather or soil with lots of clay needs will be less water, hot weather or sandy soil will need more.
Dig down with your finger about 4", is the growing medium wet, dry, or just right? If it is wet, don't water, if dry then water. If it is just right, check again the next day. Water deeply once or twice a week. Watering daily encourages shallow roots which means the plant is affected more by variations in soil moisture. In my garden during the heat of the summer, I water deeply every 4-5 days, early spring I may only water every 8-9 days and when the weather is moderatly warm (70-80 degrees F), about once a week. I have several dowels that I push into the soil six inches or so, in several areas of the garden and leave them there. By pulling up a dowel and checking the end that was in the soil, I can easily monitor the soil moisture.
Mulching heavily (to a depth of 6 - 8 inches) with compost, straw, hay, rotted leaves, grass clippings, even shredded paper or sheets of paper or cardboard helps maintain a consistent moisture level.
Betsy
Your Dr. Wyche will put out blossoms when it's ready, so:
Patience is a virtue
Find it if you can
You'll find it in woman
But seldom in a man..
... so said my Swedish grandmother.
Now you can change woman to man in the third line and change man to woman in the last line, if you wish. LOL
Carolyn
DTM is short for Days to Maturity. It is an ESTIMATE of how long it takes to get ripe tomatoes, or any other produce, from the time you transplant the tomato or other plant, or plant the seeds in the garden.
I've had as much as two weeks difference from the listed DTM in the same variety in the same garden but different years, and even quite a bit of variation in different plants in the same year. As Carolyn indicated, ya just gotta wait it out.
Betsy
if that's the same case for you.
To a degree, depending on the seed source I use, and I have tried many, including selecting and saving my own. But I find it is almost impossible anymore to find the true determinate seed from any vendors - even when they label it as such.
JMO but I think that as the variety has stabilized over the years most of the seed has reverted or adapted to more of an indeterminate growth pattern. Rather than a determinate or semi-determinate type of fruit set and cropping, its a continuous cropping and the growth patterns are usually true vine indeterminate - height, lateral branch development, node lengths, etc.
But I haven't been overly concerned about it as the production and flavor remains true. I just don't count on it being determinate even when it is labeled as such.
Dave
Phyllis, if you're growing plants from volunteers, as you said above, there's really no way to know or name the varieties you have. If hybrids,as mentioned above, they don't come true from volunteers or indeed saved F2 seed from the actual fruits.
If the initial varieity is open pollinated then there's a chance that the volunteers could be OK, but I think you'd know that once the fruits appear and you can ID them as being a specific variety that you started out with.
Every year I used to take 10 volunteers from the field where I was growing tomatoes and transplant them elsewhere, just for fun and to see what I'd get and to see if I could ID them, and sometimes I could, and sometimes not. But I nevere saved seed from them.
There are many varieties that are called white, but actually are more ivory in color and the final color can depend on the variety, the degree of foliage cover and the amount of UV. So fruit colors can range from ivory to pale yellow to even a deeper yellow.
For me the whitest and best tasting of the large white fruited varieties is White Queen and it actually has some taste to it, which I find is missing in most so called whites that I've grown.
This year I'm growing a new white one called Fantome du Laos which someone I know well suggested I grow and sent me the seeds, so we shall see.
And yes, you can save seeds from white ones as well, as you asked above.
Carolyn
Thank you Carolyn, I think that's the one I have White Queen.The only ones I can ID are the Jubilee and that's because it's yellow and who knows I've probably got that wrong also,but I'm not gonna worry about it since I'm the only one who eats them besides my neighbors and they don't care,Haha I'm glad there are people like you and Dave to ask all the questions I might have. Thanks again.
I had a tomato plant that was stressed out like this and had way overgrown its pot. I removed the plant from its pot, teased out a few of the tangled roots, repotted into a larger container, and then gave it a dose of Fish Emulsion, both foliar and systemic. This helps reduce transplant shock. It recovered very, very well and has continued to grow and produce tomatos. It did look a bit droopy for a couple of days and then took off.
Susan
Susan, I hope my transplant does well! I just transplanted it. Unfortunately, my fiancee tried to put in a cage without my permission and bent and ruined one of the stalks. So I'm left with just two. =( I'll give it some fish emulsion and will hope for the best!
Sure you can but the plant is just doing what it is supposed to do normally so pruning it sure isn't recommended. The issue is the size/style of the cage, not the plant. Most just let it grow and drape back down over the cage.
You'll lose the future production so if you don't want more tomatoes from it, it's your choice.
Lots of discussions here about pruning that the search will pull up for you if interested.
Dave
It would help to know roughly where you live and garden, that info is not given at your page, b/c I'm of two thoughts on whether you need to use cages or some other method of supporting a plant.
Here in the NE most of us just let our plants sprawl and of the about 3,000 plus tomato varieties I've grown to date, maybe 95% have been grown by sprawling and the rest in cages and sometime the same variety in the same season in both a cage and sprawled.
I spaced plants 3-4 ft apart in a row 250 ft long and the rows 5 ft apart. Yes, as the plants mature the vines pretty much cover the area between the rows, but I don't find that to be a problem at all since I know the traits of each variety I plant out before I ever sow the seed so have little problem following the vines out to harvest the fruits I want to save seeds from. Each season I'd put out several hundreds of plants and varieties.
The major diseases where I grow were/are the common foliage diseases that almost everyone has problems with and sometimes an occasional plant with Verticillium which is one of the soil borne systemic diseases and those plants usually grew out of it.
Yes, there is a small amount of fruit loss from fruits resting on the soil and rotting, but if you've never sprawled plants you may not realize that the majority of fruits are nestled in the foliage and never touch the ground/
Other critter problems? Not really.
However if you live in the south where it's hot and humid and have many critters that can and do eat the fruits and/or damage them, then you might want to get the plants off the ground. Continued high heat and humidity can result in leaf diseases b'c of poor airflow which is increased somewhat if the vines are supported.
So as I see it, it depends on where you garden, geographically, what space you have, if you're growing mainly indet with some det varieties, and last, but not least, how many plants you're dealing with.
No one solution for everyone. ( smile)
Carolyn, and from the picture of your plants they appear to me to be too big to now set a cage around them and try to train them to the cage. One should set out plants at perhaps 6-9 inches tall and THEN put the cage in place.
You guys are awesome. Thanks for your help. I am definitely going to work on staking them or supporting them. I was out of town all weekend and when i came back I had a nearly full grown tomato just sitting on the ground growing - woops!
I hope it's not too late to guide them upwards....
ps. I am in north Georiga if that matters