Should I give up on this plant?

mikescleveland · July 25, 2015

This is a Great White plant. It was doing ok for awhile and then about a week or so ago it started looking wilty and the leaves started getting yellow with the black spots. I assume the yellowing is from a bacteria, so I have tried to remove anything with yellow or with black spots. This one also had a 3" long hornworm on it at about the same time it started failing. I plucked the caterpillar (and plucked a few on other plants). I also noticed the soil was a little soggy. I'm afraid maybe there were multiple threats to the plant and it just can't recover. Also, it has no fruits. There is one sickly flower at the top. The other 2 tomato plants (different varieties) also have very few flowers/fruits, which I'm told would be due to an excess of nitrogen.

I started my plot by tilling up a clay-based lawn (removing the lawn parts first) and then combining bagged soil and bagged cow manure from Home Depot and some homemade compost (made by my brother). I have fertilized with some organic fertilizer (here's alink to it: http://canterburycreekgardens.com/136-2/). They don't say the N/Ph/K percentages on the web page or the bag. I will call them today and find out.

Also I started asking questions about this a few days ago on Stack Exchange. Here's the question and responses from there: http://gardening.stackexchange.com/q...ent24303_20185

I'm not sure how to add photos to a post here but I will edit this with pics once I figure it out...

https://41.media.tumblr.com/3517a4a8...s2ocdv_540.jpg

https://40.media.tumblr.com/eedac568...s2ocdv_540.jpg

https://41.media.tumblr.com/be712aa2...s2ocdv_540.jpg

https://40.media.tumblr.com/92065976...s2ocdv_540.jpg

RayR · July 25, 2015

Mike, I would disagree with all the other opinions at Stack Exchange based on the fact that this plant shows symptoms and the adjacent plants show none. I would suspect it may be Bacterial Canker which is a seed borne vascular disease. It's a difficult disease to diagnose because the symptoms are so variable, but spots, wilting and yellowing are among them. You could cut open a stem length-wise and see if there is discoloration of the tissue. If that's the case I would pull the plant and dispose of it.

mikescleveland · July 25, 2015

If I cut open the stem wouldn't that do further damage to the plant?

DapsSeeds · July 25, 2015

No problem, your plant can take it. You only have to make a 2 to 3 inch cut. Just be careful not to cut too deep. After checking the inside you can wind a little painters tape or something like that around the stem to keep it firm and closed. The cut will start healing very quick.

mikescleveland · July 25, 2015

I decided to give up on the plant. After removing the bad leaves there wasn't much left, and it looked pretty hit. And I started taking a few bad leaves off the other 2 plants and I found a huge infestation of insects - aphids, white fuzzy things, little black and brown things, all kinds of stuff all over them. These haven't attacked any of the other plants (peppers, squash, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, radishes), only the tomatoes. I asked the guy at the garden store and he said it's because insects attack unhealthy plants and he blames the soil. Anyway I bought a pack of 1000 ladybugs and tonight I plan to release them. And then I really don't know my next step. All the other plants are doing great except a couple of the peppers. Are tomatoes just a lot more challenging, or am I just unlucky?

mikescleveland · July 25, 2015

Oh yeah and I did cut into the stem after pulling it out, and its just a green layer with a white layer inside. Nothing noticeably discolored (to me).

joseph · July 25, 2015

If that plant was growing in my garden it would have been culled a long time ago.

Lindalana · July 26, 2015

Yes, sick plants do get attacked by insects. I agree it is all about soil.
Me, I would invest in a soil test by reputable lab and take it from there- add what is lacking, get lasagna bed/ I am lazy gardener, worms do the job/ from leaf mulch, wood chips on top, manure from animals I have some idea what they eat.
Bagged " compost" " Manure" stuff from big box stores usually garbage, not worth $$- my experience.
Compost, mulches and cover cropping are the ways to improve soil. Feed the soil. Feed the plant. Feed the leaf.

July 25, 2015	#1
mikescleveland Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Cleveland, Ohio Posts: 12	Should I give up on this plant? This is a Great White plant. It was doing ok for awhile and then about a week or so ago it started looking wilty and the leaves started getting yellow with the black spots. I assume the yellowing is from a bacteria, so I have tried to remove anything with yellow or with black spots. This one also had a 3" long hornworm on it at about the same time it started failing. I plucked the caterpillar (and plucked a few on other plants). I also noticed the soil was a little soggy. I'm afraid maybe there were multiple threats to the plant and it just can't recover. Also, it has no fruits. There is one sickly flower at the top. The other 2 tomato plants (different varieties) also have very few flowers/fruits, which I'm told would be due to an excess of nitrogen. I started my plot by tilling up a clay-based lawn (removing the lawn parts first) and then combining bagged soil and bagged cow manure from Home Depot and some homemade compost (made by my brother). I have fertilized with some organic fertilizer (here's alink to it: http://canterburycreekgardens.com/136-2/). They don't say the N/Ph/K percentages on the web page or the bag. I will call them today and find out. Also I started asking questions about this a few days ago on Stack Exchange. Here's the question and responses from there: http://gardening.stackexchange.com/q...ent24303_20185 I'm not sure how to add photos to a post here but I will edit this with pics once I figure it out... https://41.media.tumblr.com/3517a4a8...s2ocdv_540.jpg https://40.media.tumblr.com/eedac568...s2ocdv_540.jpg https://41.media.tumblr.com/be712aa2...s2ocdv_540.jpg https://40.media.tumblr.com/92065976...s2ocdv_540.jpg Last edited by mikescleveland; July 25, 2015 at 12:52 PM. Reason: Add links to photos.

July 25, 2015	#2
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	Mike, I would disagree with all the other opinions at Stack Exchange based on the fact that this plant shows symptoms and the adjacent plants show none. I would suspect it may be Bacterial Canker which is a seed borne vascular disease. It's a difficult disease to diagnose because the symptoms are so variable, but spots, wilting and yellowing are among them. You could cut open a stem length-wise and see if there is discoloration of the tissue. If that's the case I would pull the plant and dispose of it.

July 25, 2015	#4
DapsSeeds Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Drenthe, The Netherlands Posts: 75	No problem, your plant can take it. You only have to make a 2 to 3 inch cut. Just be careful not to cut too deep. After checking the inside you can wind a little painters tape or something like that around the stem to keep it firm and closed. The cut will start healing very quick.

July 25, 2015	#7
joseph Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: Cache Valley, N/E of The Great Salt Lake Posts: 1,244	If that plant was growing in my garden it would have been culled a long time ago.

July 26, 2015	#8
Lindalana Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Chicago IL Posts: 857	Yes, sick plants do get attacked by insects. I agree it is all about soil. Me, I would invest in a soil test by reputable lab and take it from there- add what is lacking, get lasagna bed/ I am lazy gardener, worms do the job/ from leaf mulch, wood chips on top, manure from animals I have some idea what they eat. Bagged " compost" " Manure" stuff from big box stores usually garbage, not worth $$- my experience. Compost, mulches and cover cropping are the ways to improve soil. Feed the soil. Feed the plant. Feed the leaf.