Yellowing Leaves on new Roma tomato plant HELP!

chapmattman · July 10, 2012

Hi all-
I am new to the forums, but am glad I found them.

I just moved to Los Angeles and what better way to treat myself to the good weather than to start a balcony garden.

I bought a pepper plant, lettuce trays, herbs and spices, etc, and most are doing well, but my Tomato plant does not seem to be doing well.

It was about 1/2 foot tall when I got it (appx 2 months ago). It is now about a foot and has some fruit on it, but it is beginning to Yellow.

I potted it in a 1 foot square pot and used fertilized soil (can't remember the brand), and once a month added a cap of fish fertilizer to the general can of water, per my friend's suggestion. There is one hole at the bottom of the planter which allows excess water to drain.

It is summer here in LA, and the plant has gone from being under a little bit of a screen at the store to my balcony, which is direct sunlight for about 6 hours a day. I could move it to a place with a little less sun?

I water it every day.

Here is a pic from one week ago when the site was down (I was trying to register than)

From one week ago

upload images

And from Today.

photo hosting

I can see it is getting worse...
Any thoughts? Do I need to tie up the branches, aerate the soil? Is it too hot (it is LA here)..

Thanks!
Chap

chapmattman · July 10, 2012

The fish fertilizer I used was Liquinox and had 5% Nitrogen, 1% Phosphate, and 1% Potash

RayR · July 10, 2012

Why do you water it every day? Does it dry out every day?
What kind of soil are you using?

chapmattman · July 10, 2012

I use the standard tap water. The top of the soil is normally dry, though I rooted around in there a little today to air it out, and it was still moist from yesterday.

The potting soil I got was from OSH (Orhcard) brand Natural Organic Potting soil. It says ideal for vegetables and gardens.

RayR · July 10, 2012

As long as the roots aren't drowning in water, that's OK. The plant looks to me to be in some stress, maybe the heat has something to do with it. I don't know how hot it's getting on the balcony during the hottest part of the day, but check the soil temperature if you can, roots maybe overheating. A little shade might help.
I get some of that yellowing and crispy leaves on some of my in-ground plants, but we haven't had any rain to speak of in weeks and it's been hot during the day. Your's is spreading up the plant pretty severely though.
The Liquinox fish emulsion is fine but you are lacking in phosphorus and potassium there for the bloom and fruiting stage. I use fish and seaweed fertilizers all the time, but more so as a supplement for an occasional soil drench and a foiliar spray.
For a main fertilizer, a granular fertilizer for vegetables mixed into the soil will provide a wider variety of major, secondary and micro nutrients over the growing season that your plants aren't getting now. For organic gardening, Espoma Tomato-Tone or Dr. Earth Organic 5 are good choices.
You could add some more potting soil to the top, it probably settled a bit since you potted it up.

chapmattman · July 11, 2012

Yeah it is getting pretty hot out there during the days now. I will try moving the plant to a shadier place. I'll look for a middle ground screen that I can hang, as it is around 100 degrees during the day now.

I'll try the other fertilizers. Is the plant beyond salvage? I hope not.

Chap

walkinggin · July 11, 2012

Every year I get that same yellowing on at least some of my plants both in ground and those in pots so I doubt it is the potting mix you used. It never kills them but can defoliate them pretty badly. In the last few years I have been doing preventative spraying every 5-7 days with organic fungicides such as Greencure and Actinovate, this seems to have helped but hasn't prevented it completely. Occasionally the yellowing has progressed so rapidly that I've resorted to spraying with diluted bleach which tends to make the plant look even worse afterwards but they recover well. There are numerous threads here discussing the use of bleach as a last resort fungicide. As to watering, I am currently watering my potted tomatoes every day each 5 gallon grow bag gets about 1/3 gallon of water.

ginny

July 10, 2012	#1
chapmattman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 5	Yellowing Leaves on new Roma tomato plant HELP! Hi all- I am new to the forums, but am glad I found them. I just moved to Los Angeles and what better way to treat myself to the good weather than to start a balcony garden. I bought a pepper plant, lettuce trays, herbs and spices, etc, and most are doing well, but my Tomato plant does not seem to be doing well. It was about 1/2 foot tall when I got it (appx 2 months ago). It is now about a foot and has some fruit on it, but it is beginning to Yellow. I potted it in a 1 foot square pot and used fertilized soil (can't remember the brand), and once a month added a cap of fish fertilizer to the general can of water, per my friend's suggestion. There is one hole at the bottom of the planter which allows excess water to drain. It is summer here in LA, and the plant has gone from being under a little bit of a screen at the store to my balcony, which is direct sunlight for about 6 hours a day. I could move it to a place with a little less sun? I water it every day. Here is a pic from one week ago when the site was down (I was trying to register than) From one week ago upload images And from Today. photo hosting I can see it is getting worse... Any thoughts? Do I need to tie up the branches, aerate the soil? Is it too hot (it is LA here).. Thanks! Chap

July 10, 2012	#3
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	Why do you water it every day? Does it dry out every day? What kind of soil are you using?

July 11, 2012	#6
chapmattman Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 5	Yeah it is getting pretty hot out there during the days now. I will try moving the plant to a shadier place. I'll look for a middle ground screen that I can hang, as it is around 100 degrees during the day now. I'll try the other fertilizers. Is the plant beyond salvage? I hope not. Chap

July 11, 2012	#7
walkinggin Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Burbank, CA Posts: 196	Every year I get that same yellowing on at least some of my plants both in ground and those in pots so I doubt it is the potting mix you used. It never kills them but can defoliate them pretty badly. In the last few years I have been doing preventative spraying every 5-7 days with organic fungicides such as Greencure and Actinovate, this seems to have helped but hasn't prevented it completely. Occasionally the yellowing has progressed so rapidly that I've resorted to spraying with diluted bleach which tends to make the plant look even worse afterwards but they recover well. There are numerous threads here discussing the use of bleach as a last resort fungicide. As to watering, I am currently watering my potted tomatoes every day each 5 gallon grow bag gets about 1/3 gallon of water. ginny