yellow leaves on my container Black cherry

shellba · July 4, 2010

Hello everyone,
My leaves are turning yellow on my Black cherry in my container. I am thinking that it might be because I missed a watering, and the heat was tremendous. I am sorry I don't have any pictures to post at this time, but was hoping for some suggestions from people who regularly grow in containers. This is an 18 gallon red plastic tub with drain holes in the bottom. Original soil mix was one bag of cow compost mixed with one bag of topsoil, some garden tone, some bone meal, and some bio tone with mychorrizal. I removed a good portion of the leaves that turned yellow, but was wondering if anyone had any advice. Should I fertilize, water a little more?...any advice would be appreciated. I have only fertilized once with miracle grow for tomatos since it appeared as if I had a lot of nitrogen in the beginning (lots of bushy growth, not many flowers). I have been spraying regularly with spray n grow. I was thinking I could probably add some compost to top of the soil as it has seemed to compact down pretty far. I am afraid if i don't do something to help it recover from not being watered it will just keep turning yellow and not produce much for me. I am trying to keep it well watered now. Any advice is most appreciated.

Shelly

rsg2001 · July 5, 2010

Shelly, are you growing other tomatoes in containers with a similar mix? If so, how are they doing in comparison? And how long ago did you plant? How much sun are you getting?

I like to use a lighter mix in containers, e.g. a quarter potting soil, a quarter peat and the rest a container mix like Gardeners Supply Company's plus using a fertilizer designed for tomatoes. The yellow might have come from watering too much -- that mixture you have would be holding a lot of moisture. Or it could be a nitrogen issue with that big amount of compost and the miracle grow. I would not recommend putting any more compost to the top of the soil.

July 4, 2010	#1
shellba Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Derry, PA Posts: 11	yellow leaves on my container Black cherry Hello everyone, My leaves are turning yellow on my Black cherry in my container. I am thinking that it might be because I missed a watering, and the heat was tremendous. I am sorry I don't have any pictures to post at this time, but was hoping for some suggestions from people who regularly grow in containers. This is an 18 gallon red plastic tub with drain holes in the bottom. Original soil mix was one bag of cow compost mixed with one bag of topsoil, some garden tone, some bone meal, and some bio tone with mychorrizal. I removed a good portion of the leaves that turned yellow, but was wondering if anyone had any advice. Should I fertilize, water a little more?...any advice would be appreciated. I have only fertilized once with miracle grow for tomatos since it appeared as if I had a lot of nitrogen in the beginning (lots of bushy growth, not many flowers). I have been spraying regularly with spray n grow. I was thinking I could probably add some compost to top of the soil as it has seemed to compact down pretty far. I am afraid if i don't do something to help it recover from not being watered it will just keep turning yellow and not produce much for me. I am trying to keep it well watered now. Any advice is most appreciated. Shelly

July 5, 2010	#2
rsg2001 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: New York Zone 6 Posts: 479	Shelly, are you growing other tomatoes in containers with a similar mix? If so, how are they doing in comparison? And how long ago did you plant? How much sun are you getting? I like to use a lighter mix in containers, e.g. a quarter potting soil, a quarter peat and the rest a container mix like Gardeners Supply Company's plus using a fertilizer designed for tomatoes. The yellow might have come from watering too much -- that mixture you have would be holding a lot of moisture. Or it could be a nitrogen issue with that big amount of compost and the miracle grow. I would not recommend putting any more compost to the top of the soil.