My neighbor has 3 plants in containers. They are not as healthy as they ought to be, and are 'way behind the two plants I put out (in the ground) a month or month and a half after he potted his.

They are spindly and not well-leafed out. He hadn't watered them at all and we're in drought, so I started watering them about 2 weeks ago. They are doing better, not dropping leaves anymore. However we have blossom drop going, and the leaves are curled up at the edges all the way around. They are turning faintly yellow, but not as bad as before I started watering. I think that's stopped.

He used the cheapest "potting/top soil" or compost to pot these. You know, the stuff that's basically shredded bark. I'm sure he didn't know any better. It's awful stuff. I've worked a bit of peat moss into the top of the containers, and them mixed some of his soil with peat moss to lighten it (that stuff won't hold water until it reaches total saturation, then it sits there like a waterlogged rock, if you can imagine such a thing). The soil was a good 4 to 6 inches below the top of the pots so I added some of this mix to the pots, hopefully to encourage stronger rooting and to improve water retention. I can't do much about the rest of the stuff lower down in the pot, it's way too late to try to repot them.

They are now being watered regularly (not his fault, he has health problems, so I'm taking care of his plants now). I have mulched them as well to help to conserve moisture.

I'm thinking working a bit of 10-10-10 fertilizer into the tops of these pots and a bit of Epsom salts will solve the problem (and regular watering).

I've never seen tomatoes that looked this way before. None of my tomato plants have ever had pest, disease or nutrient problems in 30 years of gardening (eggplants, however, are a different story), and although I've seen various wilts and fungi and insect pests in other people's gardens, I don't recognize what's going on with these. Does anybody have any idea of what kind of nutrient deficiency could cause the leaves to curl up until they look like little canoes? I've never seen such a thing before, and I'm wondering if I should be addressing something more specific nutrient-wise.

Also, I'm not sure how much fertilizer and Epsom salts to use since they're in pots - I've always grown my 'maters right in the ground.

Thanks for any help.

Sojourner