Nutrient Deficient? :O( Purple + wasting away. Jungle Growth mix.

[soleado]

Hello,

I'm writing about a problem I'm having. This year is the first time I've started tomato seeds. I started out several types of tomatoes in cells in Professional Jiffy Mix under lights. They did well and were happy. Then, I transplanted them into plastic cups (w/ holes in the bottom) with Jungle Growth Professional Flower & Vegetable mix (.20 - .22 - .20). After transplanting them, over time they began to look unhealthy. The leaves are yellowed, entirely purple on the bottom, some are curled upward, some are crisp and burnt looking the tips and even some have light brown dots on the bottom side. They are outside now, as our weather has been in the seventies often. I live in NW GA. Do you think it could be a nutrient deficiency? Does anyone have any experience with tomato seedlings and this mix or a type like it?

Any hints or suggestions are appreciated,

Jonathan.

[soleado]

I'd also like to add that I took a plant out of the pot to look at the roots. They look fine... not rotten, or bound. I did not fertilize with anything when transplanting them from the starter mix to the other soil. Could this be the culprit? I have taken six and fertilized three with a small amount of a 10-10-10 granular slow-release fertilizer (I dislike using it - prefer more organic methods, and only have it because I made a homemade Earthbox and the instructions called for a strip of slow-release granular) and the other three with a 0-10-10 fish emulsion that I have.

[dice]

The 0-10-10 sounds like Alaska brand blossom booster.
That is probably the right stuff for the ones with the
purple leaves (purple often means phosphorus deficiency,
although it could be other things).

Could they be too wet in the larger pots? (Tips of leaves
dieing is often a symptom of that.)

Here are some good pictures of mineral deficiency
symptoms:

http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=5&id=289

(This kind of problem can be hard to correct in a planting
mix that really holds water well, because you need to wait
for it to dry before adding anything more to the soil.)

[soleado]

Dice,

You're right. The 0-10-10 is Alaska brand blossom booster. I had found that same site earlier. The different deficiencies favor each other so much sometimes in the photos (to me). Hopefully if it's a phosphorous deficiency, when I put them in the ground, that problem will be remedied. Our clay soil seems to have more phosphorous than nitrogen or potassium.

Here's hoping that time will tell if the Alaska or granular help. :O)O)O).

[coronabarb]

"The leaves are yellowed, entirely purple on the bottom, some are curled upward, some are crisp and burnt looking the tips and even some have light brown dots on the bottom side."

I can only share from my own experience. One year, when I transplanted the seedlings to individual pots, I used a cheap 'potting soil'. It had a lot of woody pieces in it. My plants did just what you describe above. They stopped growing too. I replanted in the seed starting medium (peat moss, perlite) and they recovered. I don't know if the decaying wood is the culprit, but I avoid it now for seedlings.

[dice]

The pH could be off in the Jungle Growth to the extent that
even though it has phosporus, none of it is available to the
plant. (Hence the purple.)

The woody chunks in ordinary potting soils can cause
"nitrogen drawdown", where bacteria suck up all of the
nitrogen in the soil trying to digest the wood. In that case,
though, the leaves usually show clear symptoms of nitrogen
deficiency. (Not a problem for most casual gardener's
houseplants, because they overfertilize anyway. The chunky
stuff lasts longer before it is all broken down to fine silt
and they have to repot.)

It does sound like a container mix that is simply not
very close to what Tomato plants like, and repotting them
in something else might be the fastest way to make them
healthy again.

[soleado]

Thank you so very much for your suggestions. I have around 28 of the problem plants. I will take some and pot them in a different growing mix. I have also noted that some other plants I've grown (mostly herbs) seem to be dwarfed in it. Thank you. :O)O)O).

[kelleyville]

I sure would like to know if that fixes your problem! I have been using Jungle Growth for years and never had a problem with it. I suppose there could be an off batch? But now that I think of it in my raised beds last year, I mixed topsoil, peat, jungle growth, manure and a bunch of other stuff...however my pots all got jungle growth or that miracle grow dirt. I did not like the miricle grow dirt at all because it compacts to hard too fast for my liking Jungle growth stays nice and soft