tomatoes from seed - should leaves have "freckles"????

Hello wise and helpful people! :)
I planted my tomato seeds almost a month ago. They seem to be doing well, most are about 4 inches high and are branching out well. When I moved them to the larger pots about two weeks ago, I planted them about an inch lower, to encourage more sturdy roots. I potted them in a potting mixture that has a slow release, fertilizer in it (about 5 - 5 - 5), and once a week I add a half strengh liquid fertilizer to their water as well (10 - 10 - 10).
I have a couple of concerns. First of all, some of the stems are purple (light purple, but still not the green I thought they were supposed to be). I read the other posting about adding bone meal, but I was thinking that with the new soil and fertilizing, that would improve. I also wasn't sure how much bone meal to add per container... most are in 4 inch, a few are in tall 3 inch pots.
Second, some of the plants are getting small (pinprick sized) black dots on their leaves. Now, as I am a redhead, I have nothing against a few freckles (as I have quite a few myself!), but wasn't sure if this was proper in a tomato seedling...
Am I worrying for nothing, or is there something else I should be doing? This is my second year raising tomatoes from seed, and we won't say what happened last year... Thank you! Kathy

Hmmmmmmmm. I'm not sure about the black dots. Are the dots on every leaf? Are the leaves mostly a deep green color? If I were you, I'd segregate the plants with the dots away from the others. I'd also remove the dotted leaves unless it affects too many of the leaves to do that. I would also consider repotting _all_ of them into a potting soil that had no fertilizer in it. You really have no way of knowing how much fertiler they're getting.

Terri

My young tomatoes always have purple stems, so unless they falling over their stems should be fine.

"Black spot" is a fungus that I know roses get... (I also had an azalea which had it). It usually occurrs in damp conditions with no or little ventilation. Tomatoes are really prone to getting "damping-off" so maybe they can get black spot too. I'm not sure really *g* I tried to find some information about it but I couldn't. But I'd suggest as pete did, separate the affected plants from to rest.

Also make sure your not over watering and get some air circulation via a small fan (low setting! you don't want to rip the poor things to pieces ;-). Using a fan or softly "petting" your seedlings also creates shorter/stockier/stronger plants. It mimics a breeze and helps prepare them for the great outdoors. You could also get something from the garden center to fight it, but don't do that unless you sure what it is... call a local garden center they should be able to help.

You have given them enough fertilizer for a full years worth of growing.

Purple is from excess Phousphour..


There is enough nutrients in potting soil to grow a tomato to about the 6th true leaf stage, without any more needed.
At 6th true leaf stage the plants are still babies. Maybe a 5% solution to something like quick start.

Commercial growers fertilize about 1 tsp per 3 sq ft per season.

Your disease really interest me.

Spot pattern? Are most of the spots on the leaf margin ~ outer edges. Are most of the spots from about the tip of the leaf to about 2/3 back from the tip?

Starts with bottom leaves and works upward?

Infected leaves drop off in a few days, They don't even turn yellow ?

There is a disease called "fly spec"

http://www.geocities.com/hibiscusred/bug/fungi.htm

Note spot size on apples, and the notes about pattern on hibiscus.

Spray your plants with Daconil..

Byron

Byron, I think you meant to say phosphorous deficiency didn't you? Young seedlings use a lot of phosphorous for root development as you know. The purple color could also be from cold damage which has happened to me before. I'm not really sure where Kathy has these plants. I guess they could be in a chilly greenhouse but I have no idea if they are or not. I guess it's possible that the specks are a bacterial problem complicated by possibly a high humidity. Whatever it is, I hope everything turns out okay, Kathy. :)

Terri


This message was edited Tuesday, May 1st 10:38 AM

Teri

Excess phosphour will also cause a purple color.

Lack of is usually bottom leaves yellowing with a purple
tinge on the bottom of the leaf. This is usually what you see also as cold damage.

Look at what she has been feeding the plant. No way
that is a deficiency.

The soil had a 5-5-5 already, This is already over 3x what the plant needs. The plant needs only a P of 1.5.
Then she added a liquid fertilizer (n-p-k ?) and then some 10-10-10. And some bone meal

I am suprised she is not seeing the next stage of white margins and very dark green leaves That soon turn brown and fall off the plant.

Thankfully the 10-10-10 and bone meal are very slow release.


Tomatoes only need N = 2.5, P = 1.5 and K = 1.5.

In my mind sea blend 3-2-2 is the ideal fertilizer or composeted cow .


BTW Kathy over 90% of the new gardeners overfeed their plants. BTDT


Byron

Byron, here are some indicators of nutrient deficiencies and toxicitys in plants. It is possible for a PO4 level to be adequate in a measured soluble concentration but not be absorbed and utilized by the plant due a number of factors. The plant symptom manifests itself as a PO4 deficiency because it truly _is_...it was not absorbed and utilized. In addition to the info listed at the link below, a PO4 _deficiency_ can manifest as dark-green foliage; lower leaves sometimes yellow between veins. Also, if a purplish color is present, it may not just be limited to the leaves.

http://www.uog.edu/soil/fertft1a.html

Terri