(no subject)

[serene]

Up at 6, now going back to bed (at 7), which is probably just the juju to make UC Berkeley call me in to work in about five minutes. Have a great day, all.

Rubio the plant has taken over the windowsill. I should take photos. Oh, and my tomato plant has yellow, curling leaves. What am I doing wrong? (I still haven't gotten the moisture meter, klwalton -- haven't had a moment to spare. If they don't call me in today, I'm off to OSH. I so want these tomatoes -- dozens of them -- to survive, ripen, and die a violent death in my salad. Or something.)

Comments

[bayarts.livejournal.com]

Sounds like your tomato growing experience matches my own. They are supposed to be so hearty and easy to grow, but I've never had much luck with 'em.

anyway....

Hope you get some good Zzzzzz's and that you have a loverly day, sweets!

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

Are you "feeding" them tomato food in their water at least once a week? Are you watering them every day? Those are the two things I know of that could cause that.

If you are, the other thing is that maybe your plant is putting all its energy into producing flowers and fruit right now, and the leaves are going to pot. That happens to me sometimes, too.

-J

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Wait - are you saying that watering every day and fertilizing every week is too much, or is the right thing?

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

It's the right thing.

-J

[hobbitbabe.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I've missed the fertilizing lately, so I'll be sure to do that again.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Hm. Are these tomatoes in containers? If so, then the daily watering is a Good Thing, because containers dry out awfully fast.

If they're in the ground ... maybe not. Overwatering can cause yellowing, too, as well as stem rot.

My sister, the horticulturist (who was able to grow tomatoes in Scotland, to the surprise of her neighbors) recommends watering deeply, but infrequently, to encourage root development and strong stems. I drip-irrigate mine for 7-8 hours (overnight), but only every 3-4 days unless it's very hot and/or windy.

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was assuming they were in containers ... sorry.

-J

[lyrical1.livejournal.com]

Mine are doing the same thing. I moved one, becuase I thought I was getting too much heat from the AC, but it hasn't helped. I'm going to keep my eyes out here to see what folks say....

[maestrodog.livejournal.com]

Yellow leaves usually indicate lack of light, not moisture. Tomato plants need tons of sunshine and warmth, not a whole lot of water, and indoor lights are usually insufficient to grow tomatoes. If your plant is in a corner where the sun doesn't hit it much, move it to where the sun will get it most of the day.

[pameladean]

Yellow in the lowest leaves doesn't mean much in a vigorous plant; they're probably being shaded out by the rest of it. Yellow overall is a problem. Jae is right about the watering for container plants, and tomatoes are terrible water hogs. What I'd do, in addition to the other excellent suggestions above, is to make it some compost tea. This is both a fertilizer and a remarkable stew of cures for various fungal or viral ills.

If you have gardeners as friends, maybe they'd give you a cup or two of compost. I can see that buying a 20-pound bag of might seem excessive, though it's always good as a top-dressing for almost any plant.

P.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

I have composted and fed the plant, but I may be underfeeding -- the box on the organic tomato food says every 6 weeks. I think I'll give it a new feeding even though the last time was only a couple of weeks ago. You think?

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

I'm getting leaf curl, too, and a few yellow leaves. Could be over-watering. But the plants are setting fruit and seem to be doing well otherwise, so I'm not worrying overmuch.

Are they bottom leaves or new leaves which are exhibiting the yellowing?

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

The leaves that are yellow are mostly the interior ones, which I read just means they're not getting enough sun. But I think I was underwatering out of fear of overwatering, and I may be underfertilizing. And I have LOTS of bugs on the plant, but I've decided that this first tomato bush is an experiment, so I'll just keep watching it and see if the dozens, maybe hundreds, of baby tomatoes I have are gonna go anywhere.

Pics later if I remember. :-)