Can I save these tomato transplants?

[TexasGardenGirl]

Hello, everyone. I'm new to this whole vegetable garden thing. It's my first garden this year. I'm working in a raised bed built by my hubby and me (okay, mostly my hubby) We're in North Carolina (zone 7b) New soil, never been used or anything. Nice healthy soil as far as I know (if my thriving squash and okra and peppers and herbs is much to go by). I transplanted 4 healthy (at least they looked healthy) Roma tomato plants. According to their tags they're supposed to be resistant to verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt (I know this doesn't mean immune). Two were a little smaller but the local nursery said they should be fine to transplant. Two were a bit larger.

This is one of the larger of the tomatoes. It seems to be doing okay but I don't know a lot about tomatoes.


Here is one of the ones not doing well at all. Both look this way.


It's horrible. I'm guessing it's well, dead. If it's not totally dead, can it be saved? Or should I just compost the two that look like that and stick with the two that seem alright? And if the blah looking ones are dead/dying, why aren't the other two if they're in the same dirt with the same fertilizer (which is used at the time of planting per suggestion of the local nursery) and everything else? They've gotten plenty of water. In fact, we've had a good deal of rain off and on since I transplanted them Wednesday. Today is the first day we haven't had rain. And it's looking like it still might do so later today. But there's no standing water. The soil is very well drained. I'm baffled. I'm sure this kinda makes me look dumb. Not knowing if a plant is totally dead or not. At least I kinda feel dumb even posting about this. Anyway, thanks for reading if you made it this far. And if you can help, thanks in advance.

[Lindsaylew82]

Did you do anything to get them ready for the garden? Like, get them used to the sun and weather?

[TexasGardenGirl]

They were already out of the green house and had been hardened off (according to where I got them). Since they were in the sun when I got them and they told me they were ready for transplant whenever I was ready I went ahead and transplanted them.

[imafan26]

Sun varies where you live. You need to get them used to the sun at your house first. Move them out to the sun and keep them in the pots over the spot you plan to plant them for a couple of days before you plant. If you see them wilting or stressed they need more hardening. To transplant tomatoes, remove the lower leaves . Try to plant on a cloudy day with not a lot of wind. Make sure the planting hole is well amended and watered well before you plant so there is even moisture. Plant tomatoes deep, stem and all up to an inch from the bottom leaves. Water immediately and well. If you did not disturb the roots getting the plant out of the pot much, sometimes it will not get transplant shock. You may have to water two or three times a day for the first week to keep the soil moist. Mulching helps with that. I think your other tomato is a goner.

[TexasGardenGirl]

Sun varies where you live. You need to get them used to the sun at your house first. Move them out to the sun and keep them in the pots over the spot you plan to plant them for a couple of days before you plant. If you see them wilting or stressed they need more hardening. To transplant tomatoes, remove the lower leaves . Try to plant on a cloudy day with not a lot of wind. Make sure the planting hole is well amended and watered well before you plant so there is even moisture. Plant tomatoes deep, stem and all up to an inch from the bottom leaves. Water immediately and well. If you did not disturb the roots getting the plant out of the pot much, sometimes it will not get transplant shock. You may have to water two or three times a day for the first week to keep the soil moist. Mulching helps with that. I think your other tomato is a goner.

I had a feeling the tomatoes were pretty much dead. I just can't figure out why two would be relatively okay and two would just die on me. I didn't do anything differently and they came from the same place. I would hate to go get new ones and have the same thing happen again.

[Lindsaylew82]

This isn't disease related... It's all environmental. Treat every plant you buy like it hasn't been hardened off, then harden the off at the place they're going to be planted. Gradually. I give mine heavy cool morning sun and dappled shade for a few days, then move them to the back porch where they get more intense afternoon sun and less wind protection. Then they get planted out. You have to water them a couple times a day at first, then I ween them down to about an inch of water a week when they start putting out new growth. New growth means their roots are recovered from transplant.

I don't think this will happen to new starts if you just water them more frequently, and harden them off.


Just out of curiosity, you didn't spray them with anything did you? Antifungals, oil, insecticides or fertilizer?

[TexasGardenGirl]

This isn't disease related... It's all environmental. Treat every plant you buy like it hasn't been hardened off, then harden the off at the place they're going to be planted. Gradually. I give mine heavy cool morning sun and dappled shade for a few days, then move them to the back porch where they get more intense afternoon sun and less wind protection. Then they get planted out. You have to water them a couple times a day at first, then I ween them down to about an inch of water a week when they start putting out new growth. New growth means their roots are recovered from transplant.

I don't think this will happen to new starts if you just water them more frequently, and harden them off.


Just out of curiosity, you didn't spray them with anything did you? Antifungals, oil, insecticides or fertilizer?

Man, I wish I'd known to do the hardening off thing even with the ones from the nursery. I was just doing what my dad always did and planted them when I got them. He never had any form of issues with growing tomatoes. And he grew them in the exact same bed year after year. And since we actually have the same hardiness zone here as my dad does where he grows, I figured it would be okay to do it the way he did... I guess not.

I didn't spray them with anything. I did mix a tomato, veggie, and herb fertilizer into the soil. Just the amount the bag said to mix in for tomatoes. In the pics you may see a little on top of the soil. That's just a little I missed getting when I tipped the bag of fertilizer. I was told that tomatoes were heavy feeders and it may be a good idea to put the granular fertilizer in and then follow the directions on how often to feed from there.

Sigh...I feel so dumb with all this. I thought it'd be easy to get my garden started cause I'd helped my dad once in awhile. I'm definitely a beginner gardener....

[Lindsaylew82]

Please don't feel dumb.... There's not a gardener around that hasn't made mistakes. The point is to learn from your mistakes and learn from others. I bet there was a lot of behind the scenes action that your dad did!

