16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

she11va

Yep, Smithfield near Hampton. It needs to warm up and quick. I just can't believe how cold it's been. Just have to wait and see, and that sucks ;(

Well...its 2012 and seems nothing has changed since these posts were made in 2007. We had such an early spring OR SO I THOUGHT that when I saw my 5 fave mater varieties at the local hardware I grabbed them first week of April. They were good sized and I knew it was way too early to plant so kept them in the sun and watered and when the temps plummeted brought them in the garage. All was well and they got flowers so first week in May I decided to plant them. OF course it got cold (not freezing but cold) so we covered them with 5 gal buckets at night. They still looked ok. We had a few more cold nights but not that cold. Two of them look sad and are not growing and one even has a tiny tomato on it. They are early girl and better boy and are brownish green and the leaves are kind of stiff but not dead or at least I don't think so. The others are doing fine. Should I go ahead and replace them before time slips away? I gave them a shot of Miracle Grow today. I have never lost a tomato plant so am concerned.

greengrass1, here are a couple of links to excellent lists (with photos and some info) of a few dozen tomato diseases and some other conditions. Perhaps you could use them to pinpoint the possible problem(s) you have in mind:

Cornell's tomato disease diagnostic
(Click on the labels on the plant diagram to see problems with that part of the plant.)

Texas A&M's Tomato Problem Solver

Thanks for responses.

My tomatoes look great up until mid july when early blight becomes obvious.

This yr I have resolved to take an early stand and would like to keep it organic. I have received a pkt of actinovate and I would also like to spray with sodium bicarbonate. Some have reported decent results.

There are some potassium bicarbonates marketed specifically as fungal cures such as green cure. The there is just plain old sodium bicarbonate which is fairly cheap. I was wondering if plain old pb is same as the stuff marketed for gardens.

Mine got a little sunburned, too. Its tough to harden off, though, when you work full time. I was faced with working all weekend followed by a week of forcasted rain. They would not get much natural sun for a week if I didn't start then, and would still have been set back. I was hoping with temps still not too high they would be ok, but a few leaves got nipped and turned a little white. Hopefully they will be ok. The later it gets before they harden off and get into the garden the more the risk that they will have to endure our first heat wave soon after going into the garden. As long as I work full time and mother nature doesn't cooperate, hardening off is going to be tough. At least I don't work nights and have to worry about not being there to take themn in if a sudden frost threatens.

Sue

Sue - don't feel bad, I'm home all day and with all this rain I'm having a hard time getting things hardened off (and other things planted). My tomatoes were out almost all day Mother's Day in the shade on the NE side of the house, but got a few "freckles". Got them out for a few hours yesterday when it wasn't raining but don't think they'll go out today. This weekend will be tough for me - hot and sunny and I'm gone all day Sat so they'll probably stay in the house rather than trust DH with them.

There is no documented correlation between not pruning and the incidence of BER. Indeed there is more evidence that the stress created by pruning can contribute to it.

This is not to say there is no effect, just that it may be nothing more than coincidence. Especially when one considers that commercial growers don't generally prune their plants either.

However the correlation between weather, the primary variable and beyond your control, and the incidence of BER is well documented.

Anecdotal info is that I too use Earthboxes and have for many years and I never prune. Yet some years I have early BER and some years I have none. So far this year has been quite BER-free but then we haven't had nearly the rainfall we had last year either when my BER was moderate to severe early in the season. And yes, it always goes away no matter what we do.

Some have a tendency to focus desperately on BER rather than just accepting it as a common factor in growing tomatoes. Just like hornworms and early blight. The hope is to ID the cause and thereby find the CURE when the 2 primary causes - plant immaturity and inconsistent spring weather - are beyond our control in the first place. :)

Dave

Conditions here in the north east have been TOTALLY different from last year. We've had a very mild, virtually snow free, extremely dry winter and spring. I'll bet Memorial Day will be as warm as the Fourth of July. I don't expect my plants to respond this year like they did last year.

Yes I/ve saved seed from a fresh tomato , it became known as the variety Sara's Galapagos.

I removed no gel, I did nothing with those seeds and there was 100% germination.

No fermentation is needed nor any of the oxidative methods such as Oxiclean Comet, etc.

We already had a discussion here about the fact that while we know what fermentation can accomplish in terms ridding the seed exterior of pathogens, bad guys, and all the other plusses from fermentation, but while folks looked high and low there is no data to date to indicate the efficacy of the oxidative methods.

