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Old August 15, 2016   #6
Starlight
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: AL
Posts: 1,993
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Give yourself a pat on the back. You deserve it. You tried growing from seed for the first time and you actually got plants. That a good thing.
Don't get discouraged as I don't think there is one gardener that has ever had perfect crops all season long and not run into some sort of problems. Kinda comes with the territory and is a learning experience. As you can more experience more and more problems will disappear.

First, I would say not to be following them utube videos. If you really want to learn ask the folks on here in both the seed starting and the container growing forum. You have some of the most experienced and strongest growers I have ever seen right here at this site who always willing to offer advice that works.

I think 2-3 plants in one 5 gallon pot may be way to much. You might check up in the General Forum under the growing laterals thread to se if you could do such a thing. You could try and separate, but at this late stage it would set your plants way back.

Looks to me like several problems, but first, there are several varieties that their leaves do grow down and some that have kinda curly leaves. I know when I first saw leaves growing downwards and sort of curly, twisty, I thought something was wrong with the plant. There wasn't just the plants natural growth. Not familiar with what your growing so can't say if that normal growth habit for those varieties or not. You would have to ask about leaf habits of your specific plants.

I am not familiar with the liquid TT. But if it is like the granular, one a week is way to much. It will cause burning of the leaves, which may be what you have going on. I only use TT every other week and for 3 gallon pots only use 2 TSP and 1 TBS of Epsom salt.

What kind of soil do you have in your pots? Soil type makes a big difference in what you may or may not need to feed. I would recommend getting some Miracle Grow and using it. Containers lose their nutrients very fast. Some the plant takes up and some just leeches out. I water with MG 6 days a week. Even if you use a weak solution it will make a difference. The 7th say I just use plain water to wash out any salt that build up which is not good for growth.

Containers dry out real fast and you on a balcony which is going to hold alot more heat from the building and being up in the air. I don't think you giving your plants enough water which will cause crispy, burnt leaves. An easy way to tell is to buy like suggested a meter. They have ones that tell you about water level and pH in one, only problem is sometimes they don't go deep enough into the pot.

A way to tell if you plants are getting enough water is to get a bamboo skewer, like for chine food or a very skinny wooden dowel and stick it down inside you pot. Let sit for 15-20 minutes and pull out. If you don't see any kind of darker discoloration on the stick from where water was absorbed you need more water. In this heat and humidity alot of us are having to water twice a day. I can water at 7 am and by 1 or 2 in the afternoon I need to water again a small drink or everything wilts and leaves will start to burn.

I know it not very pretty, but you might try hanging a piece of shade cloth up to help shade your plants a bit. There plenty of suggestions from folks here about adding mulch or painting, or other ways to help keep moisture in your pots.

Other than those things, I don't see too much wrong and at this moment nothing that can't be corrected with a few changes.

Just don't give up on seed growing. Takes years sometimes to learn the correct way, but once you start getting a handle on it, you'll be so happy and proud of yourself. : ) Hang in there. Even if you only get one tomato, it a major success. : )
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