Help with tomato plants wilting

mick5500 · June 3, 2014

I bought all these from home depot , some Bonnie and some local organic. I used Miracle grow potting mix and some Kellogg's amend. I am not sure what I am doing wrong. I can dig down in the corner and see down about 10 inches and see if it is dry and need water. I am confused on adding plant food because these say they are self feeding for 90 days and these are all 60 days old. Our temperatures in the high Desert are in the high 80 degrees the last couple weeks.
I sprayed them last week with Natria and have them on blocks with the ground sprayed with insect killer so nothing crawling from below
I have 20 plants in containers and can move them to shade and sun as needed.
Any advice from pictures would be helpful.
Also advice on a good soil tester. I see them for $25.00 on Amazon but local Hydroponics store say a decent PH tester is $75.00

Thank You

RayR · June 3, 2014

Have you been keeping the soil moist? Containers can dry out pretty fast in the heat of the sun with the dry air of the desert. If there has been no sign of insect pest or fungal pressures I would lay off spraying with Natria If it's just heat stress and/or osmotic stress some shade would do some good. Watering with some liquid kelp or fish hydrolysate/kelp can help relieve some of the stress on the plants.

KarenO · June 3, 2014

H20, lots of it, every day for producing plants in pots in the hot sun and some fertilizer wouldn't hurt. "self feeding" for 90 days is pretty optimistic for heavy feeders like tomatoes especially since some is lost washing it through the drainage holes. For any type of granular slow release fertilizer it's function is dependent on the presence of moisture to dissolve it and make the nutrients available for the plants. A soil test kit is really designed for actual soil and there should be little or no actual soil in your potting mix so I would save your money and just water and fertilize you plants with a good soluble all purpose balanced fertilizer. I think they look OK, just a little stressed and parched.
Agree a little shade in the hottest part of the day might help. The hydroponics store pH meter is a waste of money too because you can buy an awful lot of really great already grown tomatoes for 75$. Maybe it would be worth it for a basement full of weed but not for a couple of pots of tomatoes

Karen

rnewste · June 3, 2014

You don't need a $75.00 pH meter to test commercial potting mix, in my opinion.

Did you add some dolomite lime into your mix when filling you containers?

Too late now, but for next year, add in some additional perlite as well to aid drainage and aeration.

Raybo

luigiwu · June 3, 2014

I also agree about the water. If you are inclined, google Larry Hall's rain gutter grow system. Try putting the pots in a kiddie pool/mortar bin or some shallow container that maintains only max 2-inches of water if possible so the plants can take up as much as they want/need.

KarenO · June 3, 2014

In extreme heat even with water available the plant can lose more water through transpiration than they can absorb through the roots.
Karen

Stvrob · June 3, 2014

On a hot windy day, sometimes I need to water plants in containers twice a day. Just to get a feel for how much they might be using, water early in the morning till the first drop just begins to run out the bottom of the container. Then in the evening, measure how much you need to add to again just start to drip from the bottom. My 18 gal container with a large and sprawling potato-leaf will easily take 4 or 5 gallons on a hot windy day. And it's relatively humid here!

lavanta · June 6, 2014

Is there a particular reason why your tomato cages are upside down? You can get hurt.

emma818436 · June 11, 2014

how hot is it? is the soil dry? try misting the plants and watering.

viewsaskew · June 12, 2014

If this is happening in the hotter part of the afternoon, I'd also go with transpiration. If you can, moving them to shade in the afternoon is a good idea.

Goldie321 · June 18, 2014

Arid desert climate is most likely the culprit. I'd move them where they can get a little shade during the hottest part of the day. I'm in central Florida and the late afternoon heat (unless we get rain) can be brutal. My containers are in a garden plot covered with weed shield, but there's a tree on the west side that provides late afternoon shade - not a dense shade but filters out most of that intense Florida sunshine.

June 3, 2014	#3
KarenO Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Vancouver Island Posts: 5,927	H20, lots of it, every day for producing plants in pots in the hot sun and some fertilizer wouldn't hurt. "self feeding" for 90 days is pretty optimistic for heavy feeders like tomatoes especially since some is lost washing it through the drainage holes. For any type of granular slow release fertilizer it's function is dependent on the presence of moisture to dissolve it and make the nutrients available for the plants. A soil test kit is really designed for actual soil and there should be little or no actual soil in your potting mix so I would save your money and just water and fertilize you plants with a good soluble all purpose balanced fertilizer. I think they look OK, just a little stressed and parched. Agree a little shade in the hottest part of the day might help. The hydroponics store pH meter is a waste of money too because you can buy an awful lot of really great already grown tomatoes for 75$. Maybe it would be worth it for a basement full of weed but not for a couple of pots of tomatoes Karen Last edited by KarenO; June 3, 2014 at 07:18 PM.

June 3, 2014	#2
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	Have you been keeping the soil moist? Containers can dry out pretty fast in the heat of the sun with the dry air of the desert. If there has been no sign of insect pest or fungal pressures I would lay off spraying with Natria If it's just heat stress and/or osmotic stress some shade would do some good. Watering with some liquid kelp or fish hydrolysate/kelp can help relieve some of the stress on the plants.

June 3, 2014	#4
rnewste Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Campbell, CA Posts: 4,064	You don't need a $75.00 pH meter to test commercial potting mix, in my opinion. Did you add some dolomite lime into your mix when filling you containers? Too late now, but for next year, add in some additional perlite as well to aid drainage and aeration. Raybo

June 3, 2014	#5
luigiwu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: ny Posts: 1,219	I also agree about the water. If you are inclined, google Larry Hall's rain gutter grow system. Try putting the pots in a kiddie pool/mortar bin or some shallow container that maintains only max 2-inches of water if possible so the plants can take up as much as they want/need.

June 3, 2014	#7
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	On a hot windy day, sometimes I need to water plants in containers twice a day. Just to get a feel for how much they might be using, water early in the morning till the first drop just begins to run out the bottom of the container. Then in the evening, measure how much you need to add to again just start to drip from the bottom. My 18 gal container with a large and sprawling potato-leaf will easily take 4 or 5 gallons on a hot windy day. And it's relatively humid here!

June 6, 2014	#8
lavanta Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2013 Location: San Diego, CA Posts: 68	Is there a particular reason why your tomato cages are upside down? You can get hurt.

June 11, 2014	#9
emma818436 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: San Antonio, TX Posts: 17	how hot is it? is the soil dry? try misting the plants and watering.

June 12, 2014	#10
viewsaskew Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Zone 6A Illinois Posts: 10	If this is happening in the hotter part of the afternoon, I'd also go with transpiration. If you can, moving them to shade in the afternoon is a good idea.

June 18, 2014	#11
Goldie321 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Florida USA Posts: 116	Arid desert climate is most likely the culprit. I'd move them where they can get a little shade during the hottest part of the day. I'm in central Florida and the late afternoon heat (unless we get rain) can be brutal. My containers are in a garden plot covered with weed shield, but there's a tree on the west side that provides late afternoon shade - not a dense shade but filters out most of that intense Florida sunshine.