Tomato Plants

[kawallace]

We just planted about 50 tomato plants about two weeks ago and all the leaves are starting to turn yellow and black. We started these plants indoors and have mulched and apply water ever other day if no rain (which has been scarce). We live in NW North Carolina just over the South Carolina border. Any and all suggestions on what we can do to bring these plants back to health would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. The corn and Beans we planted at the same time are doing fine.

Wally

 

[BobT]

Are they turning black on the tips?

BobT.
A Indiana Boy

 

[kawallace]

BobTthe leaves first turn yellow then start to turn black on the whole leaf. Hope this helps. Wally

 

[BobT]

Wally,

There are quite a few potential causes for your problems -- insects, bacteria, virus, cultivation problems, etc.

I suggets you go here http://is.rice.edu/~shel/tomato.html for a comprehensive description most all of the diseases that affect tomatoes.

I also would suggest clipping a few of the leaves or stems that are most typical of the problem, and take them to your local nursery. Likely they will be familiar with the cause, and suggest the solution. Without actually seeing the problem, I would only be guessing ... and guessing.

BobT.
A Indiana Boy

 

[RJohnson]

I would check for spider mites. They are tiny insects about the diameter of a pin. Place a white sheet of paper under the leaves and tap the leaves and see if any little specks that move around are spider mites. You will have to use an approved insecticide to kill them.

Good Luck,
Randy

 

[Anonymous Poster]

I had that same problem last year. I concluded it was either too much water (I had the garden in a low spot and it rained a lot last spring, so I moved the garden to higher ground this year) or not enough fertilizer (I forgot to fertilize the garden last year, normally I put 12-12-12 on before tilling). Part of the water problem was that we had about a 2 week period with no rain, then it started raining and wouldn't quit. I've heard tomato plants need a steady consistent watering. The plants were also drooping, are yours doing that? I added some 12-12-12 and it finally stopped raining and they recovered somewhat, but never produced real well. I looked for insects and never saw any.

 

[BobT]

Danny Y,

I was going to mention overwatering as a possible cause in my first post. I worked as manager of a large nursery years ago, and this was a very common cause of people killing plants of all kinds. Usually the tips turn brown first, then the whole leaf dies, essentially from suffocation. With the roots logged in water, there is no oxygen. Also, over-fertilizing will cause a similar set of symptoms. People put on steer manure or other fertilizer that is too fresh, and it will "burn" the roots and kill the plant. The mite problem also mentioned could cause similar signs. If all of the plants have the same symptoms at once, it is more likely to be a problem with water or fertilizer. Insects will go from plant to plant, usually.

This is why I suggested he take a few sample clippings to a nursery. I would imagine they can tell him right off what the cause is.

BobT.
A Indiana Boy

 

[RJohnson]

DannyY,
Even though tomatoes like lots of water they do not like "wet feet". Tomatoes will wilt from too much water just like they will when not getting enough water. I plant mine on hills or raised beds and that way the ground can drain if it rains too much like it has in the last few days. I have black gumbo clay soil so when it does not drain well it makes a great swamp/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif and the tomatoes start wilting.

Randy

 

[Anonymous Poster]

It should be interesting to see what happens this year. I moved my garden to a much drier spot, plus we've had almost no rain for over a month, so the only water they're getting is what I provide with a hose! BobT, what part of Indiana are you from? Do you still live there? Randy, that makes sense about lack of oxygen. My old garden was so wet it had standing water in places and was muddy everywhere else. I had to lay 2x6's along side the plants to stand on, or I would sink down halfway to my knees! This year, it's been so dry that even that area is dry. I was digging some holes with a shovel to plant some trees and in places I had to stand on the shovel with both feet and jump up and down to get the shovel to penetrate. Once I got down about 8" it was a little better, but still pretty dry. I probably picked a bad year to plant trees.

 

[kawallace]

BobT thanks for the web site, I checked it out and found it quite useful. I think overwatering might be the problem as I had been hand watering every other day and now will try every third day. Also I don't have the best soil as this is the first year for a garden in this location, so the soil needs lots of TLC. I was in Muncie last Monday and Tuesday visiting my daughter who is attending Ball State Graduate School, are you located near by ? Wally