16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

The stem was very weak and thin just above soil line. It also felt kind of soggy right there. Don't really know what this means. Yes, I have a dog, but he seems to prefer to 'water' my hydrangeas.

I think it was probably damping-off. You can read about it at sites like these:
http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenproblems/qt/Damping-Off.htm
http://www.ehow.com/how_9361_prevent-damping-seedlings.html
http://tomclothier.hort.net/page13.html

And here's the old thread that has the photos of a young plant with a narrowed stem:
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0416271013922.html

If you didn't start the plants from seed yourself, you can blame the grower.

"dryed shrivelled green leaves" is usually either a nutrient issue or a pest issue. Any sign of pests? Look for spider mite webs or aphids. What and how much have you fed it? Is it in a container? If so are you sure it isn't root bound?

Need more info please.

Dave

No spider mites or aphids. It's growing in a raised bed in a mulched bag of Miracle Gro organic potting soil with extra soil around it. The main stalk is not showing dry leaves, only the side growth with fruit attached is.

If the conditions in your sun room are not much different than being outdoors, then I guess it's possible for them to adjust a little faster. I can't say, since I don't have a sun room, heh.

I've never seen it personally, but the difference between my semi-shaded back porch and my garden is vast. My garden gets full sun from sun up to sun down, no shade, no protection from wind by trees or shrubs or anything. If I don't gradually harden them over at least a week or two, then I expect to see burnt plants when they hit the garden.

I notice you are in zone 5b. I am on the border of 5b and 6a and started hardening off my tomatoes 3 days ago and my peppers (which are two weeks older) a week ago. They are doing well with a gradual increase in time under the sun and some rain. But we have a forecast of night temperatures in the mid-40s over the next three nights. I plan to bring my plants in for those nights. Temps under 50 can cause a real set back in summer vegetables.

Can they survive? Sure. Just make sure they are well hardened off before transplanting or if you have a way of shading and protecting them in the garden then plant them now.

Dave

Absolutely. See below for a rather extreme example. This plant will be just fine although it is not appreciating the cold/wet weather this week. Tomatoes are very resilient plants.
http://worldtomatoes.blogspot.com/2012/05/planting-day-1.html

everything I read here seems to contradict what I've read before

Hmmmm, since most of what we talk about here is fairly common knowledge, that makes me want to ask where you have been reading before?

But then sometimes what seems like a contradiction is really just a misunderstanding.

Dave

It seems like pruning suckers is a practice that is pretty commonly recommended for indeterminate vines.. Another example is a post i was reading the other day about BER not being caused by a calcium deficiency in the soil, but instead by the way calcium circulates through the plant. I was just trying to say I've learned a lot here. This is my first season to grow tomatoes (or anything really), and from seed, so I'm just a little green, my bad.

I guess it depends on where you live. Our local nursery sells heirlooms at around $1.50 a plant whereas Lowes/HD are over twice as much. They may be a little bit smaller, but tomato plants catch up really fast.

Here is a link that might be useful: My garden

My local nursery only offered one heirloom - Cherokee purple...not that I'm complaining. Was happy to find several heirloom varieties at HD, even though the price tag was higher. I picked up:

green zebra
black krim
mortgage lifter

No, not aphids and foliage diseases are spread via wind and rain, for all new foliage diseases, and only if you had the same problem in a previous year could there be splashback infection with spores/bacteria that had fallen to the ground.

With your new picture I don't see what I saw before. I now see lots of leaves with dark edges and that can be due to either fertilizer burn, too much fertilizer, or too much water.

What do you think in terms of fertilizer used as well as too much water?

What about the rest of your tomato plants? How are they doing? And did you raise them from seed or purchase plants?

Carolyn

The rest of them have similar leaves with dark edges. Most were purchased plants (Bonnie is the maker)

Fertilizer : Tomato / Vegetable food once per month. (made specifically for tomato's)

Water : Once per day right now as it's been 75+ each day. Might be excessive even in dry conditions.

Thanks

That's when I prefer to plant. It gives the new transplants a chance to acclimate without getting the additional stress of blistering heat and sun. Especially if the roots were disturbed during the process.

Here is a link that might be useful: my tomatoes and garden

I had a large tree rose to put in the dirt and I decided the recent overcast spell we have had in SoCal was my last best hope this summer! Happy to report the patient is doing just fine! Linda

Why, all of sudden, are systemics being listed when we have been cautioned not to use them?

