So you are assuming that the problem isn't just wilting from heat and lack of sufficient water?

Dave

If the wilting is due to heat then if you water it , it should perk up after the sun goes down . But if it stays wilted over night then there is a problem.

Sey

Correct, the wilting does not appear to be a result of lack of water or too much heat. The bed got a good, deep watering Sunday. And the soil this morning (Tuesday) still had a good amount of damp in it. As for heat, we are just coming off of a cool spell, highs under 80F for the last three 3 days. In addition, the plant has still been wilted in the morning, and the speed and spread of wilting is faster and wider than normal daily heat stress.

In truth, I've never had a plant go so limp so fast or so much of it at once; that's why I'm posting here. Fungal wiltdiseases are not common in my region, there just isn't enough humidity, and I'd like to think I'm pretty careful with regulating the water because there's never any rain in summer here.

Have you checked the soil for tunnels of furry creatures - moles, voles, mice, gophers, etc.? They could be disturbing the roots.

Agree that root damage is a frequent cause of sudden severe wilting.

The problem is so much of this is subjective. For example, just going by the photo it just looks like a plant badly in need of water. Another example, "good, deep watering" is in the eye of the beholder. What equals a good deep watering to some would be considered shallow watering by others and drowning the plant by still others.

I run into this problem often with the garden consults I do and soaker hose watering has its own set of associated problems in that many don't realize how little water it delivers at a time and so never run it long enough.. Soil that feels damp to some would be considered bone dry by others. See what I mean? Even the term "sudden wilting" means overnight to some and over several days to others.

So that makes it almost impossible to know what is really going on without hands on the plant and ultimately what to do is your choice.

All I can recommend is no rush to judgement. It may very well recover given time or it may not but it doesn't need to be a "season ender". Experiment with it, try some different things before you decide to just rip it out.

Dave

....here's a thought from an amateur. Pick up some Miracle Grow Tomato food and water your plant with that. Perhaps a nutrient deficiency, especially since you haven't rotated in a bit ? A quick emergency water with miracle grow has helped me in the past...and I figure it can't hurt in order to try save your plant?

Good luck.

A nutrient deficiency doesn't cause a plant to keel over in a day or so. Just doesn't work that way. If you mulch heavily, it will keep water in, but it will take forever for water you apply to actually get into the soil. I fight that battle routinely, with several inch mulch.

Haven't had time to do much besides work the last couple of days so the plant is still in the ground.

To clarify - I realize soaker hoses are slow; that's kind of what I want so the water has a chance to go deep instead of ponding up and running off (clay soils are just fun like that). The hose is rated for 0.5 gallon/foot/hour, and I generally water for 2-3 hours at a time. Sudden wilting for me means literally overnight. I've only been growing tomatoes for six years, and I realize I have a lot to learn, but I've never had an entire plant go so limp so fast. Wilting during the day, yeah, it gets hot here in the summer, but the overnight thing seems odd to me. The straw mulch is on top of the hose normally; I had pulled it back to get a good picture of the stem because I thought the brownish areas on the stem right at the soil line might be related (although I really hope not because every plant in the bed has them). I don't think it's a critter digging because I can't see any disturbance from the surface and there's a layer of hardware cloth stapled to the bottom of the raised bed.

It is no longer completely limp, but still has not perked up. Oddly enough, it seemed to wilt down more early this morning after watering, then sort of recover a bit by tonight, but is nowhere near as perky as it was last week. Dropped every blossom it had left, though, so I don't know how much, if any, fruit I'll get from it. Average first frost date here is generally mid-September, so it'll have to recover fast to set anything that has a shot at ripening. Work has me going out of town for 11 days starting next week, so I'll tell my garden-sitter not to feel bad if it dies on her watch.

Thanks for the input, everyone.

Oddly enough, it seemed to wilt down more early this morning after watering, then sort of recover a bit by tonight,

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There is another possibility of water logging, depriving the roots from getting enough oxygen and possibility causing root rot. . This is a strong possibility with clay soil that has poor drainage.

I would refrain from watering for a while to see what happens.

Sey