"it has been in the 90's and i have watered every day... or it has rained eery day"

Sounds like way too much water. Most tomatoes like about 1-2 inches of water a week - it sounds like they are getting much more than that. Hold back on the water and see if they do anything.

we have had ALOT OF RAIN!

But then like a week of Dry.. in those weeks i water every other day.... do you think that i should move the mulch back a bit and let them Dry out some?

That may be a good idea, but definitely cut back on the water. If you get a good downpour of rain once a week, you might not really have to water unless it's really hot 80-90+, and even then you'd only need to add a little more, worst case. If it rains decently twice a week, don't water at all.

Every other day is too much water, even in high heat. Typically, I water deeply once every 5-6 days if it hasn't rained and it's decently hot out. I do have the plants mulched pretty heavily though - if I didn't, I imagine I'd have to water a little more often occasionally.

Tomatoes need about an inch of rain per week, I do slightly more than that in hotter weather.

Agree that it sure sounds like way too much water. All that causes is root rot and stunted growth. If you have been having lots of rain then you shouldn't have to water them at all much less every other day.

1-2" max of water per week as already mentioned. If it rains then don't water. If it doesn't rain for several days then stick you finger deep into the soil - as deep as possible. If it is at all cool and damp then they don't need water. When in doubt, don't water.

Tomato plants will tolerate too little water much better than they will over-watering.

You don't indicate your zone or location so can't say for sure about the mulch but as a general rule mulch will double the amount of time needed between waterings so rather than pull the mulch back just turn the hose off and leave it off. ;)

Dave

THANK YOU!

i am in NE oklahoma.. right by the Missouri and kansas lines...

Like my horses and dogs i am Babying them too much sounds like!!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP!! I really appreciate it...

i will pull the mulch back a bit and let them dry out a little and im testing my soil as the ph might be off...

with all the fertilizer and babying they have mabye some drying out will do the trick! except we are in for 2-4 in of rain for the next 3 days! sounds like the water hose will only be needed for the stock tanks!

Thank you again!

Agreed, it's too much water. Do not water until the fruits are set. Water only when the plants show signs of distress (best observed around 2-3pm in a hot sunny day). Do the same with fertilizer.

The overwatering may be part of the problem but I suspect that it is something else. How big are the plants? Do they look healthy? You may want to pull one up at look at the root health. If the problem is a disease you may want to try one asprin disolved in one gallon of water and sprayed on the plant every 2-3 weeks. If it is nematodes I would consult a local nursery or farm advisor.

I had this problem several years ago when I used some peat pots for my seedlings. They couldn't break through the peat pot after I planted them. After 2 weeks of no growth, I dug them up, pulled off the peat pots and they took off with growth.

I am having the very same problem. My tomato plants did not go in the ground til 5/15 which is later than I normally put them in.
They were hardended off for over a week prior to planting, and some have barely shown any growth at all. I've grown tomatoes yearly since 1983 or 81 and with the exception of last years dealing with Late Blight, have never had this problem before. I don't know what to think at this point.

Alberta

Growth only requires so many things: warm enough soil for the particular plant, enough sun, enough nutrients, nothing crunching on the roots, enough but not too much water, and some patience.

Of those requirements the one that gets screwed up by far the most often is the water. We can't control the weather but we sure can adjust our watering program to accommodate it.

Dave

I gave them a Thorough looking over last night... they are Healthy.. i finally am ahead of my Fungus attack from last month.. and they have grown because there were branches sticking out of the cages. they are a Bit of a Lighter green on some of them not the Dark Pretty Green that i would like to see... we had 2 inches of rain last night and none expected till next week after today and tomorrow morning... i am going to fight watering them till next week.. it will be in the 90-98 range till past sunday... so i think that we should see some progress soon... HOPEFULLY!

Thank you all for your Input and help!

i did pull up one of the smaller ones and the roots were nice an healthy

krussow good to hear they have grown some. Give them a foliar feeding of some fish emulsion, that'll green them up. You must be around the miami area. I've got a good friend that lives around there. Pretty hot and dry around his place and the soil drains good but I wouldn't water any more than once a week right now if it doesn't rain at all. I haven't watered my in ground plants for well over a month. They got a touch of blight but I'm taking care of that. Just got some daconil last night from wally world.

taz i am from around there.. actually about 30 miles SE of there.. right on the MO OK line.. but i work in miami! i got some Fish Emulsion today and i am going to do the Epsom Salt ring.. last night i pulled the mulch back a bit so they can dry out a little... this Garden has been an Experience.. the place that i planted had not even bush hogged in 10 years! so you name the challenge i have had it!

On the other hand the Corn is doing great! Cukes are looking AWESOME!! and finally the squash is taking off.. and i have 200 ft of Green Beans and 50 ft of Okra planted!

i will just be doing ALL fall harvesting it looks like!

where are you in NW arkansas??? i am from there!

I'm in springdale. Gotta love this part of the country except for the ticks and chiggers. I went out yesterday to pick some berries and when I got back I had 5-6 seed ticks and a couple deer ticks crawling on me. Next time I'll put some sevin dust on my pant legs before going out. FYI there's a Ozarks Region and a Oklahoma Gardening forum on GW too. Check out my page and let me know if I have anything you would like. Good luck with your plants.

My plant has not grown and it has been like a month and it has been water reguraly

can you provide details and a picture ?

...they have been in the ground since early May..

It's only five days into May. It's not uncommon for newly transplanted plants to grow slowly or even just sit there while they get used to the new environment. Often the plant will choose to halt the foliar growth to give the energy to root growth.
I would cut back on the watering as suggested above and don't fertilize for a bit, and be patient. Once the plants are acclimated, they'll take off fast enough.

aniaja ... You're absolutely correct that new transplants take a while to get going, but note that you're responding to a concern posted June 14, 2010. Threads resurrected from years ago do tend to get a bit confusing at times.

Hah, good catch. That's what I get for checking the forums on my lunch break ;)

Where are you located, Dillan ? Zone Number ?
How the weather has been, Temps, Rain ? ...
It will take sometime , under normal conditions, for the tomatoes to GRAB THE SOIL and then resume growing. Then iF the plants were subject to shocked due to transplant , cold weather, wit might take even longer to get adjusted.

BTW: I have started planting almost since a month ago, gradually. I should know how slow they grow.

Sey