Either quit watering so much or give them some fertilizer.

Your growing medium looks like it has a lot of wood chips in it. Wood chips can bind the nitrogen while they are decomposing. So Taz may be right for once. (VBEG) You may need to give them some nitrogen, but go light with it, it is very easy to get too much. You can always add a little more DILUTED fertilizer 3 - 4 days later, but it is really difficult to remove it. :-(

As for watering, how often do you water? Are you checking the moisture level of the soil or growing medium before watering? You should poke your finger into the soil 3-4" deep, if it's dry, water, if it isn't, then wait.

GardenWebber sprouts_honor (Jennifer from Cleveland) had a wonderful suggestion on how to tell whether or not you need to water your tomatoes, and I quote here: "Get a wooden dowel rod (or two) and sink it in the ground near a plant or two and leave it. Pull it out when you think you need to water. If the top is dry and the bottom is a little damp, it's time to water. If it looks dark and feels saturated, wait to water. I use this technique with potted plants that don't like being over watered and it's helpful with in ground plants too."

I hope that helps.

Betsy

What have your air and soil temps been?

Hereabouts, it's way too early to plant tomatoes unless we provide some way to protect them, also to warm the soil. Overall, things are at least 2 weeks late due to our recent weather.

Jean,
She doesn't list her region, but since her name is TexasTracy, I assume she is in Texas. For Texas, the recommended planting date was over a month ago.

Thanks so much for your help! I actually had these in another raised bed but moved them this morning because I just don't think there was good drainage in it (and that would also explain all of the mushrooms that popped up all of a sudden in that bed but not my other two).

I probably do tend to over water so I really like the wooden dowel idea, I will have to do that.

My first impression when I looked at the plants was that they were drowning. Been there done that, with bad drainage last year.

So Taz may be right for once

At least my knowledge comes from hands on experience instead of quoting everyone else without actually growing anything.

They look like they were planted in "Miracle if they grow".

I planted them in topsoil, soil conditioner and perlite. After finding this forum (which was after I planted them), I realized there were much better mediums I could have used. I'll know better next time.

How is it that back in the old days, farmers used what land they had available and still were able to produce vegetables?

How is it that back in the old days, farmers used what land they had available and still were able to produce vegetables?

There are those of us gardeners that still do. Some of us are lucky to live where the soil is pretty good (we do grow "famous potatoes" here in Idaho) with excellent drainage and plenty of water.

Taz, except for a period of time when we were moving with a military husband and some years with medical issues, I have had my own garden since the early 70's. If I had known about container gardening, I might have done that as we moved about the country every couple of years. There were a couple of times we lived in a house off base and we had gardens then. Before that I helped in my mother's garden and each of us kids that wanted it, had their own personal garden space. So I've actually gardened for the better part of the last 50 years.

I quote other people when they have a good idea, I like to give credit where credit is due. I actually use the dowel method myself to monitor the water levels in several places in my garden.

I've done a lot of technical writing as a part of a job, so I know the value of quoting authoratative sources and not presenting information like it is my own idea. I also try not to be rude or argumentative or curt with people who ask questions that have been asked previously. Not everyone knows how to search for answers. I know I probably should not have "said" what I did, for that I am sorry. It was poorly thought out and badly worded. I probably should have just said that I agreed with you on that point.

If you are basing your comment about my gardening experience on my profile blurb, that was written several years ago, and I have tried periodically to change it, but get an error when I attempt to save the changes.

This year I have started about 80 varieties of tomatoes, 20 of peppers, several eggplant, herbs, broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, and the usual suspects. I'll plant corn, peas, beans, cucumbers, winter and summer squash, pumpkins, beets, and I'm sure I left some things out.

So, who you calling inexperienced?

Betsy