Need help with hydroponic tomatoes.

TeamTeke · January 12, 2017

Hydroponic tomatoes great for 8 weeks, now disaster. Help

Ron Teke20 hours ago
This is the third crop of hydroponic tomatoes that I have grown. Two outdoors and one in my greenhouse. The plants are lush and green and grow like hell for about 8 weeks, then wilting and drying. The top part of the plant continues to grow and be lush. My method is dutch buckets and I use nutrients from Hydro Gardens specifically for tomatoes at their recommended mixing rates. For 25 gallons of water I use 57 grams of 4-18-38, 57 grams of calcium nitrate and 28 grams of magnesium sulfate. My learning came from mhpgardener on YouTube. He said to run the solution twice a day for 30 minutes. I have added three photos, one with the lush foliage and two showing the extreme wilt. I would not think this is fusarium wilt. Adjacent to the tomatoes in the same hydroponic system is a thriving eggplant with no sign of wilt/distress.
Anyway, I now wonder if I should have been pushing more nutrients to them say 4-6 times per day for 30 minutes. What do you think? Thanks, Ron T.

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txtstorm · January 12, 2017

Hi there. I like your set up! I'm thinking of setting up a dutch bucket system outdoors this spring.

You say that you are running the solution for 30 minutes, twice a day. Does that mean that the plants are sitting in at least some solution without aeration for all but one hour of the day? With plants that large and buckets that small, I would imagine that the root systems are pretty well developed. Perhaps the roots are either rotting due to a lack of aeration, *or* they might be drying out? Just a thought. It looks like you are in FL, so temps are usually relatively high, yes? As temperature goes up, the capacity for water (or the solution) to hold dissolved gases goes down.

I've run quite a few cheapo DWC systems using 5 gallon buckets and the health of the plant always seems to go south when the root systems get really long and unruly.

These are my 2 cents. I hope they might be helpful.

Best,

~Adam

Cole_Robbie · January 12, 2017

It looks like possible fungal issues to me. Are you spraying the plants with Daconil or any fungicide?

Ricky Shaw · January 12, 2017

Your measurements are correct for mature heirlooms with those products. I know that.

My expertise is pretty much limited to, "put the mix in the bag, keep the bag moist" growing, but I do use the HydroGarden products, and from experience, there's a fair amount of fine settlement after initially mixing and that repeated stirring is needed before hand watering. I've wondered if this in some way would impede it's effectiveness in a static application. Like an Earthbox, oreven ebb and flow hydroponics, where it would settle out in the trays. These might be applications were a liquid forms of Cal/Mag might be preferable.

It's remote that this would apply to you Ron, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

Gerardo · January 12, 2017

The fungus is among us.

Rajun Gardener · January 12, 2017

Ron, I've been growing in DB for 3 seasons too following MPH's method. You should be mixing 12 grams to 5 gallons of calnit and 6 grams of epsom to 5 gallons. I'm using Masterblend but I'm sure the HG stuff is close enough and that also is 12 grams to 5 gallons.

I noticed that some plants don't like the nutes as much as others and the top leaves curl down and other varieties are fine growing next to it. I run the pump 15 minutes 3 times a day with no problems. This year I'm running it twice a day for 15 minutes for smaller plants and they like it. I also notice when the plants get bigger and it's windy they drink up the nutes faster.

I think you have blight from the looks of it.

January 12, 2017	#1
TeamTeke Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Silverthorne, CO &Fl Keys Posts: 13	Need help with hydroponic tomatoes. Hydroponic tomatoes great for 8 weeks, now disaster. Help Ron Teke20 hours ago This is the third crop of hydroponic tomatoes that I have grown. Two outdoors and one in my greenhouse. The plants are lush and green and grow like hell for about 8 weeks, then wilting and drying. The top part of the plant continues to grow and be lush. My method is dutch buckets and I use nutrients from Hydro Gardens specifically for tomatoes at their recommended mixing rates. For 25 gallons of water I use 57 grams of 4-18-38, 57 grams of calcium nitrate and 28 grams of magnesium sulfate. My learning came from mhpgardener on YouTube. He said to run the solution twice a day for 30 minutes. I have added three photos, one with the lush foliage and two showing the extreme wilt. I would not think this is fusarium wilt. Adjacent to the tomatoes in the same hydroponic system is a thriving eggplant with no sign of wilt/distress. Anyway, I now wonder if I should have been pushing more nutrients to them say 4-6 times per day for 30 minutes. What do you think? Thanks, Ron T. Email Comment1Bookmark

January 12, 2017	#2
txtstorm Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2016 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 54	Hi there. I like your set up! I'm thinking of setting up a dutch bucket system outdoors this spring. You say that you are running the solution for 30 minutes, twice a day. Does that mean that the plants are sitting in at least some solution without aeration for all but one hour of the day? With plants that large and buckets that small, I would imagine that the root systems are pretty well developed. Perhaps the roots are either rotting due to a lack of aeration, or they might be drying out? Just a thought. It looks like you are in FL, so temps are usually relatively high, yes? As temperature goes up, the capacity for water (or the solution) to hold dissolved gases goes down. I've run quite a few cheapo DWC systems using 5 gallon buckets and the health of the plant always seems to go south when the root systems get really long and unruly. These are my 2 cents. I hope they might be helpful. Best, ~Adam

January 12, 2017	#3
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	It looks like possible fungal issues to me. Are you spraying the plants with Daconil or any fungicide?

January 12, 2017	#4
Ricky Shaw Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Zone 6a Denver North Metro Posts: 1,910	Your measurements are correct for mature heirlooms with those products. I know that. My expertise is pretty much limited to, "put the mix in the bag, keep the bag moist" growing, but I do use the HydroGarden products, and from experience, there's a fair amount of fine settlement after initially mixing and that repeated stirring is needed before hand watering. I've wondered if this in some way would impede it's effectiveness in a static application. Like an Earthbox, oreven ebb and flow hydroponics, where it would settle out in the trays. These might be applications were a liquid forms of Cal/Mag might be preferable. It's remote that this would apply to you Ron, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

January 12, 2017	#5
Gerardo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: San Diego-Tijuana Posts: 2,594	The fungus is among us.

January 12, 2017	#6
Rajun Gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Tomato Cornhole Posts: 2,550	Ron, I've been growing in DB for 3 seasons too following MPH's method. You should be mixing 12 grams to 5 gallons of calnit and 6 grams of epsom to 5 gallons. I'm using Masterblend but I'm sure the HG stuff is close enough and that also is 12 grams to 5 gallons. I noticed that some plants don't like the nutes as much as others and the top leaves curl down and other varieties are fine growing next to it. I run the pump 15 minutes 3 times a day with no problems. This year I'm running it twice a day for 15 minutes for smaller plants and they like it. I also notice when the plants get bigger and it's windy they drink up the nutes faster. I think you have blight from the looks of it.