Plants in containers or in the ground? If containers, what size? How old , what size plants? Your location?

Dave

They are in the ground and I say they are over 2 foot tall and 70 days old and I'm in 6b.

That in the pic is called "Physiological Tomato leaf Roll" and Google will pull up lots of info on it. Basically it boils down to some form of stress response. Causes can be excess fertilizer, pests, root damage, etc. but the most common cause is soil moisture levels - either too wet, too dry, or extreme changes so that it is dry then wet, dry then wet, etc.

Your method of watering is the most likely culprit based on the info provided as it sounds as if you are watering on some sort of fixed schedule and whether the plants need it or not. 1 gallon of water dumped on a plant spreads out faster than down so remains shallow.

Watering on a fixed schedule isn't what works best for plants and results in shallow rooted plants that become water dependent. A slow, long period of deep watering far less frequently (like every 6-10 days) works best for them as it encourages deep rooting. Mulching the plants also reduces water need and helps keep the soil moisture level consistent.

Try revamping your approach to watering. The leaf roll may not disappear entirely for awhile but the plants will be healthier in the long run. And consider mulching them well too.

Dave

"I'm having a problem with the leaf curling"

No problem unless you are a hypochondriac who likes to obsess over pretend health issues.

You are over observing, James. What I see in the picture is nothing to worry about.

My question is : Is this just one variety that is behaving like that ? If so then do not worry at ally. Some varieties are prone to this I have seen some of them.

sey

I'm having the same problem, but with only one variety - Indigo Rose. My other tomatoes are doing fine.

When I grew Indigo Rose it acted weird. I seem to remember that it went a bit limp and demanded more water than the other tomato plants in the same bed. It lasted until the end of the season though, so it wasn't sick.

Linda

I wouldn't call that much of a curl. We had very low temps (33F) one night after plant out and the lower leaves on many of my plants curled up much more than that in spite of being protected by frost cloth. It's been very warm since then and the plants have doubled in size. Some lower leaves are still curled, but the plants are beginning to fruit and look great otherwise. Chalk it up to stress and move on.

I have like 6 different tomato plants. Black krim, Cherokee Purple, Beef Steaks, Rutgers, Beefmasters Roma.

I will post another picture later.

Here is another picture of one of the plants also its not a gallon water per plants it's one gallon for all 14 plants. I have not put much N on them just when I put them out around the April 25 then one time when leaf was turning a yellow color about 2 to 3 weeks ago.

That's about a cup of water per plant, which is nowhere near enough. Your plants are thirsty and probably hungry too. With such a small amount of water, it's unlikely they are getting any nutrients in the soil.

As Dave said above: Watering on a fixed schedule isn't what works best for plants and
results in shallow rooted plants that become water dependent. A slow,
long period of deep watering far less frequently (like every 6-10 days)
works best for them as it encourages deep rooting.

Your plants need a deep soak from a hose. I typically give each of my tomatoes in 25-gallon containers at least five gallons of water each time I water them. That comes close to simulating a one inch rain.

Wow! That's a lot of water! I'm probably not watering enough either. I fill a 2 gallon container from the pond and water 6 tomatoes with it, but they are only little at the moment.

Linda

Tomato roots can easily go down three feet into the ground, but they won't do that if the only moisture is in the top inch or two. You need to water heavily less often to encourage deep root growth. According to the National Gardening Association: "Tomatoes need at least one inch of rain or irrigation water per week for steady growth. In the hotter, drier parts of the country, their needs go up to two inches of water per week during the summer months. An inch of water measures out to about 60 gallons for each 100 square feet of garden."

James - if 1 gallon per plant isn't enough for a 2' tall plant then 1 cup sure isn't. A 2' tall plant will usually have a drip line of 10-12" and given the appearance of your soil those plants could easily use 3-4 gallons each once a week. Your leaf roll in the photo is getting worse. And mulch your plants so the soil doesn't dry out so fast!! No bare soil should be allowed around tomato plants. :-)

___________________

" I fill a 2 gallon container from the pond and water 6 tomatoes with it"

Labradors - In ground or in containers? makes a big difference. 2 gallons spread among six 6-8" tall plants in 6-8" containers would be plenty. Those same plants in the ground 1 gallon each once a week would likely be enough. But foot tall plants could easily need 2x as much. And a well established plant that is setting fruit and 3' tall in a 25 gallon container could easily use 5 gallons per week.

These are just very general guidelines and are affected by many other variables. But in general plants will better tolerate lots of water once a week than they will a little water every other day or so.

Container plants are watered until the water runs out the bottom of the pot. Can't see that in ground of course so until you can learn to read the plants and read the ground moisture levels by using your hands in the soil use the drip line of the plant to judge water amounts.

For example - If the width of the plant at its widest point leaf-tip to leaf-tip (its drip line) is 12" then try once a week watering it until there is a 12" diameter circle around the plant that shows wet on the surface. In most soils that will give you water 12-14" deep. As the diameter of the drip line increases so does the amount of water.

You will have to adjust amounts up or down for your climate and your soil but focus on less-frequent and giving more. Give the plant a good deep cone of moist soil.

Dave

I will start watering them more but I will wait to see if we get the rain Thursday that they are calling for.

Thanks

James, some of mine look way worse then yours. This always seems to happen to a few of my tomatoes and I've decided it is because my garden is windy and I always plant out too early, so cold wind... They actually look pretty good considering the small amount of water you have been giving them. There must have been some rain too....

Dave, my plants are in the ground. I will have to learn to water more, but less frequently.

Thanks,

Linda

I would not depend on the rain, unless you have a rain gauge to see how much rain ACTUALLY you got. Anything less than 1" is not going to be enough. Any watering needs to be equal to equivalent of 1" of rain, minimum. Let us assume a 2ft x 2ft area per plant. One inches of rain will amount to 2.5 gallons per plant. If your plant spacing is wider than 2ft, you have to allocate more water per plant , maybe 3.5 gallons.So I would say 2 gall/plant , minimum.

There are other factors to consider. Temperature, Humidity, medium (soil drainage/ retention) , mulching.

Sey

Agree. I don't recommend waiting 48 hours to see if it rains or not when it is already clear that the plants need water. And as Sey said, unless you have a rain gauge and actually measure the rainfall - which every garden should have - then you have no idea how much the plants got. Rain is just icing on the cake most of the time, not the cake itself when it comes to plant needs.

Dave

About the leaf curling, as I have mentioned before (here or in another thread) , sometimes it is varietal issue. Two years ago I had a Black Krim that had curled leaves almost all season long. Other plants in the same bed were normal. Then I did a google search. I found a lot of picture of Black Krim that looked just like mine.

Fast forward 2016. I have close to 45 plants of about 30 varieties. Of all of them two varieties show leaf curling:

--- Indigo Rose. Still some older leaves are curled but new growth is better.

--- Kumato (F3): On this one even the new growth has curled leaves. I noticed that its foliage is darker than all other varieties.

I am not saying that all curling is varietal but certainly some of them are.

Sey

True but soil moisture issues, as in this case, are by far the most common cause. Even the prone varieties don't always develop it when the consistency of soil moisture is better controlled. But once it is there is seldom goes away.

Dave