First Post - Need help with my container plants, pics, long, etc..

nicu2001 · July 22, 2009

Hi all,

This is my first post in the forum after lurking for a little while. I am in Northern NJ and have tried to grow tomatoes for the first time. I have five heirloom plants going in 20gal smart pots: Yellow brandywine, red brandywine sudduth, black krim, serendipity striped, sweet baby girl.

It rained a lot early in the season and my plants seemed to be thriving. As it has been hotter and sunnier and less rainy, my plants have began to struggle with yellow leaves and wilting. I have used neem oil once and have used foliar fish fertilizer from neptunes harvest twice so far in the season.

If it is ok with you guys, I will show each plant and explain what I see as wrong and maybe you can give me some tips?

Yellow brandywine:

As you can see the bottom is wilting and yellow with a fair amount of dying branches.

Red brandywine:

This has my biggest fruit and was healthy but now the bottom is in trouble too and I don't know why.

Serendipity Striped:

One of the branches on the bottom got away as you can see. This is my biggest plant and is starting to lean. Should I stake the tomato wire to try and help it? Again the bottom is yellowing and I do not see any fruit set yet.

Sweet Baby Girl:

Tons of fruit:

First ones are ripening:

Again, the bottoms are yellowing. I just checked with a moisture meter and all plants are at a 6 (and it rained most of yesterday). I am going to reply with a new post and show my black krim issues. Thanks for any advice you guys can offer and I am happy to take more specific pics if it will help figure out my issues.

Cheers,
Mike

nicu2001 · July 22, 2009

Black Krim:

I thought my first two were ripening...

But then when I look at the bottom:

I couldn't get a clear shot but it seems to be rotted halfway into the fruit.

The other bottom:

The rotted one above has the same bottom as this one before it happened. I just figured it was normal until now. Any idea what this is?

Here is another one that may be on the same path?

These, however, are looking healthy:

Please forgive my ignorance as I am a big rookie and thanks for any advice that you guys can offer.

ContainerTed · July 22, 2009

Maybe someone else can see something that I'm missing, but I see BER (Bottom End Rot) on two toms, and the next pixture shows a bit of catfacing.

Many plants will brown out the lower leaves and shed them. Usually happens a little quicker if the plant was stressed early on.

I don't see anything to get alarmed about.

Someone else on this forum with more knowledge than I will show up pretty soon.

Ted

Oh, yeah, and welcome to Tomatoville.

liannenc · July 22, 2009

Mike, Welcome to Tomatoville! I'm sorry I'm not going to be much help to you about the yellowing leaves-- I've been struggling with similar issues myself on a couple of my plants. I've checked every "tomato problem" website I can find and nothing listed matches exactly what I saw on my plants. Hopefully someone else here can help you ID that issue. Some info that might help those more knowledgeable: what growing medium are you using? Did you mix any fertilizer at all with it before you planted? Is the fish emulsion the only fertilizer you've used so far?

If the plant is leaning, you should definitely stake the cages-- my husband and I actually just did that this past weekend because my plants were leaning terribly and had actually tipped over a time or two. You should also stake up that runaway branch-- if you don't, it could very well break off as the weight of it exceeds the main plant's ability to support it. That happened to me and it was heartbreaking, especially since there were fruits on it when it happened.

The "rotting bottom" problem you're having is blossom end rot, or BER for short. It's a result of the plant's inability to properly distribute calcium to the fruit, and it can be caused by a couple of factors: Inadequate calcium in your growing medium (adding dolomite lime at planting can help) or the plant's growth outstripping the root system's ability to keep up. That's a "fast & dirty" explanation-- there are others here who can explain it much more knowledgeably than I, and you can research it as well to help figure out why it might be happening on your plants. I had a terrible problem with it at first on my Marianna's Peace, and to a lesser extent on my other plants. I chose to use a calcium spray on my plants and it seems to have helped, but it's also possible that the plants have "grown out" of the problem. I know how tough it is, though, to see beautiful fruits setting then find that nasty rotten bottom on them!

nicu2001 · July 22, 2009

Thanks Ted. Here are two earlier pics of the two Krims (2 weeks ago or so):

nicu2001 · July 22, 2009

Thanks for the reply liannec. The medium I used was organic potting soil from a local garden center. I also added a half-handful or so of EB Stone organic plant fertilizer when I planted them (they were about 6" big when I got them).

Since then one time I have scratched a little of the EB Stone onto the top of the soil near the base of the plants and twice I have foliar sprayed them with the fish fertilizer, the second time 2 weeks ago with 1TB molasses added as well.

Other than that, I have been watering regularly when the moisture meter was below 4 or so though a few times I think I waited to long to water.

nicu2001 · July 22, 2009

One more thing... Should I promptly remove the two rotted tomatoes? Should I cut them at the stem with scissors or twist them off? Should I worry about the third tomato in that cluster? Thanks!

