novice gardner with tomato issues

pyxiestix · May 30, 2009

hi

new here & i'm hoping you all can help me.

i've just planted my tomatoes about a week & a half ago (greenhouse started - we bought them @ about 4-5 inches tall) i have roma, hillbilly, celebrity & sweet millions. i noticed a couple days after planting that they looked odd...the edges are turning white & drying out & eventually killing the whole leaf. some have suggested sunburn but new growth is doing the same thing. others have suggested powdery mildew - but there's nothing powdery about this & it looks nothing like the pics i've seen of it. i'd love to find out what's going on soon - it seems to be spreading...i've noticed a few white spots on my watermelons planted near by. we live in central ohio (zone 5 i think).

it's getting worse & it's much more widespread than it was when i took the pics a couple days ago.

HELP!!!

aninocentangel · May 30, 2009

Did you harden them off before planting them outside?
It looks a little bit like the leaves are sunburned.

ContainerTed · May 30, 2009

From the second picture, the new growth in the tops looks fine. I had something similiar last month and it wasn't sunburn, it was light frost burn from the temperature dipping to 34F (our crack weather team had predicted 44F).

If this is the case, the plants are already showing you that they are recovering.

Tell us about the temperatures since you put these plants in.

Ted

pyxiestix · May 30, 2009

i didn't harden them intentionally - they sat on my porch for about 4 days in partial sun/shade before i could get the tiller from my MiL.

it got fairly cold (probably just below 40F) once before they were in the ground but i brought them in the house that night (granted, it was in the 40's before i was able to get home & do that). but, since then, we've been no lower than 50 at night.

i looked at them this morning & some of nice green leaves (larger ones not the very top) seem to be getting white tips but none of the very new growth.

i hate to sound paranoid & be a pain but, last year the few plants i did plant totally died. i got one zucchini, a handful of cherry tomatoes & not a single regular tomato or pepper

Barbee · May 30, 2009

Are you getting a good bit of rain? When the sun pops out after a heavy rain, it will sometimes scald the leaves where the water lays.
Last year's zuchinni that died, did it show the same symptoms or was something else going on? I ask because other than stink bugs, it's sort of hard to kill a zuchinni

ContainerTed · May 30, 2009

How about your soil prep? Amendments (manure, compost, lime, etc.)? Fertilizers (what and how much)?

Also, any walnut, sweet gum, or hickory trees nearby?

Watering and drainage? Is the soil wet and has it been wet for a long period?

Ted

pyxiestix · May 30, 2009

we've only had rain for the last 2 days & i did water them a couple times but i was careful to do it before the sun was over the trees or after dark.

the zucchini last year turned yellow. if got soft & the few pitiful babies that we on it just rotted away. i don't know if it was location (we've moved the garden this year) or if i just got really unlucky. there was no evidence of bugs that i saw.

my 3 pitiful tomato plants last year couldn't keep a blossom on to save their lives (come to think of it the zucchini had that problem too) the flowers would drop off before they even started wilting.

pyxiestix · May 30, 2009

um soil prep? *looks guilty*

we're really new to this so there really wasn't any. i plan on starting a compost pile this year (going to have hubby get me some broken wooden grocery skids to nail together for a box) & use grass clippings & maybe some horse manure in it. going to try & till in the compost before winter. is there anything else i should be doing?

unrelated but - i'll wave at you, ted, when we drive by in july - my parents live SW of atlanta in douglasville

Barbee · May 30, 2009

Interesting about the zuke.
Do you have heavy clay Ohio soil? You know the kind that sticks to your shoes and dries hard as a rock?

pyxiestix · May 30, 2009

no, there's not a lot of clay around us.

Blueaussi · May 30, 2009

Have you fertilized the plants? If you're sure it's not sunburn, could you have burned them with too much fertilizer?