I think it's safe to say the 2 that are winter all the way down are goners... I would make sure nothing chewed through the base of the plant stem. Cutworms...

[TexasGardenGirl]

Please don't feel dumb.... There's not a gardener around that hasn't made mistakes. The point is to learn from your mistakes and learn from others. I bet there was a lot of behind the scenes action that your dad did!

I think it's safe to say the 2 that are winter all the way down are goners... I would make sure nothing chewed through the base of the plant stem. Cutworms...

I'm beginning to think that there's a lot he did that I didn't know about! Maybe I need to give him a call and ask him about it! Maybe he can give me some tips!

I guess I better pull those two and get a couple new ones. This time, I'll harden them off a little better. If that doesn't do it then I give up and will stick to the ones I have. Or maybe I'll try the cherry tomatoes I picked up accidentally because they were with the Roma tomatoes. I was gonna return them but maybe they'll make a nice sauce or salsa.

[Lindsaylew82]

Cherries are super fun and productive!!!

[TexasGardenGirl]

Cherries are super fun and productive!!!

I don't eat raw tomatoes so do you know if they're good for crushing for sauces and the like?

[Lindsaylew82]

Sure! If you use a food mill you can even get the skins and seeds out.

[TexasGardenGirl]

Sure! If you use a food mill you can even get the skins and seeds out.

Great! I went out to keep an eye on my dog to keep her outta the garden (she actually killed my first round of tomato plants-this is my second) and saw the two I was asking about are indeed gone. They didn't survive. They should probably have stayed in some shelter to grow a little longer before transplant. God, I cannot believe how much bad luck I'm having with my tomatoes. Looks like I'll keep the cherry tomatoes after all.

Any tips for separating two plants that are in the same pot? Without sending them into shock? They were that way when I bought the plant. I didn't even notice it was two equally sized plants until I got home!

[applestar]

Cherry tomatoes are super on pizza too -- just cut in half and drizzle with EVOO -- DD's only like plain cheese, so I put my fave toppings on and just toast in the toaster oven.

One other thing that may have made a difference is how well you watered the plants in their pots *before* planting.

But if the granules were chemical fertilizers, I believe it's important to put a layer of buffer soil between the fertilizer and the plant roots. I admit to not knowing for sure because I never use chemical fertilizers, but I remember watching some gardening shows -- maybe victory garden -- in which they made a circle of white crystal fertilizers AROUND the planted tomato, then scratched that in.

[applestar]

Two in the same pot -- OK what I do is soak the soil really well -- dunk in a bucket -- the slip the soil out, hold the plants loosely by the mass of roots just below the bottom of the stems where it's a little sturdier, and start moving them back and forth -- up and down, side to side. You are trying to untangle and loosen knotted roots. Twist like door knob in opposite directions too. Small movements -- you don't want to break the roots -- and be patient.

Eventually, two will start to lean away from each other -- a good sign. Hold the rootball even more gently, now you are trying to feel for roots sliding between each other while pulling them apart -- sometimes they are not coming apart because you are HOLDING the critical roots -- steady pull, ever so gently. Keep on with twisting and side to side up and down movements.

That's what I do, anyway.

[TexasGardenGirl]

Two in the same pot -- OK what I do is soak the soil really well -- dunk in a bucket -- the slip the soil out, hold the plants loosely by the mass of roots just below the bottom of the stems where it's a little sturdier, and start moving them back and forth -- up and down, side to side. You are trying to untangle and loosen knotted roots. Twist like door knob in opposite directions too. Small movements -- you don't want to break the roots -- and be patient.

Eventually, two will start to lean away from each other -- a good sign. Hold the rootball even more gently, now you are trying to feel for roots sliding between each other while pulling them apart -- sometimes they are not coming apart because you are HOLDING the critical roots -- steady pull, ever so gently. Keep on with twisting and side to side up and down movements.

That's what I do, anyway.

Thank you very much! I just watered the cherry tomatoes this morning and am letting them drain the excess out so it doesn't get all over. I'll work on making sure these guys are hardened better before I try getting them into their new home. Here's hoping I don't manage to kill MORE plants lol

[MOFishin]

Don't feel bad. This is my second year growing a garden. My tomatoes ALL did great the first year. This year, 2 of my 4 "Early Girl" tomato plants already look like goners.

[TexasGardenGirl]

Don't feel bad. This is my second year growing a garden. My tomatoes ALL did great the first year. This year, 2 of my 4 "Early Girl" tomato plants already look like goners.

Thanks, it does make me feel a bit better knowing I'm not the only one with tomato issues. My first batch I had 6 hybrid plum tomatoes called Health Kick. My damn dog dug them up! The roots didn't look damaged or anything but it killed them. This set I just went and got 4 Roma tomatoes since I just planned on using tomatoes for homemade tomato sauce. We eat a lot of Italian food and go through a lot of sauce. 2 of the 4....well, you saw how pathetic the photo was. Then, I went out this morning and a third one had died. The last one seems to have perked up and seems alright. The stem doesn't seem as limp. I do have a couple cherry tomatoes (two in one pot) that I am gonna do some extra hardening off and plant. I was going to return them but when I saw my other plants not making it I figured I'd give cherries a try. But now I gotta go get more tomato plants. If I want any decent amount of sauce to use and not buy any I'm gonna need a lot of tomatoes haha! But I'm gonna get a food mill and use the cherries for sauces too. But man, I am so sad that I can't seem to get the tomatoes to actually survive. Part of me does wonder if it's getting colder at night than the forecast says it is supposed to. It says it's above 50 but I wonder if the last few nights it's been dipping a little lower which may not be so great for new transplants. I dunno. First tomato growing season. I'll keep a better eye on the weather. It has been pretty weird.