tomato plants
I planted 5 beautiful healthy tomato plants that I got from agrifest. They are now covered with tons of green tomatoes. The last few days some of the leaves are turning brown. These are whole branches at a time right in the middle of the plants. The tops and bottoms are still green and healthy. I seen no signs of insects and I am keeping them watered. Does anyone have any advice? I would hate to lose these plants just as they are producing.
happened to my pepper plants?? dont know why but i know if you could use chicken poo for fertilizer it would be great, used it last year and it was amazing. this year we dont have chicken poo and you can tell the difference. cant wait to find out the answer to this question
greets
i do not have any advice for browning leaves unless you pluck them (the leaves...be gentle and tell the plants u r sorry) and then fill up a spray bottle with ya warm soapy dishwater. spray the leaves liberally all around and up and down every other day. (with fresh warm soapy dishwater). see if that helps.
as a last resort i would sprinkle seven dust.
here is a foolproof way to grow bug proof tomatoes that continue producing without using any chemicals and so.
get a few five gallon plastic buckets (recycle recycle).....like the ones pickles come in for restaurants. (DO NOT use five gallon plastic buckets that have come in contact with chemicals of any kind, as the chemicals leech into the plastic)......OH...make sure they have their handles!!!!
wash the buckets out well with warm soapy water, rinse well and leave to dry.
when dry, cut a hole in the bottom of the buckets (taking care not to wound yourselves) about a 2-21/2 inch circumference.
gently shake loose your tomato plants (which have already been lightly watered by you) from the grow pot
gently take the tomato plant and stick it through the hole in the bucket (dear liza dear liza) so that the leafy part of the plant is hanging out of the hole and the roots and dirt are in the bucket part.
then cover the roots with dirt, filling the bucket 3/4's of the way with potting soil.....do not pack the dirt.....lightly water
hang the buckets up from anywhere you choose that gets good sun with a bit of shade and watch what happens.....keep them watered, but being careful as they will not need as much water as they would had you planted them in the ground.
this method does well with any variety of tomato....and they keep on producing as long as you care for them nicely....MOST all the time bug free and so.
being the skeptic that i am, i was hesitant to try this method with my tomatoes.
but a sistren showed me her tomato plants that were growing in this way so i tried it and it really works.
not only is this method irie for ones that have problems with tomatoes grown in the garden the traditional way, it is a perfect way for apt. dwellers to grow some of their own food.
there are sites on line that include pictures.....
http://www.seedsofknowledge.com/tomato2.html
&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fkkimpel%2F2598957367%2F&size=173.2kB&name=Bill%27s+upside+down+tomato+plants&p=growing+tomatoes+upside+down&type=JPG&oid=fd47673e1559c88c&fusr=kkimpel&tit=Bill%27s+upside+down+tomato+plants&hurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.flickr.com%2Fphotos%2Fkkimpel%2F&no=10&tt=79&sigr=11g0bo20q&sigi=11g33vc60&sigb=13ilkf4rq&sigh=115hm21g8
bless
Sis Irijah
This consistently happens with our tomatoes as well. Not sure why, but they are still producing regardless! We tend to do cycles, meaning after a while, we start new plants to replace the old. I wouldn't worry too much, but if anyone knows of why this happens... please share!
My experience has been with turning leaves, the watering. Too much makes the leaves turn. Be careful you don't get bugs the leaves will turn white and you have bugs.
Thank you all for your replies. These plants are 4 feet tall so I cannot take them out of the ground sister but I will think about that method of planting in the future. There are no bugs. I even took JJs manifying glass and checked. Queen, I think you may have the right answer. Overwatering. What is throwing me off is that the browning leaves are in the middle not the top or bottom. Very strange. I will water less for a few days and see if that is the problem. I will also remove all the dying leaves. I grew wonderful veggies in the states and it is such a learning curve here for me.
I had exactly what you described last spring and everyone kept telling me watch for bugs. I couldn't see a bug on them. The next thing I realized I had white all over the leaves as in bugs.
Last spring I spent an hour with the tomato guru at Gallows Bay Hdwe discussing with him the ins/outs of organic tomato growing. This year I'm going with the bucket method.
Tam try watering at the base of the plant. don't get the leaves wet, especially when it's sunny. I just snap off the branches wiyh the dead stuff. Let the soil almost dryout between watering. My cherry tomatoes have been bearing for almost 2 months and I'mm still getting green ones. The aphids got my cukes.
Bombi has the right idea, I always water mine from the bottom, the sun will burn the leaves if you get them wet.
I water mine like crazy, but use Miracle Grow & man do they LOVE IT! Big fat green flowering fruit producing machines!!!!
Bugs haven't been too terrible, however chickens have pecked, rats & mongoose have chewed. :-X
We have a one-legged Thrushy that is intent on eating our cherry tomatoes! We have to pick them as soon as they start to turn or we are shit outa luck! Hmmmm... where's the b-b gun! lol!
I too, was wondering about overwatering. My honey waters twice a day and the ground never gets the chance to dry out! He is possessed and I keep telling him he waters too much! I will show him this thread so he will hopefully get a grip.
doug, our situation is exactly the same as yours. Brown leaves in the middle of the plant, still producing very well tho. No bugs.
Bombi we need some lady bugs and preying mantis to eat the aphids here. Thanks everyone for your replies. I do water at the base of the plants. But I think I was over watering.
I'm trying to stay organic so I'm trying the insecticide soap from GBH. Everyone says to use Sevin. Do the aphids like zuchinni?
We are looking for tomatillo (sp sorry) plants or seeds on STX.
Linda J I had some but I had a bunch of seeds get wet and had to throw them out. They must have been in that bunch cause I can't find them now. I'll ask Danieljude. He probably has some.
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