Lower leaves on the tomato plant are the oldest leaves on the plant. When they turn yellow and brown, it may simply be a sign of age and the coming end of the season. It also can be a sign of early or late blight, fungal diseases. You can simply trim off the leaves and dispose of them if it is nearly the end of the season where you are.
If it is early or mid season in your part of the world you can spray the plants with an anti-fungal spray—a sulfur or copper spray or 1 tablespoon of baking soda plus 2. You should see a slowing of the disease progression in 2 days. First, estimate how many days you have left in the growing season.
If it is early in the season where you live then side dress the plants with a high phosphorus fertilizer; look for an organic bloom booster fertilizer. If you have only 30 to 60 days left in your season until the first frost comes , then it is likely too late for your plants to produce fruit. Again, you can give the plants a phosphorus rich fertilizer but there simply may not be enough days left for the plants to flower and set fruit.
Next season, make sure that you use a low nitrogen fertilizer when feeding the tomatoes and put a half handful of bone meal in the bottom of each planting hole at planting time.
Large tomato cages can be purchased and set in place early in the season. Late in the season, if a cage is not in place, you can put three large plant stakes around the plant to form a triangle. Then run elastic horticultural tape or garden twine between the stakes at about 1 foot intervals to draw the plant inward and upward. If you have a row of tomato plants you want to support, place a line of stakes on either side of the row and run the twine or tape between the stakes drawing the plants inward and upward.
The soil is very fertile, with a high amount of organic materials. What sorts of open pollination tomatoes would you recommend? They only have two varieties here, so I plan to get while I am in the USA… Neither variety has good size or production.
I am a first time Gardner after retiring. Gosh, I learned so much from this article and the comments of your readers. I have blossom rot on my first 2 tomatoes so I will get those crushed egg shells to help. Should I trust the moisture meter? Early season tomatoes often suffer blossom end rot; usually, because the soil has not warmed and the plant has trouble drawing up all the nutrients.
Get a good tomato food at the garden center—one that contains calcium and magnesium; this should help. A 5-gallon container is likely too small for a full-size indeterminate vining tomato —but the right size for a determinate tomato.
As you tomatoes grow you will need to ensure that the upper growth and fruit do not tip your 5-gallon containers. Seven or gallon containers would be a better choice for indeterminate tomatoes. Hi, I started off by planting tomato seeds in small pots and polybags. They grew well. Once they reached a height of about 6 inches I transplanted into the ground taking care not to damage the roots. But few days after transplantting all wilted and died.
Could it be due to too much water? There are several reasons a seedling can fail: too much or too little water, day temperatures too hot—sun too intense, night temperatures too chilly, too much nitrogen in the soil—these are the most likely.
You have to be a bit of detective to figure these things out. Plants are easily stressed when they are young. Next time pot them up into gallon and then two-gallon containers before setting them in the garden.
That way the roots will be well established. Tomatoes can be transplanted to the garden about two weeks after the last frost; seedlings after that time can be moved with then are 4 to 6 inches tall. You can water tomatoes and seedlings with tap water unless you suspect there are additives in the water system that would be detrimental to plants. Please am an undergraduate student doing my project on Tomato. I have planted the seed last two days but still confuse on how to water it, please help me sir.
Get the best gardening tips straight into your inbox! Email Address:. Join our gardening family to receive the latest tips. Search Search for: Search. How to Grow Tomatoes: Grow tomatoes on stakes or in cages for easy harvest.
Facebook 0 Tweet 0 Pin 0. Sow them about one-quarter inch deep, covering lightly with moistened potting mix. Sturdy, healthy seedlings need plenty of light.
Too little light results in legginess where the seedlings reach and stretch, eventually flopping over. The ideal place to start seeds is under a grow light, where you control the amount of light. My grow lights are inexpensive, four-foot shop lights hung with chains on a wooden shelf.
As the plants grow, I can move my lights up so that they are always just a few inches from the foliage of my tomato plants. I leave the lights turned on for sixteen hours a day, and have a timer that turns them on and off. You can use a sunny window to start tomato seeds, but due to low light conditions in late winter, expect some stretching.
If you plan on making seed starting an annual event, consider investing in a grow light, like this fluorescent fixture or a SunBlaster. Overwatering is one of the quickest ways to kill delicate seedlings, so keep an eye on soil moisture. It should be slightly moist, but not soaking wet. Once seeds are sown, use a clear plastic dome or a sheet of plastic wrap overtop of the trays and containers to maintain moisture.
Once germination occurs, remove all covers so that air can circulate. As indicated in my previous step, air circulation is important when growing healthy tomato plants. Having moving air also toughens up the stems and foliage of the seedlings. Many potting mixes contain slow-release fertilizer to feed your plants slowly over several weeks.
You can supplement these fertilizers with an organic water soluble fertilizer , applied at half the recommend rate every 12 to 14 days. Carefully read and follow all labels on potting mix bags and fertilizer containers. Hardening off is the process where indoor-grown seedlings are acclimatized to the outdoor garden.
Expect this process to take five to seven days read more about hardening off HERE. Start by putting the seedlings outside in the shade for a few hours. Bring them back indoors that night. Continue to put the seedlings outside, gradually introducing them to more sun each day. They are be ready to be transplanted into the garden or containers within a week. For more on seed starting and growing tomatoes, check out the following articles:.
Then I get busy. And then I have to go get plants from my local nursery. Your tutorial is a reminder of how easy it is to start from seed! Thanks again! You have Sun Gold under the hybrids and it is in fact an F1 but you state it is an heirloom. You might want to change that so as to not confuse anyone. It is indeed a great cherry tomato and my favourite.
Hi Debbie, thanks for your comment. Thanks, Niki. We used to be able to buy Sun gold F1 in the garden centres here but no more. I used the last of my precious seed last year and placed an order for some from Halifax Seeds so I feel a kinda kinship to you ha ha. Have a great gardening season. Good question! I usually turn them on when I place my seed flats beneath the lights. This is because the lights throw off a bit of heat which can speed up germination. You can wait however if you prefer.
My tomato plants are doing really well, in fact they are up to the lights on the shelf, and I still have a month to go until planting time.
They have nice sturdy stalks. Should I remove them to a table and place them under some higher lights in the basement? Last year I used different seeds and they did not grow like this. Hi Brenda, If you have the option of moving them to a space with higher lights I would do that. Thus, in these early stages of development, tomato plants need to focus their energy on growth. Once the tomatoes have been planted in your garden, pick off these first blossoms and tomatoes.
Leslie Rose has been a freelance writer publishing with Demand Studios since In addition to her work as a writer, she is an accomplished painter and experienced art teacher. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in art with a minor in English. Home Guides Garden Gardening. By Leslie Rose Updated December 15, Related Articles.
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