Are my tomato problems all connected?

[sunnyvalley]

Sorry if this is the most repetitive topic in the world but I've been researching lists of tomato diseases and mine don't look quite like any of the pictures.

I have several 1-month old tomato seedlings growing indoors under all the same conditions.

1. Leaf damage. The spots are tan/white and smooth looking, happening on the oldest leaves of a couple plants. I have noticed (literally) a few fruitfly-looking things around the plants, could this be caused by them rather than disease? [url=https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y292/pectacon/tomatoleaf.jpg](Picture)[/url]

2. White junk on my soil. This is happening on all containers, including healthy tomatoes. It looks like tiny white pinpoints in clusters, almost like a crust of salt that forms on the surface after watering, and as it dries out turns a rust color. I've cut back, but I do have to water sometime.[url=https://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y292/pectacon/soilspots.jpg](Picture)[/url]

3. A handful are turning purple from the stem up, with newer leaves emerging dark green. I understand this is likely to be a phosphorus problem. I watered a couple times with very diluted Miracle Gro (24-8-16) before the purple appeared, does that mean the MG's phosphorus levels are insufficient and I need to go buy some phosphorus on its own?

[CharlieBear]

For one thing you hit the plants with way too much nitrogen and that will continue to plague you this season. General rule of thumb of tomatoes, if you are using chemical fertilizer, it should have the most of the center number and the least of the first. Oregon state extension as done a lot of research on the subject and you might what to go to that site and look at the pub on tomatoes. I don't know if they have updated it with the latest research yet or not, I haven't checked.
Greenhouse grown plants suffer from many problems, pests like you are discribing, fungal growth on the soil and so forth. So, is it well ventilated, or do you have it closed up? If there isn't a lot of airflow, do you have fans on?

[rainbowgardener]

The white stuff is salts/ minerals from hard water, left behind when the water evaporates. Use distilled water or rainwater and water deeply but not frequently. It will eventually damage the plants when the minerals build up.

But you might want to take your pots outside and just run a bunch of water through them to flush some of the excess nitrogen out. Then look for Tomato Tone, which is designed for tomatoes and is 3 - 4 - 6.

[TZ -OH6]

I don't know what caused the clear spots but it is not any of the major leaf diseases so I wouldn't worry about it.

If I recall Phoenix has very high TDS (Total Disolved Solids) water, with pretty high sodium so make sure that you water them enough that water runs through. There will still be build up of insoluble calcium salts on the surface, but anything harmful will dissolve and wash out with the watering.

Salts are more harmful the more the soil dries out.

It looks like those plants are ready to be topped off with more potting mix.

[sunnyvalley]

Oy! They're sitting in a box in my living room, so ventilation is decent. I put a fan on them an hour or two per day, fearing that too much wind on little plants will do more damage than good. (They are about 8" tall.) I will switch to distilled water, thanks for the tip.

So to clarify, you're saying I should be more concerned about getting some nitrogen out, rather than putting more phosphorus in?

[MaryDel]

The white stuff (salts or minerals) could also be from having a water conditioner.....a huge nono