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whats wrong with these plants

15 years ago

I need your help on what is going on with these tomato plants. My neighbor says its the heat. I disagree due to the fact not all plants are doing this, so id like some input from people much more experienced then the 2 of us. Im including pics so hopefully they will help.

A little back ground;

last fall all garden material, grass clippings from the year, and leaves tilled in.

this spring ground amended with cotton burr compost, mushroom compost, manure/humus, peat moss, and MG garden soil

plants were finely put in ground in early June

planted deep, with 1 teaspoon blood meal, bone meal, Epson salts

transplants watered in with Thrive mixed to directions

watered daily with drip tape for 1 hour

lower branches were pruned off when plants were around 2-3 feet

Temps have been 100+ day and around 80 at night for weeks

The whole garden is watered exactly the same as the tomatoes all done at same time. My melons are doing GREAT. Corn is doing OK i have to sup lament water due to drip not reaching all rows. Cucumbers are doing OK bottom leaves on them are yellow as well, but I always get that. Peppers are slow but im told that is normal in the heat, but look good.

Two of the 12 tomato plants appear to be dying off. the lower leaves are turning yellow and brown. They are a Early Girl and Big Beef there are 2 of each of these and only 1 of the 2 is affected. The tips of 1 of my Better Boys are totally wilted. Please help me figure this out, I have searched and searched but can't for the life of me figure this out. If you need more pics let me know and I'll get them posted.

Thanks Bill

PICS

Early Girl

Early Girl leaf

Big Beef

Big Beef leaf

Better Boy

Row of tomatoes

Comments (6)

  • 15 years ago

    consider you may have more than one thing going on

    its been hot (I'm slightly east of you) and the plants will stress.

    I see plants that need fertilizer AND mulch (try some wheat straw - not hay).

    The big beef leaf looks a little scorched and/or like it might have spider mites (which will wash off with a hose - do this in the AM so foliage can dry).

    Plants wilt when they aren't able to take up water, when they take up too much water or something has impeded the vascular system (physical damage, breaks or disease).

    If they wilt at the end of the day and then recover over night it might be verticillium wilt.

    If the tomatoes are be getting too much water, the roots are water logged. Some of my tomatoes do that after heavy rains when the root growth is slower than the top growth. If you water everyday and the soil is heavy, has lots of organic matter and/or doesn't drain well they could be water logged. In the past I have driven rebar into the ground at various depths to help drainage. That may or may not help depending on why it does not drain well.

    In this heat, with no mulch and a relatively short soak time, they probably aren't getting enough. Watering every day for s short time can encourages shallow roots and a shallow root moisture zone which will dry out faster (especially when it's not mulched).

    Can you install valves so you can water the different types of plants separately?

    I'd recommend watering the tomatoes, even in this heat, 2x a week for 2~4 hours (at low pressure) and definitely mulching! When the weather cools down go once a week 4-6hours. These steps will force roots to grow down and chase the water (that is why you water so long and then cut back to make sure the water goes deep and the roots grow down seeking it). When roots are in deeper soil they are less prone to wilting and other issues.

    Mulch is a must. It will help reduce evaporation. Again the way you are currently watering keeps the moisture and roots in an area that dries out fast.

    If you want to stay "organic" look for some quicker release fertilizer like composted chicken manure that has some nitrogen. Use about a shot glass worth for each plant. Lightly work into the soil before covering it with mulch.

    Next year use more than a tablespoon at planting working some of it in an area the roots will grow out too (not just in the planting hole). Then once the first fruits set and start getting size, fertilize again with some nitrogen at the drip line of the plants (drip line meaning where rain water would shed off the plant canopy - not the irrigation line).

  • 15 years ago

    oh I drive rebar in and then remove it to make holes at different depths to try to help drainage and to get air to water logged roots.

  • 15 years ago

    "I see plants that need fertilizer AND mulch (try some wheat straw - not hay)."
    I can get some straw and place it down around the plants.
    As to fertilizer I have;
    blood meal, bone meal, Alaska Fish Fertilizer 5-1-1, and a 15-30-15 MG knock off.
    Which do you suggest I use or even something totally different.

    "The big beef leaf looks a little scorched and/or like it might have spider mites"
    I checked all the plants for bugs and found none.

    "If the tomatoes are be getting too much water, the roots are water logged."
    I took a hand garden spade and dug down as deep as the blade would go and ground is not saturated it will make a ball and break apart with light presser. soil drains well

    "I'd recommend watering the tomatoes, even in this heat, 2x a week for 2~4 hours (at low pressure)"
    The drip tape is low presser 10psi
    I was watering every other day for 1.5 hours , but have switched to 1 hr every day in the heat as the garden center suggested. They use the exact same tape I do and they are watering there garden 1 hr a day. before this heat they were watering 30 - 40 min a day. If i switched to 3 hours every 3 days would I benefit from it yet this year? or would the root system be shallow enough that the plants would lack for water?

    "Can you install valves so you can water the different types of plants separately"
    Before I went to this drip tape system I talked extensively with the garden center and others that were using it. I asked a bought valves and was told I didn't need them. 1 guy I talked with did have valves installed but stated he wished he had never spent the money on them as he never used them. I could install valves but I'm unsure of what I would gain. I plan on adding more drip lines next year for the corn so I dont have to sup lament water. If it wouldn't be such a PITA to add them this year id do it.

    I was going to take the pics to my local ext agent and see what she though, but shes gone for 2 weeks. So I'm in need of all the help and advice I can get.

  • 15 years ago

    You are likely correct that starting right away switching watering regimes wouldn't be best in this heat because they are probably shallow rooted and not mulched. But if you mulch it will help reduce loss. Depending on how you fertilize you want some moisture there too.

    Putting in valves I would think would be a minor cost for having more control over how things are watered. The corn needs the most. But melons will benefit too from the same method I mentioned for the tomatoes. Over-watered melons taste watery.

    Go ahead and add some blood meal to each plant. Don't be stingy. It won't leach and is going to take awhile to become available. And in addition to that water in some of the MG or fish emulsion as a good dose of nitrogen they need ASAP. The MG will also provide other nutrients.

    Just in case you didnt know, you probably wont see spider mites without a magnifying glass. You see mostly what they do and occasionally small areas of webs. An easy way to look for them is tap a questionable leaf over a white piece of paper. Then lay another piece on top of it, smash it flat and pull it to one side. If you see reddish streaks on the paper you probably have mites.

  • 15 years ago

    I got a bail of straw today and will put that down tomorrow. I will add blood meal at the amount suggested on the bag and scratch it in the top few inches before I add the straw. I will mix up a gallon of fish emulsion for each plant, and let that drip at the base of the plants, I'll try and get that done tonight. I'll also water them with the MG on Sunday or Monday early in the morning. Does that sound like a good plan.
    I will do the paper check for the mites tomarow, but I have not seen any webs.
    Should I prune off the the affected branches?
    Thanks for your help

  • 15 years ago

    AS normal things came up and I didn't get the maters the fish emulsion last night. Since I didn't have enough time to do each plant with a gallon I put enough fish emulsion in my hose end sprayer for the whole garden and sprayed it down. I dont like doing that since it makes the whole yard smell like a fish factory,and takes over twice as much. However since you stated they needed fertilized ASAP I went ahead and did it. I'll get the blood meal and straw down in the next couple days, and water them with the MG after that. I also checked several leaves for the mites and didn't find any so I don't think I have them.