HELP: Tomato plant problems - can you tell me?

I am a real newbie, so I started small. I have 1 tomato plant in a pot. It has holes in the bottom and a little on the side, it has a layer of rocks on the bottom, then only good bag soil that says it was for vegetable gardens. I got a plant from a local gardening store. I have a cage holding it.

It is growing some, though not as fast as I expected.
I feel the soil almost daily and I don't water until it begins to feel dry. I am surprised how well it is holding water.
I had some aphids, I first tried soap/water spray but then got something from the garden store. Those are gone.

Now the problem:
One the leaves is turning yellow and other leaves look like they are curling up. When the curling first started I watered more but that didn't seem to impact it.

I read about the diseases and pests, I am at a loss. What is wrong with my plant?

Can you post a pic? Could be rootbound, lack of nutrients, or even though the top feels moist the middle may still be dry.

You cannot use garden soil in a pot. It is too heavy and is compacting the roots. In a container, you not only have gravity pushing down on the soil, but also the sides of the pot pushing inwards.

In a container, you must use a light mix such as potting mix or potting soil. I use Pro-Mix which is mostly peat moss, then add some shredded pine bark to provide air pockets and then about 10% composted cow manure. I would avoid Miracle Gro Moisture Control because it tends to keep the plants too wet for too long and some people have reported it actually steals moisture from the soil rather than releasing it.

Also the rocks in the bottom is really a myth. It actually prevents proper flow of water.

I wonder how large this pot is? An indeterminate tomato variety typically needs a 10-15 gallon pot to thrive.

Finally, because of the nature of containers, every time you water, you are "washing out" some of the fertilizer. So when you plant, you want to do a good amount of fertilizer according to package directions, and then repeat every 6-8 weeks.

This message was edited Apr 1, 2009 8:35 AM

Did the tomato plant come with a label? Knowing the name might help. Yellow leaves can mean so many things, including disease, over watering, too little nitrogen, lack of trace minerals. I grow my tomatoes in 10 gallon pots - two per pot and they get watered every single day that it doesn't rain.

Remember I am a real novice.... so don't laugh too hard. It sounds like I did several things wrong.

I got some pictures I will pick 1 or 2 to post. The plant label says it is by Bonnie plants and is a Jet Star hybrid tomato, indeterminate. The soid I used was something called SuperSoil and it said it was enriched planting compost. I don't have the complete bag left so I can't read all the label now. It did have pictures of tomato and other garden plants on it. Oh, also the plant instructions said to not remove the entire container it was in, it was biodegradeable, it said just remove the bottom half.

I'm not real great at indentifying plant problems, but my guess is lack of nutrients. Besides a regular fertilizer, I add iron to my plants when leaves turn yellow. This could be a sign of chlorosis. I've never added it to tomatoes though. Hopefully someone will come along who knows exactly what's wrong.

I agree--it looks like it could use a little dose of iron. Also, when you fertilize, don't use regular plant fertilizer, buy one that is specifically for tomatoes (Wal Mart has it). You don't want to give tomatoes too much nitrogen--it will turn them into a jungle that will produce very few tomatoes.

another pic

Jet Star is a tall indeterminate designed for garden use, large plants normally grow 5-6' high. It won't likely do well in a small container, though you could consider trimming off the bottom leaves and flowers and transplanting into an open garden. Patio, Balcony, Tumbling Tom, or other dwarf determinate variety might have faired better in your container. Regardless, tomatoes need plenty of water because they dry out quickly in warm weather.

Al

I agree the pot is likely too small to produce much without carefully controlled water and nutrients however this gives me the chance to link to clear evidence that pretty big productive plants can be grown in comparatively small containers.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Tomatotree.JPG

32,000 maters anyone??? =)

Anyway I see some ground underneath the pot in your first picture...I vote for digging a little hole and putting the plant in it. It will probably be happier and easier to take care of and assuming it's a watering or fertilization problem planting it in the ground is likely to only help improve the situation.

This message was edited Apr 4, 2009 11:46 PM

Okay so stupid question here...I am having the same yellow leaf curl problem. I grew the tomatoes in jiffy pellets then transplanted them into peat pots. Should I have removed the plastic netting around the jiffy pellets before I replanted them?

Good Heavens on that link to the container tomato!

Now that's a tomato plant! Likely a lot more science to it than most of us are using.

Al

About those jiffy pellets and peat pots, yes, probably should have gotten rid of the netting. However, tomato plants are so forgiving I wouldn't bother with the peat pots. I start mine in the plastic 4-packs, then transfer them to 4" pots. Then into gallon pots, burying them a bit deeper each time, till the weather permits planting them out (which is usually into an Earthbox--those things are magic!). They really don't seem to mind being manhandled, at least when they're little.

I'd be inclined to throw a little Miracle-Gro at those yellow leaves. Worked for my foxglove.

Wow! That's a tomato on steroids! I agree that's got to be some sort of scientific experiment.

Buwahahahahahahahaha, but what you can't see in that picture is that the plant is really just propped up over a manhole cover and the root system is actually taking over the entire New York subway system! Aieeeee, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!