And have you or any of your neighbors used any herbicides recently?

pyxiestix · May 30, 2009

oh & no walnut or other type trees nearby (forgot that part).

the only thing i've done is use a little bloodmeal. omg that stuff stinks. and we're pretty far out in the country...neighbors are barely within yelling distance.

and i'm not sure of anything...lol i don't know that i have my mother's green thumb.

Blueaussi · May 30, 2009

Ok, I'm thinking that maybe the blood meal, which is high in nitrogen, is interfering in the uptake up other nutrients. I would suggest getting a complete fertilizer, one that says it has all the micro-nutrients as well as the macro-nutrients, and see if that doesn't correct some of your problems.

TZ-OH6 · May 30, 2009

It looks like there is alot of fresh organic matter in your soil. As the soil warms this time of years it activates bacteria that feed on the organic matter and pull nitrogen away from the plants. In addition you may also be seeing yellowing from higher light levels than the plant is used to. Nitrogen, again is the answer to greening them up so a shot of liquid fertilizer might really help the plants until they can get enough roots out to forage for nutrients better.

ContainerTed · May 30, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by pyxiestix

unrelated but - i'll wave at you, ted, when we drive by in july - my parents live SW of atlanta in douglasville

Assuming you will be on I-75, as you pass Marietta, wave to the left, and think about me waving back.

Ted

May 30, 2009	#3
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	From the second picture, the new growth in the tops looks fine. I had something similiar last month and it wasn't sunburn, it was light frost burn from the temperature dipping to 34F (our crack weather team had predicted 44F). If this is the case, the plants are already showing you that they are recovering. Tell us about the temperatures since you put these plants in. Ted __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

May 30, 2009	#5
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	Are you getting a good bit of rain? When the sun pops out after a heavy rain, it will sometimes scald the leaves where the water lays. Last year's zuchinni that died, did it show the same symptoms or was something else going on? I ask because other than stink bugs, it's sort of hard to kill a zuchinni __________________ *Barbee*

May 30, 2009	#6
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	How about your soil prep? Amendments (manure, compost, lime, etc.)? Fertilizers (what and how much)? Also, any walnut, sweet gum, or hickory trees nearby? Watering and drainage? Is the soil wet and has it been wet for a long period? Ted __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

May 30, 2009	#9
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	Interesting about the zuke. Do you have heavy clay Ohio soil? You know the kind that sticks to your shoes and dries hard as a rock? __________________ *Barbee*

May 30, 2009	#2
aninocentangel Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: 8a Coastal SC Posts: 251	Did you harden them off before planting them outside? It looks a little bit like the leaves are sunburned.

May 30, 2009	#4
pyxiestix Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2009 Location: central Ohio Posts: 11	i didn't harden them intentionally - they sat on my porch for about 4 days in partial sun/shade before i could get the tiller from my MiL. it got fairly cold (probably just below 40F) once before they were in the ground but i brought them in the house that night (granted, it was in the 40's before i was able to get home & do that). but, since then, we've been no lower than 50 at night. i looked at them this morning & some of nice green leaves (larger ones not the very top) seem to be getting white tips but none of the very new growth. i hate to sound paranoid & be a pain but, last year the few plants i did plant totally died. i got one zucchini, a handful of cherry tomatoes & not a single regular tomato or pepper

May 30, 2009	#11
Blueaussi Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Carolina Zone 8a Posts: 1,205	Have you fertilized the plants? If you're sure it's not sunburn, could you have burned them with too much fertilizer? And have you or any of your neighbors used any herbicides recently?

May 30, 2009	#14
TZ-OH6 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Mid-Ohio Posts: 850	It looks like there is alot of fresh organic matter in your soil. As the soil warms this time of years it activates bacteria that feed on the organic matter and pull nitrogen away from the plants. In addition you may also be seeing yellowing from higher light levels than the plant is used to. Nitrogen, again is the answer to greening them up so a shot of liquid fertilizer might really help the plants until they can get enough roots out to forage for nutrients better.