drooping leaves and plant not as green, BUT still producing

[dexygus]

Hi Everyone,

Out of 8 tomato plants (OP and hybrid) that are all in raised beds, I have one plant, an early girl, that is looking pretty pathetic. The entire plant seems to be drooping, and turning a paler green. The leaves are curling under too. The fruits, however, are still forming and ripening.

My first thought was that maybe I'm overwatering, but since all my plants are watered with the same soaker hose, I don't think that's it.

Then I thought, well, maybe it's too hot for the Early Girl. But even in early morning conditions, it looks the same.

The only fertilizing I'm doing is foliar feeding with either seaweed extract or algoflash, and it's only every other week or so.

Any ideas?

[Suze]

dexygus, in south Texas, nematodes are one possibility. What's your soil like -- sand or clay base?

[dexygus]

hi suze,

thanks for responding. the soil in the raised beds is purely nursery-bought soil and compost, so the texture is neither sandy nor clay-ey. it's virgin soil, as well. this is my first time gardening.

i'm using the square foot method, so the tomato plants are only 12" apart. if it were nematodes, i'd assume the other plants would be affected as well.

[timcunningham]

What are your temps in Austin, TX DexyGuys? That photo looks like my plants here in GA when the temps are high and my plants are slightly underwatered. I usually don't water them right then. I wait until the evening give the soil some water.. not the leaves, the soil. If that doesn't work, in a couple days, I spray with Seaweed emulsion in the early morning or late evening.

Fantasic looking Square foot garden BTW, I have several of them my self for salads and herbs, one of the best ways to grow things.

[coronabarb]

dexygus,

The plant in the picture is potato leaf and Early Girl is regular leaf. Early Girl usually grows just fine in the heat, but that's not what you have here.

I'm looking in my SFG book at the tomato spacings given. It says for *bush* type tomatoes, to plant 4 plants in a 4' x 4' block, giving 2'x2' for each plant. For *vine* type, a 4' row divided into 1'x1' blocks for each plant. I don't know why MB devotes more space to determinates than indeterminates...I'd grow them with the opposite spacing, since *vine* types grow much bigger.

With your plants that close, it might benefit from some additional fertilizer...I use a bagged organic mix for tomatoes that is low on nitrogen. (Dr. Earth) I have the luxury of planting my tomatoes 5' apart, which I know most people don't have. I think I'd give them a bit more space for the next garden.

[dexygus]

tim,
for the past few weeks, it's been in the 90's, and it's been humid. today, it dropped about 10 degrees, and it rained a bit. maybe the early girl will perk up a bit. it hasn't yet though.

i still don't know if it's a watering issue though. my other plants (in the same bed, and in the other bed) get the same treatment through the soaker hose. maybe since the early girl is in the western corner, it gets the most late hot sun, and is suffering for it? i don't know. i'll just keep watching it for now. thanks,

coronabarb,
so the plant i have isn't early girl!!?? i'm still in the early stages of learning about different varieties, and the leaf types. is there any way to figure out what kind of plant it is? the fruit seems early girl-like to me, but i'm no expert.

regarding SFG, i think mel allots such a small space for indeterminates because they're meant to be trained up trellis netting. according to his diagrams, all suckers are supposed to be pruned and the single main stem is supposed to climb a single piece of string. it's easier to achieve in theory, methinks.

i'll try to fertilize a bit more, and see what happens. i have some tomato/pepper food from a local organic nursery that hopefully will do the trick. thanks for the suggestion.

[mdvpc]

No way to tell what it is-if you bought it from a nursery, you could ask them-they might know-if you germinated yourself, check and see if any of the varieties are potato leaf-if not it could also be a seed mixup from the supplier.

[dexygus]

mdvpc,
i guess it'll just be a mystery plant. i got it from a community nursery's special annual plant sale. it was labelled early girl, so of course, i assumed they knew what they were talking about. it's no biggie though. it's tasty enough.

[coronabarb]

Could be Brandywine??? That's probably the one PL tomato I see the most of.

[dexygus]

hi coronabarb,
i'm thinking you're probably right about the fertilizing. i just realized that the "Early Girl" has the most fruit on it, and has many that are ripening. that must be taking its toll on the plant. it might also explain why my other plants are not suffering. i just top-dressed all my toms with some rabbit hill tomato/pepper food, and i'm crossing my fingers.

as for the type of plant it actually is, i don't think it's brandywine. the fruit has been varying from 2.25 to 4.25 ounces. plus, the first ripe fruit came at about 60 days.

thanks for your help.

[coronabarb]

Ah, so you already have ripe fruit. That makes a difference. What color is it? Red? Red/Orange? Pink?

[dexygus]

here's a pic, coronabarb.

[peppereater]

I'm assuming you've checked for spidermites. They'd start causing yellowing on the leaves soon, though, as would a lack of nitrogen. I notice all kinds of wierd stuff with potato leaved plants, and I only get concerned when things get REALLY out of whack. It's possible the plant is getting a little too much nitrogen, as a deficiency would show first as yellowing...I know that distorted leaves on peppers can be a sign of excess nitrogen, I'd think that would apply to tomatoes, as both are in the same family. Like I say PL plants do wierd things, and sometimes it's best just to wait and see what happens.
Fruits is fruits... you're doing something right!

[peppereater]

dexygus...you posted while I was writing! Yummy, what a lovely sight.

[dexygus]

hi dave,
thanks for the encouraging words. i hope that it IS a potato leaf thing because the plant's condition hasn't changed. it isn't getting worse though, so that's good. i guess i will just have to wait and see.