Wow.... that's the mother of all tomato plants. Some hydroponic experiment run out of control...

I wonder why they have a fire extinguisher to the right of the photo?

Alan, I had the same thing happen to me the first time I grew tomatoes. It turned out to be a combination of over-watering and too small a container, but a little tomato fertilizer with low nitrogen to stop the vegetation from growing wild.

I used the peat pellets to start my tomatoes and peppers last year and this year, and I don't think the netting poses much problem as it's very easy to tear and the roots have no problem growing through it. I have removed it on a few plants, and left it on others, and the only thing I"m sure of is I tore roots removing it. I say leave it but I honestly don't see any difference between the ones with the netting intact and the ones that lost a few root ends while removing it.

As far as the "tomato tree" picture it's some kind of plant found in China and now growing at Disney's Epcot Center in Florida, where they experiment with various growing techniques. It produces golf ball size tomatoes and almost 1200lbs of them annually. It's the Guinness world record holder for "largest tomato plant" and I'll take their word for it since my plants are usually a bit smaller and less productive...

Mine are less productive too but it only takes a slice or two from ONE tomato to cover a sandwich :-}

alanjones10 - I assume the potting mix had fertilizer added to it, so this should not be a problem while the plants are still small. However, fertilizer can be "locked-up" if the soil pH is not correct. I suggest you put your tomato in some good dirt directly in the garden with lots of compost. Tomatoes also need a good supply of calcium to prevent blossom end rot.

Yes, if you want tomatoes to eat, you should pick up some dolomite lime to mix in the soil. That will supply the calcium to prevent blossom end rot.

Learn something new everyday! Calcium to prevent end rot! I thought it was too much water that caused it.

Ha ha, I just learned that last year! AND, adding the dolomite lime will also cure the problem. I noticed last year that my first tomatoes were showing signs of blossom end rot. I mixed up some of the lime in water and poured it into my Earthbox and the problem went away.

Cool! Will definately have to buy some! Now, where can I buy it?

Well, I got mine from our local feed store (they ordered it for me--they're soooo cool!). I've heard that it's available from places like Lowe's or Home Depot. Or you can use hydrated lime, which I guess is different and you have to be more careful with it not to burn the plants, at least that's what I've heard. If you have a nursery nearby, you could ask them.

I just picked up some dolomite lime at H.D this past weekend. It came in 40# bags-can't find the receipt to give you a price.
I had a soil anaylsis a couple years back and they recommended it instead of regular lime.

Yes, you can buy Dolomite Lime from Lowes in 40lb bags. It's real cheap, too. You can also add crushed egg shells or bone meal. I purchase "crab shell" in 12lb buckets from Worm's Way. I don't recommend using hydrated lime - too much can kill your plants.

Dolomitic lime can help remediate the problem, but I think "cure" is too strong a word. If there is too much fluctuation between wet and dry soil, you're still going to have BER.

Hmmm, could that be because they're not getting enough calcium when they're allowed to dry out too often?

BER is not a lack-of-nutrients problem. It is a nutrient uptake problem.

BER can occur in soil which is full of calcium if the temperature or moisture are wrong or fluctuate or the plant is stressed. The secret is to regulate the soil moisture and mulch and proper watering helps. Dolomitic Lime is just a "hedge" and gives a little breathing room, especially in containers.

In a tomato class at a local Garden Center, they recommended calcium, not necessarily for BER, just generally. In addition to being to buy products, she said save your eggshells, crush them in blender/food processor and add water to use on the plants, or even use calcium tabs that we take, crushed and added to water.

Epson salts are also recommended, I believe for magnesium.

See this website/blog for instructions to make your own "earth box" style planters. They use epson salts with the fertilizer. I may try these as the commercially available boxes are so expensive. I too could plant in the ground, as I did last year, however I have to compete heavily with gophers then and the dogs that then dig to try to catch the gophers!

http://ft2garden.powweb.com/blog/?page_id=113

alanjones - you should have good weather for growing those 'maters being closer to the coast for cooler weather and far enough away for extra sun. Not like us over the hill from you where it is hotter that blue blazes!

I was able to get just a small , 5 lb box of dolomite lime from our feed store (somehow I don't think alanjones10 needs 40 lbs for his one plant). Cost me about $5, which is probably a rip, but I don't have a good place to store a large bag.

Sometimes space is more important! Nothing worse than having a big bulky bag that you have to lug whenever it's in the way.

woofie, I never thought about a 40lb bag of lime being too big - I am fortunate enough to have a large outdoor shed. - Sorry about that alanjones.

quiltygirl, your instructions and photos for the earthbox are just wonderful. I have already purchased a large quantity of 10 gallon pots, so at the moment I don't want to invest in something else in which to grow tomatoes. Wish I had seen your set-up first.

Honeybee - just to clarify, those are not my instructions for the 'SWC-Self Watering Containers', but a link I had found. IF i get the Christmas decos reorganized as I had planned, I MAY have some extra rubbermaid containers to use like that. LOL

Love the SWC link! Thank you!

You are very welcome. Maybe someone can get some use out of them.

Anyone besides me wondering how the poor little plant that started all this is doing?