Now that I've cut back the wilted foliage, and taken out the worst of the bunch, some of the remaining ones seem to be growing just fine. My Momotaro even has new blossoms (wonder if they'll set in this heat). Do you think they got root bound? If so, would root stimulator in the hole for the fall garden help? What can I do to alleviate this problem??
TIA
laurel

How far apart did you have them planted in the raised bed?

If thinning them out stopped the wilting it sure sounds like you had them way to close and that giving them more room allowed them to thrive.

I wouldn't add anything to a planting hole. You either have conditions to allow for good growth, or you don't. You can fertilize a couple of weeks after plants go in and then when they're forming fruits, but why a root stimulator?

Maybe I don't undersatnd, though, so what do you mean by such a stimulator, b'c you sure don't want to add fertilizer to a planting hole.

Carolyn

Believe it or not, there's an organic "root stimulator" by Green Light. It's supposed to help roots to spread and dig in (grow). The funny thing is that when I pulled the tomato plants, it was as though they had just come out of a 6x6 transplanting pot. It was like they just never really dug in. We rarely watered during the spring, and didn't really start until the highs hit around 100. They were too close togeather, I'll admit that. But last year the same planting formation worked just fine. Although this year we had more heirlooms and op varieties. Guess we'll just plant further apart and see what happens. Do you think 6-8 plants is too many for a 4x12 raised bed? Gotta make another trip to Lowes for more lumber, don't I??
Thanks
laurel