Leaves browning around the edges.

11 years ago

Hi everyone!

I have a question regarding my tomato plants - the edges of some are turning brown and dying.

Background info:

I finally got rid of the black leaf spot, blight, or whatever it was on my tomatoes, I think. There's no more visible signs... I used a neem oil solution to spray the plants. I did it two times in the last 14 days, once a week.

I fertilized about 2 weeks ago. To do so I mixed about 3 cups in a bunch of compost an just made small mounds about 5-6 inches from my plants with the compost/fertilizer mix and then added more compost on top. This was sort of a mulch too I was hoping. (I don't exactly understand how to "scratch in" a bunch of fertilizer, so I thought this may work... :/ ) I was told that the fertilizer is not chemical so therefore not extremely quick releasing so it would be hard to burn the plants with it. Here is the ingredients:

On a side note, how often should I fertilize? It says monthly.

I water about every 3-4 days. I may water too much? I just turn the hose on and soak for a while. The soil seems very well draining and it has been sunny out, but I'm near the beach, about 1 mile away, so it isn't too warm ever. It's been maybe in the mid 70s. I feel like they'd be turning yellow if it was over watering?

Thanks for all the help! Here are the images... It also seemed to happen on my strawberry plant which I also sprayed!

Also note I'm a total newbie!

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Comments (7)

suncitylinda
11 years ago
Are you growing in containers or in the ground? How many plants did you fertilize with the mixture of 3 cups ferts and compost? It does look a bit like fert burn to me. Neem. or any oil can also burn plants but it does not sound like your temps have been high enough for that.
garden.nerd
11 years ago
I had very similar leaf browning/curling on my strawberry plants after spraying with Neem, I'm pretty sure it was the oil that caused the burn (I had weather in the 80's the day after spraying). All of the other plants I sprayed in my garden however were fine, so who knows! I haven't sprayed them with Neem since, and they bounced back fine.
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silent88
Original Author
11 years ago
Even though it could be fertilizer burn it seems to have come most directly after the neem application so thats my intuition.The thing recommends 4 cups for 100 sq ft I think and my garden is about 75 sq ft and they are in the ground. Could be too much because I didn't apply it evenly around the whole 75 feet only around the plants in rings. I also maybe added an extra cup because I ran out of the fert compost mix and needed to make more. But, I dont know how quickly the fertilizer would get to the roots anyways? Thanks for the help :) so you think they will bounce back? Any good organic fertilizer ideas for liquids? Am I fertilizing enough? Just as a few side questions if u don't mind :)
suncitylinda
11 years ago
It takes a while for solid organic ferts to break down so next time, get them in the ground before you plant out your veggies. Liquids have a much more immediate effect. Neptunes Harvest is a popular choice but most nurseries will have several liquid organic products.
silent88
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you Linda. I don't know if I mentioned it but I did a pre application about a week before I planted everything.

Would I do liquids in addition to the solids? They are like dust though, do they still take a while to break down?

Also about the primal question I'm assuming I just need to better watch my fertilizer applications in case that was the issue.
suncitylinda
11 years ago
Yes, any solid organic fert takes some time to break down and is dependant on the microbial activity in your soil Compost is a good additive to encourage this. Liquid organics are immediately available. I use both.
silent88
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks! May I ask what kind of liquid fertilizer you use? If it isn't chemicals.