WILTING TOMATOES
KIMB
Posts: 3
in Fruit & veg
My Greenhouse Tomatoes top leaves are wilting, they are in grow bags i am watering them each day so they are not dry. Why would this be the greenhouse has some shading up to stop the sun scorching them.
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I just have a hunch here that your tomatoes may not be wilting at all. I base this on the fact that you say you water every day & they are not dry, also (which is encouraging) you say just the top leaves are wilting.
If the top leaves are turning down, this is a sign of good health. If on the other hand the leaves are limp as if they're dieing....we need to be thinking of perhaps a disease called verticillium wilt, which I'm almost sure it isn't.
See if I can find a pic.
You may be overwatering them if you are watering every day-have you made drainage holes so any excess water can drain away?
Geoff - What I'm thinking here is that the leaves in the head of the plants are coiling or twisting downwards, a lot of people get concerned about this, but it is in fact a good sign.
Watering? Yes, but in my experience it's easier to under-water, rather than over-water when using growbags...they dry out so quickly. Drainage holes? Yes very important to see this has been done.
You can easily tell if you are overwatering because tomatoes conveniently produce excess water on the leaf margins in little beads.
I'd suggest that they're being overwatered. Unless toms are in very small pots in hot direct sun, they should never need watering every day. Toms thrive on "tough love" - a minimum of water and fertiliser.
Our first tomato to ripen (i a growbag in the greenhouse) has got blossom end rot. Is that due to ove or under watering?
I think the jury is still out on that one-one theory is it is a sign of irregular watering-or letting the plants dry out to the point where they are wilting and then giving them a soaking.
Italophile will hopefully add a bit more-I think there are a few other theories
Blossom End Rot is the result of the plant being unable to distribute sufficient calcium to the fruit via its internal system. There can be plenty of calcium available to the roots, the plant just can't distribute it. It's thought to be caused by plant stress.
What causes the stress to the plant? It can be fluctuating temps, strong winds, irregular watering patterns, overwatering, overfertilising - in fact, anything that upsets the plant's internal equilibrium can cause it. Sometimes there's just no knowing. I've had a plant with BER planted right alongside another plant with no BER. Same soil, exactly the same weather and growing conditions.
The further complication is that some varieties - the plums, like Roma and San Marzano - are simply more prone to BER. No one knows why beyond that they seem to be genetically predisposed to it.
Thank you folks. I confess, at times, the plants do get a bit droopy so we water them well - but we do try to keepthe growbags damp all the time!
That's probably the cause, gatehill. Few plants like wet feet and toms aren't one of them. Water when needed rather than by rote. Droopy toms can be misleading, a bit of a trap. On a warm day, toms will wilt or droop a little but the test is to wait till the cool of the evening. If the plant perks up again, it doesn't need water. If it's still drooping, water.