Corporate profit margins perhaps? Greed? Lack of effective FDA supervision? Inability of the FDA to force recalls?

The basic premise that something that acts systemically will also be incorporated into the edible part of the plants and thus into me is enough to convince me to stay away from them.

ACUTE HEALTH EFFECTS SWALLOWED
! Accidental ingestion of the material may be harmful; animal experiments indicate that ingestion of less than 150 gram may be fatal or may
produce serious damage to the health of the individual.
! Aromatase inhibitors (including triazoles and azoles) produce several side effects including mood swing, depression, weight gain, hot flushes, vaginal dryness, bloating, early onset of menopause.
Long-term use may result in bone weakness, increased risk of blood clots, gastrointestinal disturbance,and sweats.

EYE
! This material can cause eye irritation and damage in some persons.

SKIN
! Skin contact is not thought to produce harmful health effects (as classified using animal models). Systemic harm, however, has been identified following exposure of animals by at least one other route and the material may still produce health damage following entry through wounds, lesions or abrasions.
! Open cuts, abraded or irritated skin should not be exposed to this material.
! Entry into the blood-stream, through, for example, cuts, abrasions or lesions, may produce systemic injury with harmful effects.
Examine the skin prior to the use of the material and ensure that any external damage is suitably protected.

INHALED
! The material is not thought to produce either adverse health effects or irritation of the respiratory tract following inhalation (as classified
using animal models). Nevertheless, adverse effects have been produced following exposure of animals by at least one other route and good hygiene practice requires that exposure be kept to a minimum and that suitable control measures be used in an occupational setting.
! Persons with impaired respiratory function, airway diseases and conditions such as emphysema or chronic bronchitis, may incur further
disability if excessive concentrations of particulate are inhaled.

CHRONIC HEALTH EFFECTS
! Results in experiments suggest that this material may cause disorders in the development of the embryo or fetus, even when no signs of poisoning show in the mother.
There has been some concern that this material can cause cancer or mutations but there is not enough data to make an assessment. Limited evidence suggests that repeated or long-term occupational exposure may produce cumulative health effects involving organs or biochemical systems.
Exposure to the material may cause concerns for human fertility, on the basis that similar materials provide some evidence of impaired fertility in the absence of toxic effects, or evidence of impaired fertility occurring at around the same dose levels as other toxic effects, but
which are not a secondary non-specific consequence of other toxic effects.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Myclobutanil Fact Sheet

I am not one to condone conspiracy theories of any kind, and I make a concerted effort to dispel them wherever I find them, so I will not espouse any now...

That being said, know this: You should not blindly rely on big brother (government or otherwise) to always look out for your best interest. Your best bet is your own (informed) decision and a healthy does of common sense.

If it seems shady to you, it likely is, or at a minimum, you'll feel better not taking the risk. Me personally, I'll take a little risk of plant disease over the risk of ingesting (even small amounts) of systemic fungicide or (as stated above) negatively impacting beneficial insect populations.

To each his own, however.

Hey junktruck: great minds, etc. I have some 25-year-old wire-ring cages (much wider than the current WM ones) which I have used with Florida-weave above. The Florida-weave is supported by some of the even older (1970) vertical wire tomato stakes (the no-ring kind).

Thank you everyone for your responses. They were very helpful.

I'm going with the weave, and 8 plants. We will see how it turns out!

Last year was the worst in my part of NYS ( E NYS on the VT border) for lots of rain, and the year before that as well.

But who knows what this summer will bring,no one can say, so if it were me I wouldn't be thinking about raised beds quite yet.

It could be warm, with occasional showers/ T-storms, with perfect weather for our tomatoes.

Time will tell.

Carolyn

What Dave said... He beat me to it.

I do raised mounds every year and have had great results with it. Where I live, the problem is rarely too little water. We often get way too much in the early spring and then likely too little in mid / late summer, right around August.

I do mounded rows and mulch heavily with hay in very early spring to keep weeds down, about a month or two before I even consider planting. I plant through that mulch (on the mounds) in late April / early May, and by that point, the mulch has compacted a little and broken down a bit, but is still fluffy to some extent.

Because of the mounds, the roots are never sitting in water, and because of the mulch, moisture levels are somewhat stabilized. I rarely water in spring, no need to really. When temps start getting hotter and the weather turns drier, I layer down some additional mulch to help replenish what has decomposed already and to help keep more moisture in the mounds.

It's worked out great for me as a tool for managing water. I recommend it for anyone that has potential for very wet springs.