Software
Houzz Logo Print
regaldozer

Why do I get yellow leaves and Brown tips?

9 years ago

On other wise healthy plants?

Comments (17)

  • 9 years ago

    Is it just this plant?

  • 9 years ago

    No, most.....

  • 9 years ago

    What variety is that? When did you plant it out? How do you water/fertilize?

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    That looks like blight. You can stay ahead of it by cutting off all the yellowed leaves, all the leaves near the ground, and applying a non-soil mulch under the plants. Blight stays in soil and splashes up onto leaves. Keep at this and you might beat it. However, your plants already look like they are completely infected. There are poisons and other sprays people use, but I don't. Next year, keep cutting off lower leaves up to 18 inches above ground and mulch early. Works for me.

  • 9 years ago

    Thanks, sad. I use soaker watering and the soil is good. I use Osmicote granular fertilizer.

    What do you use for mulch?

  • 9 years ago

    I'm kinda bummed. I feel like i want to spray. I have Bonide Fungo-nil. Would that be appropriate?

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    First, characterizing all fungicides as "poisons" is ideological, not factual.

    Second, "blight" isn't a precise term. You may have early blight (Alternaria solani), although the appearance is somewhat atypical (which happens a lot). You may also have drought stress or overwatering stress, both of which can look a lot like fungal disease.

    The reason I asked my questions about plant-out date and variety is that your plant looks very small for this point in the season if it's an average indeterminate tomato. This could indicate problems with nutrition, which can also show up in leaf foliage looking like disease.

    It's very possible you have early blight, bacterial spot, grey mold, water stress, or combinations of these. With more information about your practices, we could give better advice rather than to just give up.

    If it's early blight, it can in many cases be manageable. It's not to be confused with late blight (Phythophthora infestans), which is in most cases a rapid death sentence and true emergency and looks nothing like what is shown in your photos.

    Please let us know the following:
    1) How much and how often you fertilize
    2) How you determine when you water and how much
    3) What is the tomato variety in the photo?
    4) When did you plant it out?
    5) When did you start seeing symptoms?
    6) What, if anything, have you been doing thus far to manage the issue?

  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Regaldozer, (I can only imagine the source of your name!) I use partially composted leaf/grass mulch.

    Gorbelly, I said, "There are poisons and OTHER SPRAYS people use." I never said fungicides are poison. Never used the word fungicide.

  • 9 years ago

    regaldozer, please also specify your location. Not just your zone. We don't need the name of your town, but something that gives us an idea about your growing season and normal conditions.

  • 9 years ago

    Rockland County my. 30 mi. NW of NYC. Have not fertilized. Soaker hoses daily in AM when no rain.

    Sorry for misreading about chemicals. I Try to be organic. And I was a little down.

    The garden only gets 8 hrs of sun. This plan was set out about 3 weeks ago. Everything else June 1st.

    Cukes, eggplant, sunflower, beans all doing well.....

  • 9 years ago

    Please post pics of some of your other tomato plants. Include pics of the whole plant and a few closeups of damaged foliage as well. A plant set out in July in your area is not going to be a good representative of the state of your tomatoes.

  • 9 years ago

    How long are you running the soaker hose in the AM/how much volume of water?

    And how much fertilizer/how often?

  • 9 years ago

    Will post pics when I get home. 50 min at 530 am if no rain in 24 hrs. No idea of volume. No ferrilizer

  • 9 years ago


  • 9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    I think you just have some early blight. Possibly botrytis, but most likely EB. As I said before, it's a manageable problem. Start spraying a fungicide weekly until the end of the season, and prune off any yellowing or spotted foliage immediately as soon as you see it. Don't leave the prunings in the garden or compost them (unless you hot-compost and know that the temps get high enough to kill pathogens). Throw them away immediately.

    As for fungicide choice, all the info in the 4th post in this thread applies to you as well, as the response to many common fungal or bacterial foliar diseases is essentially the same.

    You are watering way too frequently for in-ground plants. You should water deeply and slowly but no more than every three days in your location. Don't go according to a set schedule but by conditions in your soil. Dig down a few inches in your beds, and if it's still dry a few inches down, then it's time to water.

    And if you haven't been fertilizing at all, your plants would most likely benefit from a dose of fertilizer now. Unless you have been heavily amending your soil with lots of organic matter for at least a year or so, tomatoes usually benefit from fertilizer. Next year, consider getting a soil test done by a lab before the start of your growing season. Your county extension will usually provide low-cost tests. Don't use home test kits, which are notorious for being wildly inaccurate.

    Re: mulch materials, compost, and manure-- whatever you use, always do a bioassay to rule out herbicide contamination first before applying any of these substances from outside your control, i.e. any bought mulch/manure/compost or compost made with materials from someone else's yard. Here's how: https://www.rodalesorganiclife.com/garden/do-you-need-test-your-compost-contaminants

    Good luck. Your season isn't over, you don't need to give up, and everything there looks perfectly salvageable/manageable to me.

  • 9 years ago

    Recommended fertilizer?

  • 9 years ago

    Growing in-ground gives you a lot of choices. Personally, I'd just get a tomato-specific fertilizer that's on sale. If no sales, something like Tomato Tone will work well. You can also use it on all your fruiting veg--just supplement with a little extra nitrogen for squash, peppers, etc. I use Texas Tomato Food, and I usually have some fish emulsion lying around, so I supplement with fish fertilizer for my squash, peppers, and eggplant. TTF is great but more expensive than you probably need and usually requires ordering over the Internet.

Sponsored
More Discussions