ContainerTed · July 22, 2009

There have been occasions when I have attempted to harvest seeds from BER toms, but so far without success. You can judge it for yourself, but I normally throw them. No use letting the plant waste energy on them.

If you're going to grow in containers, then you might want to do a search here and see what other container growers are using with their plants. The word "soil" is never good for containers. Folks like Ami, who is organic, and myself (I'm not organic) can be coaxed into revealing what we do for our plants. Again, welcome to the best website on tomatoes on this planet.

Ted

Barbee · July 22, 2009

Welcome to T-ville.
Your tomatoes look normal to me. Yellowing and dying off of older foliage is normal. Trim it off and it will look wonderful again

You do have BER on those 2 Black Krim. I'd throw those out, since it looks like you won't have much tomato left after you cut off the green shoulders and the BER spot. The one tomato where you asked if it was starting on it, I'll say no. I have had many Black Krims get a hole/spot start on them and that's all that happens. They just cat face bad but the taste makes up for the uglies.
Stray branches....you can try to tuck it back into the cage, or I usually just tie them to the cage. You may have some trouble with your cages as the plants continue to grow. Sometimes those cages are flimsy and won't really hold the tomatoes once they get growing. You can drive a stake in to help support it. Or just let it sprawl.

nicu2001 · July 23, 2009

Thanks. Should I trim the yellow foliage at the end of the leaf or at the stem?

Barbee · July 23, 2009

If the whole branch was starting to yellow up, I'd take it all the way back to the main stem. If it's just a leaf yellowing, I'd just take that leaf off back to a good leaf on the branch.

kdoble · July 23, 2009

Welcome to T'ville!!
No doubt about it, that is classic BER on your Black Krim which is caused by calcium deficiency most commonly due to fluctuations in water supply. I would venture to say that anyone who has ever grown tomatoes has had the dreaded BER at one time or another, but the good news is that this does not mean that all your Black Krim will have it. It's been challenging for many of us to keep water consistent with the wacky wet weather this season.
I don't have an opinion on your yellowing leaves since I am not an expert, but many here are and hopefully can give you some more knowledge about it.
In general, your plants looks nice and looks like you'll have lots of tasty tomatoes. Good Luck!

TheClaw · July 23, 2009

Welcome to T'Ville,

I also remove the BER fruit as fast as I can and the yellowing leaves as well. No sense having the plant waste any energy on them.

It's hard to tell, but if you have not mulched yet, I have found that my containers do not dry out as quickly if I lay down a good layer of mulch. The mulch also helps keep weeds from emerging.

-Howard

July 22, 2009	#1
nicu2001 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: NJ Posts: 8	First Post - Need help with my container plants, pics, long, etc.. Hi all, This is my first post in the forum after lurking for a little while. I am in Northern NJ and have tried to grow tomatoes for the first time. I have five heirloom plants going in 20gal smart pots: Yellow brandywine, red brandywine sudduth, black krim, serendipity striped, sweet baby girl. It rained a lot early in the season and my plants seemed to be thriving. As it has been hotter and sunnier and less rainy, my plants have began to struggle with yellow leaves and wilting. I have used neem oil once and have used foliar fish fertilizer from neptunes harvest twice so far in the season. If it is ok with you guys, I will show each plant and explain what I see as wrong and maybe you can give me some tips? Yellow brandywine: As you can see the bottom is wilting and yellow with a fair amount of dying branches. Red brandywine: This has my biggest fruit and was healthy but now the bottom is in trouble too and I don't know why. Serendipity Striped: One of the branches on the bottom got away as you can see. This is my biggest plant and is starting to lean. Should I stake the tomato wire to try and help it? Again the bottom is yellowing and I do not see any fruit set yet. Sweet Baby Girl: Tons of fruit: First ones are ripening: Again, the bottoms are yellowing. I just checked with a moisture meter and all plants are at a 6 (and it rained most of yesterday). I am going to reply with a new post and show my black krim issues. Thanks for any advice you guys can offer and I am happy to take more specific pics if it will help figure out my issues. Cheers, Mike

July 22, 2009	#3
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	Maybe someone else can see something that I'm missing, but I see BER (Bottom End Rot) on two toms, and the next pixture shows a bit of catfacing. Many plants will brown out the lower leaves and shed them. Usually happens a little quicker if the plant was stressed early on. I don't see anything to get alarmed about. Someone else on this forum with more knowledge than I will show up pretty soon. Ted Oh, yeah, and welcome to Tomatoville. __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

