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I water in the morning also, unless we have a real hot and dry spell like we did here this week. Then an afternoon drink is in order.
Don't you know that inspections are what we fathers do best? I critiqued my oldest daughter's garden at her new house this past weekend. Of course, I then split a 1/2 cord of wood for her by hand a little bit later.
NBP will you adopt me? I need a critique of my garden. LOL
In Phoenix we plant in March and pray the crops will all be harvest-able before the heat. I just ate my first salad tonight made of fresh baby greens, cucumbers, and one lonely tiny tomato. The cukes are coming along nicely, the greens were a bit hard, and the tomato was just OK. Now I have tremendous respect for those folks I buy from at the Farmer's markets! I followed all the directions... but it just doesn't taste the same. Still - I munched through it all feeling pretty proud of myself for being on the road to learning this skill.
Thanks for the tips on the tomatoes, I'll get some mulch on them and some soapy water ASAP. I think i saw some ants trying to farm their aphids on my mint plants...
My *!?@#$* computer would not let me pull up your photos, but by your description, I tend to agree with North Beach Person. Tomatoes, esp., need to be rotated every year. You were probably right on with the fertilizer, make sure you are watering your plants at their base, wetting the leaves will cause any number of problems. Once a week add a general fertilizer to the watering, something like miracle gro, to help keep the roots strong as it produces, you may not be able to get the leaves looking healthy at this point, because the plant is now focused on producing fruit. At the end of the season this year, get rid of the old plants don't turn them into the soil in case they have disease, but do amend your soil, I like to add cow manure and fresh seaweed at this time, so it will have time to work it's way into the soil and not burn the plants
And others will say to water early in the morning because watering at dusk allows mildew to form when the water doesn't completely dry on the leaves.
LOL, this is N. Carolina, right now it is 9:12 P.M. and 78 degrees and raining, this afternoon at 4PM it was 96 degrees. It is stated to abate by 11:30 P.M., so......by morning the ground will be damp and the plants will be dry. I have 3 watermelon plants, Sugar Baby, they take up half of an 80 ft long row, the rest of the row is 3 Cantaloupe plants, both look like a sea of yellow flowers and large green leaves against the red dirt backdrop (used to be clay, the rest of my yard is still clay, but my garden is a nice loam, from mulching over the last eleven or so years). I also have just a few, probably less than a dozen tomatos that will ripen enough to pick in the next four days. This is when I get to go on my "Tomato Sandwich Diet" I seriously try to do this for a couple of months each summer. My tomato varieties are, Celebrity, Better Boy, Cherokee Purple and a new one named "Black Prince" will let ya'll know how they turn out. Oh yeah, one other, Betsy insisted I plant at least one "salad tomato plant" those little ones about the size of a golf ball.
Last edited by Dusty Rhodes; 06-11-2011 at 07:32 PM..
Did someone mention soapy water? Be careful with that. I used it for the first time for the white flies, and the next day my tomato plant leaves were all brown and curled up. I don't know if they'll make it or not. There is some new growth that did not catch the soapy solution, so maybe they'll pull through.
To be on the safe side, I went out and bought a dozen more tomato plants.
Don't know what I did wrong, but won't do it again. Went to the nursery and bought some "Safer" (that's what it's called) spray for white flies and a host of other unwanted critters. One can use it right up to the day of harvest if needed.
Sue, is there a possibility that your tomatoes were affected by herbicide drift? It looks like the leaves are curled at the top which is one of the symptoms. Tomatoes are really sensitive to herbicide. Also, inspect the leaves, especially the underside. Look for little red specks, worms, anything that looks like an insect or bug or disease. Look with a magnifying glass.
Don't just spray soapy water on your tomato plants! It can/will burn them and will only help in certain circumstances.
How compacted is the soil mixture in the containers? Is is packed down really hard? Roots need air, so make sure the medium is not too compacted and that there is appropriate drainage. Stick your knuckle down deep into the pot. If it's moist, don't give it water.
