start of a problem?

[encore]

is this anything to worry about ? it's on only one plant, in my rain gutter grow system, many blossoms and fruit on this plant, it's a bush early girl. yellowing starting on some of the older leaves. i put one cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer in a ring around the bucket about 2 1/2 inches down from top, hoping it is just nutrient related not something worse. thanks for any help---tom

[encore]

the fertilizer was put in at start of planting, think i need something more?

[gorbelly]

It's hard to tell what's going on through photos, but that doesn't look fungal to me. I'm not familiar with your growing system, but I assume that the wood on top is just mulch and not an indication that your medium is full of wood chips?

I would guess a nutrient deficiency. Fertilizer needs refreshing regularly, so if it's been several weeks since you last fertilized, that could be the problem

I would also check the undersides of the leaves for pests if they looked like that, especially any ones curling/wilting.

I would also wait to see what some of the more experienced members have to say.

[encore]

i put a cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer around the outside edge of the bucket about 3 inches or so below the top, then another inch of soil, then chips the last inch or so. would all that fertilizer be used up by now? it's self watering from the bottom up, and we have'nt had an rain in a week and a half, the bottom 4 inches stays wet the rest seems to be damp, you think maybe i shoud water some from the top to get the fertilizer to come down some?

[encore]

one leaf on another plant had some yellowing and there were some small dark brown spots on the leaf too.

[ginger2778]

Originally Posted by encore

i put a cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer around the outside edge of the bucket about 3 inches or so below the top, then another inch of soil, then chips the last inch or so. would all that fertilizer be used up by now? it's self watering from the bottom up, and we have'nt had an rain in a week and a half, the bottom 4 inches stays wet the rest seems to be damp, you think maybe i shoud water some from the top to get the fertilizer to come down some?

The answer here is certainly yes, as long as you don't get the leaves wet, which you know. The interveinal chlorosis is a nutrient deficiency. It's looking to be on older leaves. I will be back in a minute with an edit on the nutrient I think it is missing, going to look it up now. Either iron or Magnesium, I think.

OK- back now. I think its a magnesium deficiency, because it is on older leaves. 1Tablespoon of epsom salt mixed in 1 gallon water should do the trick. I would repeat every 3 weeks or so to keep them green.
This link is pretty good: http://www.haifa-group.com/knowledge_center/crop_guides/tomato/plant_nutrition/nutrient_deficiency_symptoms/#{A4E97D29-7746-4CCA-B67D-14A77A97A826}

[gorbelly]

Originally Posted by encore

i put a cup of 10-10-10 fertilizer around the outside edge of the bucket about 3 inches or so below the top, then another inch of soil, then chips the last inch or so. would all that fertilizer be used up by now? it's self watering from the bottom up, and we have'nt had an rain in a week and a half, the bottom 4 inches stays wet the rest seems to be damp, you think maybe i shoud water some from the top to get the fertilizer to come down some?

If the fertilizer is on the top and the container self-waters from the bottom, I would top-water occasionally. How long ago did you put the fertilizer in? And was it some kind of organic granular fertilizer?

From what I understand, people generally get better results adding dilute liquid fertilizer regularly to the water underneath self-irrigating containers.

Re: epsom salt--be careful. Too much Mg will outcompete calcium and can predispose your plants to BER. It's pretty easy to develop an imbalance in containers.