July 22, 2009	#8
ContainerTed Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: 6a - NE Tennessee Posts: 4,538	There have been occasions when I have attempted to harvest seeds from BER toms, but so far without success. You can judge it for yourself, but I normally throw them. No use letting the plant waste energy on them. If you're going to grow in containers, then you might want to do a search here and see what other container growers are using with their plants. The word "soil" is never good for containers. Folks like Ami, who is organic, and myself (I'm not organic) can be coaxed into revealing what we do for our plants. Again, welcome to the best website on tomatoes on this planet. Ted __________________ Ted ________________________ Owner & Sole Operator Of The Muddy Bucket Farm and Tomato Ranch

July 22, 2009	#9
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	Welcome to T-ville. Your tomatoes look normal to me. Yellowing and dying off of older foliage is normal. Trim it off and it will look wonderful again You do have BER on those 2 Black Krim. I'd throw those out, since it looks like you won't have much tomato left after you cut off the green shoulders and the BER spot. The one tomato where you asked if it was starting on it, I'll say no. I have had many Black Krims get a hole/spot start on them and that's all that happens. They just cat face bad but the taste makes up for the uglies. Stray branches....you can try to tuck it back into the cage, or I usually just tie them to the cage. You may have some trouble with your cages as the plants continue to grow. Sometimes those cages are flimsy and won't really hold the tomatoes once they get growing. You can drive a stake in to help support it. Or just let it sprawl. __________________ *Barbee*

July 23, 2009	#11
Barbee Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: SW Ohio Posts: 1,818	If the whole branch was starting to yellow up, I'd take it all the way back to the main stem. If it's just a leaf yellowing, I'd just take that leaf off back to a good leaf on the branch. __________________ *Barbee*

July 22, 2009	#2
nicu2001 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: NJ Posts: 8	Black Krim: I thought my first two were ripening... But then when I look at the bottom: I couldn't get a clear shot but it seems to be rotted halfway into the fruit. The other bottom: The rotted one above has the same bottom as this one before it happened. I just figured it was normal until now. Any idea what this is? Here is another one that may be on the same path? These, however, are looking healthy: Please forgive my ignorance as I am a big rookie and thanks for any advice that you guys can offer.

July 22, 2009	#4
liannenc Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Zone 7b in Concord, North Carolina Posts: 76	Mike, Welcome to Tomatoville! I'm sorry I'm not going to be much help to you about the yellowing leaves-- I've been struggling with similar issues myself on a couple of my plants. I've checked every "tomato problem" website I can find and nothing listed matches exactly what I saw on my plants. Hopefully someone else here can help you ID that issue. Some info that might help those more knowledgeable: what growing medium are you using? Did you mix any fertilizer at all with it before you planted? Is the fish emulsion the only fertilizer you've used so far? If the plant is leaning, you should definitely stake the cages-- my husband and I actually just did that this past weekend because my plants were leaning terribly and had actually tipped over a time or two. You should also stake up that runaway branch-- if you don't, it could very well break off as the weight of it exceeds the main plant's ability to support it. That happened to me and it was heartbreaking, especially since there were fruits on it when it happened. The "rotting bottom" problem you're having is blossom end rot, or BER for short. It's a result of the plant's inability to properly distribute calcium to the fruit, and it can be caused by a couple of factors: Inadequate calcium in your growing medium (adding dolomite lime at planting can help) or the plant's growth outstripping the root system's ability to keep up. That's a "fast & dirty" explanation-- there are others here who can explain it much more knowledgeably than I, and you can research it as well to help figure out why it might be happening on your plants. I had a terrible problem with it at first on my Marianna's Peace, and to a lesser extent on my other plants. I chose to use a calcium spray on my plants and it seems to have helped, but it's also possible that the plants have "grown out" of the problem. I know how tough it is, though, to see beautiful fruits setting then find that nasty rotten bottom on them!

July 23, 2009	#12
kdoble Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Wayne, PA zone 6b Posts: 57	Welcome to T'ville!! No doubt about it, that is classic BER on your Black Krim which is caused by calcium deficiency most commonly due to fluctuations in water supply. I would venture to say that anyone who has ever grown tomatoes has had the dreaded BER at one time or another, but the good news is that this does not mean that all your Black Krim will have it. It's been challenging for many of us to keep water consistent with the wacky wet weather this season. I don't have an opinion on your yellowing leaves since I am not an expert, but many here are and hopefully can give you some more knowledge about it. In general, your plants looks nice and looks like you'll have lots of tasty tomatoes. Good Luck!

July 23, 2009	#13
TheClaw Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Garner, NC Posts: 183	Welcome to T'Ville, I also remove the BER fruit as fast as I can and the yellowing leaves as well. No sense having the plant waste any energy on them. It's hard to tell, but if you have not mulched yet, I have found that my containers do not dry out as quickly if I lay down a good layer of mulch. The mulch also helps keep weeds from emerging. -Howard