Will they come back?

[johno]

I had a bout with an army of blister beetles recently, and they ate the leaves off of several tomato plants in one bed before I got them under control.

I'm trying to see if I can get them to grow some new leaves, and maybe get some more toms before frost. I found an all nautural soluble 9-4-4 fertilizer and applied it to the soil to give them a little bump. I believe there is still plenty of P and K in the soil...

There are about 8 weeks until frost here - do you think they'll come back?

[Suze]

John, I don't really know what to tell you other than what I've observed, and that's when plants abruptly lose a lot of foliage towards the end of the season, it is sometimes hard to get it back. Part of what I face here when it things like that happen is that it is so hot, the plants are already struggling and they don't deal well with it.

OTOH, a stressed plant tends to accelerate the ripening process, although fruits may end up a little smaller at times.

At this point, it might make sense to remove smaller fruits recently set, so that the plants can concentrate energy on larger fruits and also possibly regrowing some foliage.

I will also say that topping a plant (depending on when it is done in the season) can send a message to the plant to put out suckers. Of course, if you don't have much foliage left to begin with, and especially if a lot of it is towards the top of the plants, this may not be the best course of action. Among other things, you might run the risk of sunscald to fruits.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help. Let us know how it turns out.

Edited to add -- due to the loss of foliage, you might be already facing some danger of sunscald. Something like Surround (among other things, it acts as a sort of sunscreen) might be helpful in that regard. I don't know how many plants you have or if this is even practical. Just thought I'd offer it as food for thought.

[johno]

It was 8+ plants that were skeletonized. They did have a few small leaves left at the tips. I removed all of the fruits. It has been a few days now, and they are growing some new leaves.

Will the new leaves also need some protection, or do you think they can handle Arkansas sun for a few weeks?

I also remulched with some straw litter from the chicken palace for a little extra boost.

[Suze]

Originally Posted by johno

Will the new leaves also need some protection, or do you think they can handle Arkansas sun for a few weeks?

As far as sunscald, I was thinking more in terms of fruits you may have left on, and not so much the foliage. But you've removed fruits.

The new foliage should be able to take the sun just fine, unless you're really getting some extremely hot temps (I don't know what your current weather conditions are like other than I figure it is generally just hot there ).

I've occasionally had new growth / growing tips wilt, then burn when it gets above 105F or so, especially if the UV index is high. I do remember some of the Australian folks having that problem last year (or maybe it was year before last) when they got that heatwave with temps exceeding 110F. Can't remember if they were talking in terms of mature plants or ones recently set out, though.

I will say I see this problem more often with plants recently set out (sometimes even in the mid or high 90's), because their root structure simply isn't developed enough yet to handle all the transpiration from the heat. Lots of wind can add to the problem. Abrupt temperature changes / or UV index can do it too.

Hopefully, you're in the 90's there or below, and since you have mature plants, the roots will probably be able to cope. The mulching you've done, especially if it is very thick and light or neutral colored will help. Anything you can do to keep the roots cool will help immensely. Just don't be tempted to overwater in an attempt to cool off the plants. Also be aware (you may already know this) that new growth "pushed" as a result of fertilizing can sometimes be a little tender, so just keep an eye out and don't fertilize again anytime soon. If you see the new growth wilt when it's hot (even when the soil is moist), and not recover in the evening, might want to figure out a way to shade the plants a little during the hottest part of the day. Sheets, shade cloth, Surround, etc.

I think if you wanted to use something like the Surround, it could only help. It also tends to repel insects as they don't like the feel of it on their little legs. I'm not saying it's strictly necessary, but might be something you'd want to consider as an option.

Again, hope this helps.

[johno]

Thank you , Suze.

Actually, my digital thermometer has read 105 as the high temperature in the shade on the north side of the house a couple of times lately. But they don't seem to be wilting...

Without your advice, I probably would have over-watered and refertilized too soon. Thanks again.

[tuk50]

johno, how did your plants do the last couple of months? Did they come back and produce.
I've been trying to coax a few more maters from my plants. The size has dropped considerably, but as the temps have moderated somewhat, they are getting one last spurt of life. I'm also trying vitamin solution this fall, no conclusions yet, the stuff is cheap (6.75 gal concentrated) and i've read a couple of articles that encouraged its use.
Suze, do you have any thoughts on using the vitamin solution on old tomato plants at end of season? Thanks guys and gals.8)

[johno]

I had completely forgotten about this thread... It was interesting to see what came of them.

The majority of the plants were Blackfoots (-feet?) They were real troopers - they tried and tried, and in fact I still have a few hanging on the vines (red oxhearts - someone posted a picture of theirs a while back, and mine are identical - I'd say these were my favorites this year.) I lost one. They never came close to the amount of foliage they had before, which was outrageous.

Two plants were Rouge D'Irak. They made a miraculous and complete recovery - still producing fruits.

Two more were the Rose PL's from Baker Creek. (They were supposed to be RL...) One gave up the ghost, and the other made a fair recovery, but only a few fruits.

(So it seems 8+ plants was actually 10.)

The drop in temperature made all the difference. I watered them a couple of times early on when it was still hot, but otherwise left them alone.

I've put a plastic tent over that bed, which certainly helped through 2 or 3 light frosts we've had recently, but tonight it's supposed to be 29 degrees. Surely that will end it.

[tuk50]

Johno, thanks for the seeds, if you need anything let me know. Very generous of you! I recently got a pack of the Rose from BK and am going to grow a RL Rose along with it next spring. The Rose RL I grew this year for the first time was delicious, fairly productive and held up to my desert heat better than I expected. My temps are still in the upper 80's and nights are upper 50's, the news this morning said a cold snap coming this weekend, dropping into the low 70's saturday, lol.. I planted an old heirloom Stone (livingston) very late from a trade and have about 2in green tomatoes and keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks again.8)