Older Tomato Plants

[AlittleSalt]

I have thoughts and questions about tomato plants that I have not found reliable answers about online. My main question is about older tomato plants, but before asking, I would like to say/write a few other things.

Everything I write about tomatoes is about tomatoes growing outside in a garden with open air, rain, wind, etc.

Any plant (Tomato or other) grown in ideal situations outdoors is going to produce a better plant and produce than the same variety being grown in an area where it is stressed to grow. (I.E. Black tomatoes grow and taste better in hot sunny climates like Texas - than they do in the northern US and Canada.) Some may disagree.

I have also noticed that healthy young tomato plants growing seem to have a built-in resistance to a lot of problems gardeners write about here.

I'm wondering if older plants lose their built-in resistance to blights, diseases, and molds? In human terms - maybe they cannot fight off the common cold anymore?

For 5 years now, I've seen this happen in our gardens. Young healthy plants withstand draught, floods, 70 MPH winds - even hailstorms. Older plants seem to catch whatever is going around and they don't make it through.

My question is more of a thought process. I need to stop and understand this better - "Just because" is not an answer.

[Worth1]

Salt,
Tomato plants are like us, they get old and beat up and sometimes give up.
That's about the best answer I can give.
Worth

[b54red]

I agree with Worth. They also gradually weaken due to the stress of producing over a long time just like we do. They also get chronic illnesses like nematodes and fusarium that gradually weaken them.

I gave my older plants a double shot of TTF to try to jump start them again. I feed them heavily at the recommended rate and then 3 days later did it again. It seems to be helping but to make them look much better I need to spend a lot of time removing old stems and leaves and it is just too hot right now to do that; but I am hoping for the best. If I can keep them somewhat healthy until it cools off they may do okay. My youngest plants are looking pretty good considering the heat and are setting fruit pretty good. That is why I stagger plant. No matter how well you maintain your plants once they get to a certain stage in life they just don't seem to have the ability to produce good fruit in abundance like a younger plant.

Bill

[zipcode]

I don't think it has to do with age specifically. It is true that they are unusually resistant. I had a young plant that was a volunteer, it as a bad late blight year, everything around it was dying, it did great, until it started to have fruit, then it was almost insta death.
I think too many of the good things are transferred to the fruit in detriment to the leaves.

[AlittleSalt]

I agree with all three of you, It took me 30 minutes to trim dead or dying leaf parts from 4 plants this morning. And yes, it's too hot and humid.

[Lindalana]

I think switching into production mode changes things for tomato plant and makes it more prone to diseases. This is why they recommend spray with fungicide as soon as you plant out. Likely spores sit on a plant and wait for opportunity. Matter of which microbes wins.
Just like young healthy adult is less likely to get a flu but young adult with lack of sleep, poor diet and lots of stress is going to get it.
Thus- I do believe that working with plants maintaining their restorative powers and " immune response" is going to be main road in agriculture.
I have observed significant ability to restore damage better with EM/ I get concentrate from SCD and brew my own for pennies/
This year aspirin water seems to be making a difference too.

[BigVanVader]

I just topped and pruned mine fairly drastically then fertilized. My hope is that they will send out new tips from the bottom which will be ready to produce when it cools off a bit here. My plants were hitting the 12 ft mark and I'm sick of trying to deal with it so I figured it was time to experiment. Most of my production from early in the season is ripening now as well and with the heatwave we had several plants aren't setting well if at all. I'm trying to get everything to ripen in the next week or 2, then let the plants recover during August. Plus that will give me time to get my winter crops started instead of picking/pruning/weeding tomatoes daily. Either way I have gotten tons of tomatoes this year and I am sure they will be fine.

[Worth1]

I haven't even been outside to look at the plants, the last time I was there I ate about 50 Sungolds.

I have too many to eat by myself and not enough to process.
I am sick and tired of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.
As a matter of fact I am sick of food and am only eating enough to survive.

Worth

[PaulF]

Everything stated makes sense to me. Here's my take on the topic: Plants, especially annuals have a life cycle that is easy to observe. Perennials last longer but still have a life span. Tomatoes in my zone are definitely annuals and are programmed to last a season. Their reproduction cycle mandates that fruit be produced and the seeds will continue the line.

Here's the rub for me. By the time I sow the seeds in February or March, grow them out, harden them off, plant them, take care of the plants, harvest, save seeds, etc. etc, I am ready for a break and the old plants can go when they are ready with no complaint from me. I have lost young plants and middle-aged plants and old plants. That's the way it goes. There is always next year.