So go for it. Just take the seeds out, don't bother to take the gel off, b'c the purpose of the gel is to prevent seed germination when conditions are NOT favorable for germination, like over the winter from dropped fruits, and it's part of the larger life cycle of tomatoes, and nothing more. It's the germination inhibitor that the gel has that affords that protection, but you'd be sowing the seed under favorable conditions for germination.

Carolyn

I use ProMix for Containers for the soil.

Used the same watering method as the past seasons -- 48 ounces per bucket = 1 inch of water. Only watered twice, once at transplant and then about 4 days later. Weather's been a bit cool with some showers so the top 1 inch of soil was still moist. Drainage is same as last seasons.

Disappointing, especially when I dont know what not to do next time :(

Hi,
I agree with Dave. It sounds like damping off. You may have very well done exactly the same as previous years, but weather conditions can effect what happens. if it is cold and wet out and plants are newly transplanted so there is not much roots to the size of the container, the water is not going to dissipate quick enough and things can go wrong.
I learned this myself the hard way too.
Remy

Can't see any problems with using the Garden Soil with in ground planting, just creates problems in containers. It does suggest mixing it in well with the surrounding soil. Did you do that?

Given the problems most of the country had last year with the heat I'd be much more inclined to lay the blame on the weather then on the MG.

Dave

missingtheobvious, the MG I used was the "standard" type, not the moisture control. I made a mix of the MG, plus some bagged topsoil, and added the surrounding soil when I planted the tomatoes.

So far, from the replies I've seen in this thread, I'm thinking that it was just the horrible heat wave that did the plants in.

I'm hoping that we don't have a repeat performance of these conditions this year.

With a hybrid, the parents can look similar (phenotype) but be drastically different for other traits one doesn't easily observe (genotype). So the offspring may look the same but express differently for the other traits such as disease resistance.

I noticed today that Kumato has excellent resistance to early blight.

You've done the early part of hardening them off already! Midday sun is probably too strong for them at this point, but otherwise they could certainly be outside in shade or partial shade all day. [Now mind you, there's shade and shade. Bright shade is great, dappled shade is okay -- but if they're in deep shade, they'll probably become leggy.]

If they're outside all day, they shouldn't need any artificial light.

The important thing at this point is to introduce them to unshaded midday sun gradually. And keep in mind that the more sun they get, the sooner they'll need to be watered.

I've never read anything before this about holding off on water as part of the hardening-off process. And my attitude about my plants is ... well, I'll surely give them some stress of that type without having to plan it!

lol - I almost always end up stressing them w/too much love! Though the other day after turning on the grow lights and going back to sleep, by the time I woke up they were were pretty close to bone dry.

Typing w/dirty hands as I'm repotting as much as I can before my friend gets here (checking to see if she got the email about the need for party cups). While the Beaverlodge and Japanese Trifele toms didn't seem to be too rooty, now that I'm getting a look at the Yellow Pear and Stupice, they're definitely needing a pot up! So, hopefully that's going to be the solution. :-D

Don't give up!! If I were you, I'd try to save the seedlings but also get a couple of starts in case. I've noticed free tomato seedlings offered up on my local freecycle and craigslist, so you might be able to find someone who has extras.

Don't give up!

People at nursery's don't always know what's best for your particular situation. Anyone who suggested a FIFTEEN DOLLAR (?!!??!) bag of GARDEN SOIL for seedlings in containers should be fired.

Return the soil and ask for a potting soil mix. Dr. Earth has a potting soil - pot of gold - that will serve you well.

I have lots of extra starts! I have no idea how to mail them or I'd be happy to send them to you :). If you're near Raleigh, NC - come by and pick them up!

Easy to tell ,wait a few weeks

I would think the flowers for the cherry tomato would be in clusters of 6+ while the big boy would only have maybe 2 flowers per cluster.

basically the cherries will LOTS of flowers while the big boy significantly less.

I'm feeling pretty good about the tomatoes, and the peas -- I'll just have to watch. Maybe I'll just wait and put in a Fall crop. Thanks everyone.

Time for some rabbit stew.

Last week was perfect. It was overcast most of the week. I am in the sw burbs and I threw everything outside and it hasn't come back in yet. I have everything in my backyard in full sun and my stuff has taken off like mad.

@ LoboGothic: "Hardening off the plants is going well, wind is the big problem. They're about halfway there. My question is about holding them back. I'm growing them for delivery in 3 1/2 weeks and don't want them to get much larger. I won't fertilize but wonder about keeping them at cooler temperatures, maybe give them less sun?"

Cooler temperatures will tend to make your tomatoes grow less. The wind will also make them stockier, provided they don't blown into the next province or get beaten to death by it.

Less light will tend to make them "leggy" so I don't suggest that at all.

Betsy