What kind of fertilizer are you using? Don't overdo it! One idea is to take some of the affected foliage to your county extension agent, or a nursery which has a horticulturist on staff (take it in a sealed plastic bag - they don't want you to bring diseased leaves, etc. around which could contaminate others).
Sue, is there a possibility that your tomatoes were affected by herbicide drift? It looks like the leaves are curled at the top which is one of the symptoms. Tomatoes are really sensitive to herbicide. Also, inspect the leaves, especially the underside. Look for little red specks, worms, anything that looks like an insect or bug or disease. Look with a magnifying glass.
Don't just spray soapy water on your tomato plants! It can/will burn them and will only help in certain circumstances.
How compacted is the soil mixture in the containers? Is is packed down really hard? Roots need air, so make sure the medium is not too compacted and that there is appropriate drainage. Stick your knuckle down deep into the pot. If it's moist, don't give it water.
What kind of fertilizer are you using? Don't overdo it! One idea is to take some of the affected foliage to your county extension agent, or a nursery which has a horticulturist on staff (take it in a sealed plastic bag - they don't want you to bring diseased leaves, etc. around which could contaminate others).
Good luck.
doubtful its herbicide drift - i hadnt sprayed anything even remotely near it (like, on the other side of the house)... i dont use soapy water (im always scared ill put too much soap and burn the plant lol). The soil in the pot was fine (not compacted at all). After i cut off the worst parts it did not continue to get any worse, and i have green tomatoes on all the plants now. so i guess well see.
even though the soil in the pot where the cucumber was should have been fine, i dumped it yesterday and filled it with new, fresh soil and transplanted in some more cucumber seedlings I started a couple of weeks ago (boy they are loving the heat!), so hopefully they do well this time around
You may have developed a problem by not rotating your plants around the garden. Next year switch their locations. For this year? Is it possible you may have burned them with fertilizer?
I'm not sure where the "crop rotation" thing comes from, granted, on a 1000 acre farm this may well be a good idea, but...for a family garden veggie plot...I don't see the need. I plant my garden, from south to north. lowest to the ground is the southern most row, garlic, onions, squash,( yellow, zucchini, butternut ), cucumbers, watermelon, cantaloupe, then come peppers, a wide variety from hot to sweet, two rows of tomatos, about 4 varieties counting those little salad tomatos. Then comes Okra, sweet corn and sunflowers. I mulch every plant with my grass clippings (2.5 acre yard = lots of grass clippings), I've been doing it this way for many years and I always have an overproducing garden- about 4000 square feet. I also use a really effective organic fertilizer that will not burn plants, tis odoriferous indeed, but it works quite well and has the added bonus of keeping Deer out of my garden (they hate the smell of it). At the end of the growing season, I till everything under and add it back to the soil, mulch and all.
I have been watching my tomatoes grow and counting days to see them become red, then here I am finding Blossom End Rot on a bunch of them. I just tossed away 5 nice looking tomatoes .
I don't think the problem is lack of Calcium, but I think it is the water. We have been having some really hot days here so I think they dried up. They still look good, now I am paying really good attention to them.
I have been watching my tomatoes grow and counting days to see them become red, then here I am finding Blossom End Rot on a bunch of them. I just tossed away 5 nice looking tomatoes .
I don't think the problem is lack of Calcium, but I think it is the water. We have been having some really hot days here so I think they dried up. They still look good, now I am paying really good attention to them.
thats part of the reason why i do container gardening, even though i have over an acre that all out in glorious full sun LOL. its easier for me to watch and maintain. my tomatoes are actually the only thing thats in the ground, and even then its right next to the containers so.... LOL
i do have to say, that it seems as though their overall health has improved since i mulched them and cut off the really bad areas.
I don't think the problem is lack of Calcium, but I think it is the water. We have been having some really hot days here so I think they dried up. They still look good, now I am paying really good attention to them.
Could be both, but long stretches of hot, dry days followed by cool, wet days can cause blossom end rot.
Crunch up some eggshells and use them as a side dressing, or use bone meal. That will help, as will keeping the garden watered evenly when it's dry.
Good luck!
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I found Blossom end rot in my Roma tomatoes
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