Can you post any pictures of the plants and of the greenhouse? And it is useful to list your location on your profile.

I wonder if the water was somehow contaminated in the rain barrel? Is the RB new? If so, had it contained chemicals before being converted to a RB?

Other possible causes - the plants are rootbound in their containers, the air temps in the GH are too high, the plants are water-dependent from chronic over-watering, the roots are damaged by fungus gnats, a disease has developed, etc. Need to see a picture of them if possible.

Dave

This is the tomatoes now. They were standing upright and after watering the stems curved and the leaves wilted. I live in NE Wisconsin by Green Bay. The greenhouse is outside with a small heater for cool nights/days and windows that open for warm days. The peppers did the same thing, but not as severe - they will survive. The tomatoes that were not watered with this water look just fine. I am only watering when the soil is completely dried out as was the case the day I watered these. The plants are fairly new in their containers, some were planted in them only days prior to this happening. I am concerned about pathogens in the rain barrow. It was the first used this year except what my husband watered onto the radish, pea, and lettuce seeds. Those are coming up okay. Sorry about not putting up a picture right away. Thanks for any and all help, again. Lisa

Labradors, the rain barrel is about 2 years old. We empty it for the winter prior to it freezing and disconnect it from the gutter (it has a valve in it), they just hook it up in the spring. We have never done any cleaning to it.

Marianne, I am in zone 5. We do live near farm land. It is also very windy here in the spring. Perhaps it was some type of infection. Do you recommend cleaning the RB each year?

Have you actually used water from this rain barrel successfully on mature plants? If the rain barrel or the surface it was collecting from was new, there could be all kinds of manufacturing crap washing into it.

That really looks like herbicide damage.

Got to agree that looks like herbicide exposure.

Dave

It doesn't sound as if it's the rain barrel if you used it last year with no problems.

What do you heat the greenhouse with? I wonder about gas fumes.

Linda

Dave and Hoosier40, thank you for the information. Is there anything I can do for the plants? I tried something from Bushdoctor called Boomerang Comback Formula (2/0.2/0.3). It is all natural. I am following the directions on the bottle.

Linda, I am wondering if my husband could have contaminated the RB with some type of herbicide that he uses to kill weeds in the yard. He sometimes will keep it next to the RB. He took it apart and rinsed it out, so hopefully it is cleaned out now. I am heating the greenhouse with an electric heater. No gas fumes. None of the other plants suffered any damage. Only the ones that received water from the RB, so it almost has to be the RB.

Thank you for the help. Anything else that I can try besides the Bushdoctor fertilizer?

Looks like herbicide damage to me too. You really should not use herbicide on the same property where tomatoes are.

Your hubby needs to take you out to a nice dinner!

I would toss them out and start over. Sorry for the loss.

Agree. Herbicide use and tomato plants simply do not go together.

The use of any herbicides debate set aside, tomato plants are especially susceptible to even the smallest exposure. And seldom recover from the exposure no matter what you do. They have been poisoned.

Even if you cut them way back and wait for new growth, if it is possible, the plant will be systemically affected. I would toss them and buy replacement plants for this year.

Sorry.

Dave

Oops! I wonder if your hubby could possibly have rinsed out his sprayer in the rain barrel? If he did, he's hopefully learned his lesson by now!

Hopefully, you can salvage them - or buy new. It hasn't happened to me - yet, but I have a neighbour who likes to spray herbicide on the weeds on his driveway!

Linda

I agree, herbicide got in the rain barrel somehow. Yikes, I hope the plants bounce back!

Just a brain storming here:

Does those containers have drain holes ?

What kind of medium is there in it ?

One of the causes of wilting is water logging, that deprives the roots from oxygen.

With a medium high in peat moss and vermiculite, the drainage will be compromised. JMO

Sey

I don't think root rot would cause the deformed leaves and stems though.

After reading through so many posts referring to damage from herbicides, what can one possibly do to prevent infection if these herbicides can ride with the wind from hundreds if not thousands of feet away? I can't expect all my neighbours to stop spraying their weeds just because I choose to plant out a few tomatoes.

Harry

Planting a windbreak of some kind around your yard is the only thing I can think of.

The farmer that farms the land due east of my property was out with the boom sprayer last weekend spraying roundup or some other herbicide. Luckily the wind was out of the west that day so none drifted towards my garden but due east of the farmers field is a botanical garden that may have gotten some drift their way. There are also 2 tree lines between the field and my gardens for a wind break.

I think it depends when and how the herbicide is applied.

Using a 2 gallon garden sprayer, surgically should not pose as big a problem during a calm day.

Just saying, not actually experimented.

Sey

Sey,

The plants have drainage holes in their pots. They are allowed to dry between watering. The soil is general potting soil that is used by greenhouses (I was able to buy in bulk). Like I said earlier, it was within hours after watering with the water from the RB. I think that the herbicide is what is causing this. I have been using the recovery stuff when I do water. So far some have come back somewhat and some look like they will not make it. It is such a bummer because when you start them from seed, you invest so much time in them. Oh well, now I know to protect my RBs!

Harry,

I have lost many bushes and plants on the part of my yard that borders with my directly back yard neighbor. He gets his yard sprayed A LOT. It is very frustrating. I would say a wind block may help, but you would have to know when they are spraying. We have large yards and my gardens were in the back prior to this guy building his house.

Thanks again for everyone's help. Lisa

Sounds like it might have beven herbicide but another possibility is fertilizer. I worked at a greenhouse where someone watered a bunch of plants with concentrated blue water. Fertilizer burn. Dramatic quick damage and then a lingering death for most. A few things came back but most did not.