Tomato - major problem

[Ger-annie-um]

Help needed please. All my tomato plant seem to have developed a major leaf problem. The leaves are going yellow from the bottom up. Some leaves look as if they have had part of the stems eaten but I can't find any bugs/caterpillers anywhere near them. I've looked in the books and on the net and have decided it's a tossup between mosiac virus, odeama and magnesium difficiency. Can they be saved? Is it worth it? Is it too late to sow more? I should add that new leaves appear to be growing from where I took off the affected ones and they look healthy enough.

[blutone]

ive got the same probs with my tumbling toms,on the windowsill,they are going mad growing an doing really well,now ive noticed that the bottom leaves are going yellow an dying off,im a bit worried cos the rest of the plant looks really good....does anyone know whats going on????

[smallblueplanet]

blutone - I was watching a tv prog a couple of days ago, probably one on uktvgardens. Anyway it was talking about growing toms, but they were talking about big plants. They said that when they're growing/fruiting the tomato plant put their energy into the stuff at the top of the plant and so the bottom of the plant dies back...maybe that happening with yours?

Ger-annie-um have you checked for slugs/snails nibbling the stems?

[Ger-annie-um]

Yes, I checked for that, found nothing at all that I could blame for the damage although it did look like something had nibbled the stem of the leaf. I've also noticed that the ends of the leaves have gone brown and dry. Never had this problem before, I';ve not a clue what to do with them. I usually supply friends and family with Tom plants so I would hate to give them sick ones that don't produce reasonable fruit.

[si'sraisedbed]

The ends of leaves can go yellow and look a bit sick if they get too much sun through a window, especially if they are touching the window pane. Could this be the probles. I have the same happening to my tumbling toms, but the new growth looks fine so I expect them to be fine.

[Ger-annie-um]

If only!!!, I had bubblewrap in the green house and made sure they were nowhere near the windows. Its not just the tips of the leaves but the whole leaf and the problem seems to be going up the plants. The new leaves appear green and healthy and then they become yellow as well. I've never experienced anything like it and I've grown my own toms for about 10 years. There should be a crybaby face to insert!!!!

[smallblueplanet]

How big are the plants?

[allotmentlady]

Sprinkle some epsom salts around the base of the plant, this should give it back some nutrients and should revive the plant, cut off the deal yellowing leaves. Are they in new compost or recycled?

Epsom salts, tesco sell it in a massive tub at their own pharmacy for about 1.80

[Ger-annie-um]

The plants are around 8" tall and some have developed the first flowers (only just noticable). They are all in new compost with some perlite mixed in. Most did really well for growing although about 10 seemed to just stop growing. I checked it out with my local nursery and they thought it was a watering problem at first but are now as stumped as I am. Thinking about giving up and buying some in for the first time in years!!!

[allotmentlady]

The plants are around 8" tall and some have developed the first flowers (only just noticable). They are all in new compost with some perlite mixed in. Most did really well for growing although about 10 seemed to just stop growing. I checked it out with my local nursery and they thought it was a watering problem at first but are now as stumped as I am. Thinking about giving up and buying some in for the first time in years!!!

Pluck off the flowers and repot them in bigger pots??

[Ger-annie-um]

Never heard of plucking of the flowers. Do I pinch off the flower stem? Hubby on a misson for Epsom Salts tomorrow. How much do I use? The toms are in 3.5" pots at the moment. Do I dilute the salts or just sprinkle them undiluted?

[Cutecumber]

I would try four things:

reduce any watering you might be doing (within reason), and try and increase the airflow and warmth (this helps if it is oedema)

spray with diluted seaweed liquid - this helps counteract certain nutrient deficiencies

Mix up some Epsom salts and spray the plants - this counteracts other nutrient deficiencies. Use the search function on this site and you will find the recommended dilution ratio. It's something like a teaspoon to a litre, but please do check.

Re-pot the tomatoes into larger pots or their final growing position. 8 inches is big - they have probably used up the nutrients by now.

[smallblueplanet]

Magnesium Defficiency Cure, Epsom Salts for Tomatoes

Agricultural Epsom

Feeding Tomatoes

A few links. Worth trying epsom salts.

[Ger-annie-um]

Many Many thanks to all of you for your advice. I'll give it a go and report back. I knew there was a reason to join this site - you all are it.