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Tomato leaves curling and spotted

9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago


Can someone help with these pics please? I also posted a pic of pepper plant leaf that's spotted. All are in either pots or homemade boxes. I know, the pots are probably on the small size, but that's what I could make work. First time planting in boxes and pots. Am I overwatering? It's been hot here lately (90's) and I think I'm watering too much (daily)...also trimmed the bottom stems within past week so trying to figure out what's going on and what I might need to do differently. Thanks for any help

Comments (4)

  • 9 years ago

    Physiological Leaf Roll is a response to stress. And your plants are in containers that are too small and don't hold moisture well, so they are going to be very stressed.

    As for the spots, they look like some kind of burn. Did you recently spray the plants with something? Or perhaps recently move them outside into direct sunlight from either indoors or from a more shaded location?

    Also, what is your location, and how old are your plants?

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks for the reply. We're in Maryland. Weather has been hot recently (90's) and plants were actually doing pretty well but we went on vacation for a week and when we came back we noticed the leaves curling and the spots. Haven't sprayed anything, so don't know what may be causing the spots. Yeah I didn't know how well those size containers would work, we were giving them a try since it was first time using containers and we had a lot of plants. Probably have 10 tomatoes in those containers and 6 in a box with more soil. (Box is around 3ft W x 6ft L x 2ft deep.) those plants are probably 3.5-4ft tall and were doing really well. The container plants are only about 1/2 that size.

    We started them all from seed, and they have been in the dirt for about 2 months now. Like I said, they were doing pretty well and looking healthy up to this point. Maybe the hot weather and inconsistent watering is the cause then? Aside from the size of the containers.

  • 9 years ago

    *as far as the plants in the boxes with spots...neighbor did some concrete work across the fence while we were on vacation last week. Maybe some dust from the bags blew over onto the plants and burned them?? That's the only thing I can think of. Think that's possible? The other plants were far enough away maybe they didn't get hit by it. Just guessing, this may be what burned them

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    <neighbor did some concrete work across the fence while we were on vacation last week. Maybe some dust from the bags blew over onto the plants and burned them??>

    That could do it. While I have no direct experience with concrete dust on my plants, concrete dust is extremely alkaline and burns skin all the time. If concrete dust got on your plants and then it rained lightly or you had heavy dew so that the concrete residue beaded up and pooled in droplets that beaded and pooled on foliage, that could definitely cause burn that looks exactly like what you have.

    Luckily, the situation, while cosmetically annoying, isn't dire the way weed killer drift from a neighbor would be. Just prune off the damaged foliage, and new foliage will be healthy unless repeat exposure happens.

    <Like I said, they were doing pretty well and looking healthy up to this point. Maybe the hot weather and inconsistent watering is the cause then? Aside from the size of the containers.>

    I wouldn't "aside" the container size. That's probably the major thing. 90 degrees is normal summer for the mid-Atlantic and tomatoes in adequate growing conditions should be doing do quite well in those temps. The larger plants' root systems get, the more stress they experience in too-small containers.

    Those plants are already very stuntedfor plants that have been in their final pots for 2 months, and it's almost certainly most due to the container size. What are their varieties? Unless they are very small dwarf plants that top out, they will do increasingly poorly in such small containers.

    They're still manageable enough to pot up into larger containers, and in MD, you still have time for the plants to recover from the overcrowding and give you some fruit before frost. How large the pots need to be depends on what varieties they are and how large those varieties can be expected to get. What are they?

    As for the plants in the box, that's a good-sized box, but 6 is too crowded. What are the varieties in the box? What you should do will depend on those varieties' growth habits.

    Also, be aware that container plants require regular and frequent fertilizing, preferably with liquid fertilizer. If you're not doing so, expect your plants to go downhill very quickly once they start setting fruit, even when they're moved to containers that are large enough for them.

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