I am trying to grow tomatoes, but the plants do not seem healthy. Some leaves are yellow and dying (see picture). The plants receive full sunlight and are growing in a combo of Black Kow and other soil. There have been some strong thunderstorms in the past few weeks. I have not seen many insects around them.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what might be wrong with the plants?
Thanks.
I have never seen a garden container that looks like this. Does it have drain holes?
I am no expert, but the yellow green leaves may be symptomatic of too much water, hardly surprising after a lot of rain. Combine that with warm weather and thunderstorms/wet foliage and things sound ideal for a fungus. This site has good pictures of common problems: http://www.avrdc.org/photos/tomato_diseases/index.html
Hope this helps... Ed
violet, If that is a 5 gallon bucket, you should probably pick off the lower leaves and fill the rest of the container with potting mix. The tomato will probably need the entire volume of the container to grow and produce a good number of tomatoes.
Also. since it is in a container, it will need regular watering and fertilization. The potting soil does not give it enough food to survive without supplements of food.
Cat litter bucket? Are there drainage holes? Depending on the type of tomato, that container may be way too small. Some cherries will do fine in five gallon buckets, but bigger ones need much more space. The Dollar Store near me has big buckets with rope handles that are big enough for even an indeterminate. Unfortunately, the mix you have in the pot is way too heavy, and needs to be lightened up so the roots can breathe, and don't drown. I'd take the whole thing apart, and at least put it in potting soil, but first, take off the bottom leaves, and bury the plant as deeply as you can (it will develope new roots all along the stem). Use a liquid fertilizer ( I like fish emulsion) according to the directions for container growing, as the frequent watering needed for containers tends to leach out what nutrients may be in the soil/mix.
I confess that I did EXACTLY the same thing when I first tried to grow tomatoes.
And no, I will not post pictures of my poor Maters. They did survive once transplanted, and actually did very well......
Margo
