light green / slightly yellow leaves on Gold Medal

fireman949 · April 25, 2013

Hi Tomato friends!

I have 3 tomatoes this year - A "big box" Park's Whopper from Bonnie, a BeefSteak that I started from seed, and a Gold Medal that I started from seed.

My Park's Whopper seems to be doing well, but my from-seed transplants are getting a little yellow / neon green and don't seem to be growing as rapidly as I'd expect them to.

I've attached a pic of the Gold Medal and the Park's Whopper for reference.

I'm growing in cinderblock raised beds (16" deep) with a mix of peat moss, cotton burr compost, and rice hull. I'm using a fertilizer from Len Pense called "EE" or essential elements. What I know about it is that it is a barley base organic plant matter fertilizer and I suspect it has something similar to Azomite in it.

I'm ready to do whatever necessary to get these guys going!

ObliqueAngles · April 25, 2013

If these are just recently planted, they may need a few days to get acclimated to the ground.

The plant in the first pic looks a bit chlorotic (see the darker "veins" and the lighter green leaf?). That can be caused by:

1. Chilly soil temps that prevent the plant from taking up nutrients. Probably not the case in Mississippi.
2. Over watering. This doesn't look like over-watering, but I just mention it in case it's swampy under the mulch. It's something to keep in mind, especially if the leaves start turning yellow.
3. If this is the plant that you grew from seed, give it some fertilizer. I don't know if you fertilized it while it was growing, but it's big enough to get some fertilizer now. Use an all-purpose fertilizer (one which has complete nutrients, like NPK and perhaps some iron, calcium, etc.) and follow the package directions. Don't over or under fertilize.

The Big Box plant almost certainly had some fertilizer in its potting soil, so it's still running on the strength of that. The other plant may or may not have had fertilizer, but it wouldn't hurt to give it some. I think the poor little darlin' just needs a bit of food for now. I'm going to assume it was just planted and it needs time for its roots to get settled enough to get nutrients from the soil, so just help it along a bit.

April 25, 2013	#2
ObliqueAngles Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: New Scotland, NY Posts: 20	If these are just recently planted, they may need a few days to get acclimated to the ground. The plant in the first pic looks a bit chlorotic (see the darker "veins" and the lighter green leaf?). That can be caused by: 1. Chilly soil temps that prevent the plant from taking up nutrients. Probably not the case in Mississippi. 2. Over watering. This doesn't look like over-watering, but I just mention it in case it's swampy under the mulch. It's something to keep in mind, especially if the leaves start turning yellow. 3. If this is the plant that you grew from seed, give it some fertilizer. I don't know if you fertilized it while it was growing, but it's big enough to get some fertilizer now. Use an all-purpose fertilizer (one which has complete nutrients, like NPK and perhaps some iron, calcium, etc.) and follow the package directions. Don't over or under fertilize. The Big Box plant almost certainly had some fertilizer in its potting soil, so it's still running on the strength of that. The other plant may or may not have had fertilizer, but it wouldn't hurt to give it some. I think the poor little darlin' just needs a bit of food for now. I'm going to assume it was just planted and it needs time for its roots to get settled enough to get nutrients from the soil, so just help it along a bit.