A close-up of one of the leaves... (edited to add the picture)

This post was edited by SylviaGrace on Wed, Jul 31, 13 at 13:28

It looks dry!

Love those containers!

Linda

It shouldn't be dry, I water them whenever the moisture meter says it needs water (which is usually every day or every other day). That and it doesn't look any different after a good watering... it stays rolled up.

And thanks! I had to poke the holes in the bottom myself, but it's been really worth it to be able to easily get them inside during hailstorms.

DARK GREEN foliage possibly indicates :

1) over supply of Nitrogen. Excess nitrogen is like excess salt for us, which makes us thirsty. Since Nitrogen is readily soluble in water, plants will take as much as there is.

2) Insufficient moisture/ inadequate watering. This happens usually more in Nitrogen rich soil.

3) Some varieties have naturally darker color than others. An example: I have a black Krim and a Brandywine growing side by side. BK has much darker leaves.

If you have been fertilizing and watering both of those plants the same way, I would say that it is (#3). But , if by any chance you over fertilized the one on the right, with a fert that is rich in Nitrogen then the only remedy is to give it more water for a while.

The preferred, always present, moisture meter is a finger. Try it.

OK, it's worse than I thought! Today I took a close look at the one on the right and it's looking very sick. The older leaves are dying. The new growth (which isn't much, the plant seems stunted) is starting to roll. The center of the new leaves are a lighter green than the edges. And the baby blossoms look very faded and pale, almost to the point of being grey.

What is this? What can I do to help it recover?

The one on the left has grown even more and is starting to blossom. Just thought I'd give a quick update on that one too...

This post was edited by SylviaGrace on Thu, Aug 1, 13 at 3:58

Inspect the plant around the stem where it comes out of the ground. I had a problem last year where it looked as if an insect had chewed all around the base of the stem, but I think it was some kind of fungal disease from the soil. You could try taking a cutting from somewhere near the top and rooting it in water just in case it is salvageable.

I dug up my plant, inspected the roots, which were fine, then I sliced the main stem vertically and discovered a brown line throughout. The disease had caused the brown callusing which interfered with water uptake. I salvaged the top half and re-grew it in a pot.

I hope that is not what is wrong with your plant.

Linda

Stunted plants with curled leaves often suggest a viral infection and need to be yanked ASAP.

Did you raise the CP plant from seed, if so, what was the source of the seed, via trade or purchased.Or did you buy the plant andifso from where?

You say zone 5, I don't knowwhere,but in addition to growing in artificial mix in a container, most zone 5 growers do not have many viral diseases, with few exceptions. Viruses don't last long in soil, they need living tissues to be able to perpetuate themselves.

Carolyn

I bought both plants from Laurel's Heirloom Tomatoes.

I'll take a look at the stem and see if anything odd is happening.

I'm thinking maybe it's heat stress. Not sure how much sun it's getting in that spot, but plastic containers can really heat up the roots if in a sunny spot.

Those also look like fairly small pots for indeterminate tomatoes, but that's probably not your problem yet since the plant is still pretty small.

Also, looks like something is eating the leaves. You might look underneath the leaves and see if you have bugs that are causing some stress that need to be washed off.

The new growth is looking a lot less wilted now, though the leaves have distinct patches of light green and dark green. The leaves usually get paler when I need to fertilize, so I'll get that done. The sick plant is away from the healthy one now, just in case.

There's probably an element of stress involved, though it seems strange that one plant is doing well and the other isn't considering I'm treating them both the same. Is Cherokee Purple a sensitive variety?

I noticed two bugs while looking at the main stem, and I knocked them off. I'm looking to find some Neem oil to use on both plants, since they were in close contact and I have problems noticing tiny bugs.