Tomato Woes

[lottie dolly]

they look like a good recovery is on the cards,snip any week tops off,put in water to root,along with any arm pits,when rooted,hey presto new plants,
Bramble i always bring my pants in on a cold night hehe

[Python15]

Thanks again guys. I've been out and trimmed off all the dead stuff, they look a wee bit nude now lol. Think I'll pop along to the garden center just in case. I refuse to have no Tom's this year!!

[Penellype]

There's something very odd about this year for toms. I am growing several varieties, all of which have been treated exactly the same. They were sown 3 or 4 seeds to a 3 inch pot and potted on when they had 2 true leaves. They are being grown in my spare bedroom, with zero possibility of frost, and under grow lights.

These are 2 Sungold, sown at the same time and grown in identical conditions next to each other under the lights:



These are also grown under identical conditions, Mountain Magic (a younger plant) on the left and Garden Pearl on the right:



The 2 in the background are another Mountain Magic and a Shirley armpit, both of which are perfectly healthy.

As they have all been treated exactly the same I have absolutely no idea what is wrong or what to do about it!

[Python15]

Oh wow Penellype, they look exactly how mine started off AND one variety was Sungold with the other being Tigerella. Also when I try really hard and think back I'm sure all this started BEFORE I put them outside.

[maverick451]

I think there are saveable Python

Out during the day and in at night for a couple of weeks to let them recover, and id give them a feed

[BUFFS]

I think there are saveable Python

Out during the day and in at night for a couple of weeks to let them recover, and id give them a feed

and grow them hard, i don't water mine in the mornings if frost is forecast on the night, and just stand them in a shallow water tray for 5mins when they do need watering, I wont water the top as this seems to cause problems early on, why?, I don't know..

[Python15]

Thanks very much everyone, I feel much better now!

[MarkPelican]

I know everybody's been talking about them being too cold, but could they have been too hot/damp? If the leaves are wet and they get a lot of direct sunlight, they can get sunburned, the leaves go white and crispy and then die off.

[Penellype]

Mine have been standing on a self watering capillary matting tray so unlikely to be either too wet or have wet leaves. I've consigned the worst affected ones to the greenhouse today to take their chances.

[Shadylane]

I know everybody's been talking about them being too cold, but could they have been too hot/damp? If the leaves are wet and they get a lot of direct sunlight, they can get sunburned, the leaves go white and crispy and then die off.

Mine looked like yours after we had that heat wave about a month or two ago. They got scorched after being used to dull, cold weather. The leaves curled, went yellow then papery, then died off. They're recovering slowly. I've never experienced frost damaged toms, as mine are hard, northern toms who don't mind the cold, but I imagine the effect would be similar to scorch.

[Penellype]

The fact is that any extremes will damage plants, particularly if they are not used to them - too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry...

We are about to experience a sudden change in the weather in the eastern half of the country. The sun is supposed to come out and its going to get quite hot (and humid). If you have plants (including tomatoes) under glass, be aware of how quickly they can get hot and burn and ventilate and apply shading where necessary.

[Python15]

Weel they've been in the greenhouse for a while now, they're no worse and may be improving. One of the Sungold's is trying to flower so I've put them into they're final big pot. At least they're not dead. I bought a Shirley from the garden center the other weekend there and imagine my horror when one of the leaves started going yellow at the fringes!! However, it turned out to be an isolated case. I'm beginning to believe this yellowing is a form of tomato shock?