Tomato Gardeners...HELP!

[gavinandallison]

I think your plant will be fine once you plant it in the ground - if you are doing pot growning, I am not sure, I have never had luck with it .

 

[hennyannie]

I agree and I have seen few people have luck with those really big potted tomatoes. They push them to hard before you get them and them it's hard for you to keep them going.

 

[1MrsMagoo]

While it's in a pot watch the watering since they don't like a lot of water...but will dry out fast in direct sun since the pot is small (you may consider putting a small catch dish under it...like for house plants and putting a bit of water in that if it consistently gets too dry). You should be able to check the soil and see if your issue is too much or too little water: If the soil is moist when the plant looks wilted then cut back on your watering. If the soil is dry, then water it more. It has been in the mid to high 80's here for a few weeks and we are getting very little to no rain. I have soaker hoses on my plants in the garden and drip lines on the potted plants. The potted plants get daily water and the ones planted in the ground get watered every 3rd day.

When you replant or transplant this...make sure to break off the bottom few stems/leaves and plant a few inches of the stem as well as the roots. Tomatoes will form roots along the stem (don't damp off like other vegetables) and you will have a better root system and a healthier plant. I have 70 tomatoes in the ground that are loaded with tomatoes and a couple dozen Celebrity Bush tomatoes in 18+ Gallon black landscape pots: All were planted deep (planted 1/2 to 2/3 of plant below ground level) and all are doing great.


Good luck with your plants!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

I would guess it was either constantly too wet or got too dry for too long. Either one will kill the root hairs, so the plant can't take up any water. Then it looks droopy and the leaves turn colors.

It may have stayed too wet, because I don't know how well those types of pots drain, with daily watering. Does it have any drainage holes? Plants don't use as much water and evaporation rates are slower in cool spring weather. It may have gotten too dry, because the root mass is too large for that size pot.

Putting it in the ground or a larger pot would be good. I like to keep tomatoes in the house when it's below 55 degrees, unless you're doing something to keep them warmer. I usually pop mine in the house at night and back on the patio in the morning, when the nights are too cool for them. I find that peppers do well that way, too. Sometimes particular tropicals are stunted by cool weather, without it being cold enough to kill them.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree. Get it in the ground or a larger pot. On the roof like that (I have similar dogs. I understand. Chickens have to be kept away when I am hardening off plants too.) it may be drying out, it may be too wet, the sun may have scalded it, or the wind may have damaged it.

I don't know how well that plant was hardened off. Plants grown in a greenhouse or started indoors can suffer and die if they go straight into the environment. They need to be gradually hardened off, which means gradually expose them to sunlight and varying temperatures. Wind is always a risk.

I'd also pinch off the small tomatoes and any blossoms. It needs to spend its energy growing roots and getting established before it tries to support tomatoes.

It may be too late, but I do think your best bet is to get it in the ground or a larger pot soon. Personally, I'd put it in the ground and cover it at nightt if frost is a problem. I find it hard to keep moisture right in pots.