I have 185 tomatoes in 3 gardens . They have been very robust until the past 2 weeks. I have seen a few issues with possible early blight, which is not the real problem right now. I bought a store ph tester and I come in at about 6.5 on my ph. So I don't believe that acidic soil is the real culprit. I had been using a sprinkler system to water heavily the past month. I am now using hand spary to the roots only and have cut back on that and giving the suggested 1 inch a week as the stalks are healthy and thick and about 5 feet tall in the past 2 months. No signs of water starvation at all. In the past 2 weeks, I see yellowing bottom leaves with early blight symptoms, and bottom rot issues. I applied a light calcium chlorate solution to them anyway, because it may be that I have over watered and washed out the nutrients, or just simply overwatered. After the bottom rots out, I have noticed a bit of bugs that are small and white in color. I think this may be the after effects of the bottom rot , not the cause of it.I also see a very common small digging in issue in the bottom of each affected tomato, as if a boere dug into it, but have yet to see a single worm when I break it apart to inspect it.
Any suggestions besides what I am doing now?
I believe the gardens have plenty of nitrogen now, and possiblt even more than enough.
Thanks for input..
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ggiersdorf
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hendi_alex
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I've found that young tomatoes can tolerate, even thrive on lots of water. But once the plants peak in size and the growth slows, too much water can certainly be a killer. I try to let the soil surface dry between waterings, and that is in this very low water rententive sandy soil in my garden. I don't think that tomatoes in the ground should be watered more than two or three times per week, depending upon soil type.