Next year, only fishing.

[bigblue]

Oh, and add, staying single. Opalka, Riesentraube, Brandywine and Druzba. It’ll be fun, easy, loves to garden she says. Then why am I pulling my hair out?
Planted in containers June first and have been a PIA since germination (yep, tried seeds). The Brandywine and Riesentraube are against a south facing wall and get maybe 6 hours of strong sun ( afternoon and evening). The Opalka and Druzba are against a east facing wall 3 hours of morning sun. Both are fed Urban Farms Vegetable Fertilizer 2 or 3 times a week at a strength of 1Tbl/gal as recommended.
The Brandywine and Riesentraube are going fine. The other two, not so well. Both receive the same amount of water, and the container mix is identical (8-5-1 Promix, Fine Pine Bark Mulch & Perlite). Suddenly, the leaves are curling, and the tissue between the veins are yellowing. Any thoughts short of trading in the girlfriend?

[ginger2778]

I think they need some micronutrients, especially iron. That is often the cause of the interveinal chlorosis(yellowing). Not sure about the leaf curling downward, possibly overwatering?

Marsha

[kath]

Three hours of sun doesn't sound like nearly enough.

[dustdevil]

Use a fertilizer intended for tomatoes specifically. Find the ailing plants a place that gets more sun...three hours a day isn't enough!

[bigblue]

I thought the the Urban Farms might have enough micronutrients in it. If that is the case, what are your thoughts on additions? And you are correct, it has been extremely wet here lately, I have not been watering in hopes of drying them out. Three hours of sun is the only place I have left to put them. They were not to bad last year in the same location. Plants got very large, not a huge fruit yield but I was happy with what I got. I am in a condo complex which limits my options.

[dustdevil]

You said you were using a "vegetable fertilizer". Tomato plants have specific needs, so you use a "tomato fertilizer". Any chance of using hanging baskets where the sunnier spot you are using for the other tomatoes is located? Your home-brew soil mix may be lacking in micro-nutrients as others mentioned. I recommend testing ph also. Since your plants got very large last year without a huge fruit yield, they probably got too much nitrogen. I'd explore the possibility of cutting back on how much you fertilize each week.

[RootLoops]

get a bottle of this Texas Tomato Food they'll be looking like champs in a week!

[RayR]

I think the real clue with the Opalka and Druzba is that they are only getting 3 hours of morning sun. Does that mean they are getting shaded the rest of the day?
If the plants are not getting enough direct sunlight I would expect the leaves to look smaller and strange. Opalka has wispy twisting and turning leaves anyway so that's not abnormal even with 6-8 hours of direct sunlight. I never grew Druzba so I don't know what leaf normal characteristics they have.
The interveinal chlorosis could also be related to the plants not getting enough direct sunlight and not a lack of nutrients themselves.

[bigblue]

Thought this was interesting. This morning I decided to take a couple of better photos to help illustrate the curled up leaves. Because it was low light, the camera on my phone auto flashes. Upon viewing the photos, I notice the white specs. You cannot see any white on these leaves observing under normal light. How do I fix this, or is it too far damaged?

[RayR]

The white specks are just a reflection of the camera flash off of dust, dried bits of whatever you've been spraying and the trichomes on the leaves.
Have you checked the bottom of the leaves for green aphids? Might be a little early up North for Spider Mites but who knows, with a 10X or better magnifier you can check for them. From the top it looks like aphid damage.

[bigblue]

That’s a relief. I thought I might have something taking up residence. I haven’t been spraying with anything. When I get home from work tonight I will take a closer look at the undersides (and tops) with a good magnifier. I assume I am looking for some tiny parasite. Some advised Texas Tomato Food so I should probably heed that warning. You all make this look so easy, but when push comes to shove, the interaction of so many variables makes this extremely complicated. Top if off with rain again today, and forecasting for darn near every other day.

[Father'sDaughter]

Not sure about Druzba, but I do know Opalka fell into the "wispy, droopy leaves" category when I grew it the last two years. There are several pastes whose leaves always make it look like the plant is wilting when in fact it's perfectly healthy. So I wouldn't worry too much if that's the only "problem" you're seeing with Opalka.

[MissS]

With the incredible amount of rain that we are having here, I am having trouble keeping enough nutrients in the soil of my potted plants. Even some non-tomato plants in the soil are yellowing. Just keep up with your fertilizing and the plants will recover once the rains stop washing all of the nutrients away.
I would also recommend trying to supply them with more sun.

[bigblue]

As suggested, I checked the ph of my container soil and found the ph to be around 7.5 possibly even higher. Should I assume that this is my problem and the high ph is inhibiting nutrient uptake? Should start to take steps to bring this down, and if so, can I ask what would be the best and most effective way to lower it? I have read that it should be between 5.5 and 6.5? Is this correct? I cannot dig the soil out to amend with sulphur so I kind of need something topical.

[MissS]

You could add a layer of peat moss to the top of the soil if you have room. That would help to adjust the PH. You could also amend with coffee grounds or add about 1-2 Tablespoons of vinegar to a gallon of water.
You could try any of these, but do not do them all together.