My tomato plants don't look good at all.

[cher68]

Hey all. I recently planted some tomato plants and unfortunately they are not looking good.
The leaves aren't nice and green they are kind of a weird ash green and there are no blooms and they don't look like they have grown at all. I have watered them about every night and we just had a ton of rain over the weekend so I prob won't water them any for a day or so depending on how the soil looks.
I am so disappointed as a first time gardener.
My cuke plant looks like it has powdery mildew from what I've read online. So I bought some Neem oil in a spray that says it's safe for veggies, roses, etc. Something has ate the junk out of my knockout rosebushes in the last week so I'm going to spray it as well.
I'm wondering if I should give the tomato plants a shot as well since they seem to have some sort of an issue!? I've used fish fertilizer on them once and a spray of epsom salt water one time and that's if for fertilizer.
Wondering if I should get a new plant and try putting it in a pot on the patio since the ones in the ground look lousy. I want tomatoes this summer !

[imafan26]

Please put your location in your profile so we know where you are located. Can you post a picture? The forum has made it easier to load pictures. When you do a post, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you can upload your pictures from the computer.

How old are the tomatoes?
What did you do to prepare the soil?
You may be watering too much unless your soil dries out very quickly.
What kind of fertilizer are you using? Tomatoes are heavy feeders.

[cher68]

I am in central Indiana. I think I planted them a couple weeks ago.
I've fertilized once with fish fertilizer and also used a epsom salt spray.
I planted them in some dirt I bought in a bag, sorry I can't remember what but it is supposed to have fertilizer in it. Its for planting flowers and veggies.
I can take a pic .

[gixxerific]

Pics please

You say you water every night that is a no no. They should be fine with a good deep soaking once a week of about an inch. A little more in the heat of summer. The same is true for most plants. The idea being is to water deep and let them dry out a bit this forces roots to grow lower in the soil and go for the water. If you water shallow a lot the root will grow up toward the surface where they can be damaged when the heat does come on.

[cher68]

I will try to get a pic today. Not sure how to post one on here.
I don't water unless the soil looks dry, and lately we've had rain so I haven't watered for several days. I hit them with some fertilizer this morning though.
They leaves just arent' very green and even have some brownish dry looking spots. Some of the leaves toward the bottom of some are yellowish. And there are no blooms whatsoever and they don't look as if they've grown.

[mattie g]

Sounds to me like they're getting drowned out and are becoming susceptible to disease (fungus-type, perhaps) with the increased humidity of summer. It can be overcome, but, as others have said, pictures would certainly be helpful for the folks hoping to help identify the real issues.

We've had a good amount of rain so far this season (over 6" in June), and the temps have been acceptable, so I haven't actually watered my plants thoroughly so far. That's somewhate to do with the fact that my soil doesn't dry out too quickly, as my garden gets anywhere from 7-10 hours of sun at the peak of the year. My potted tomatoes have gotten watered here and there, but the ones in the ground have only gotten two shots of compost tea and one of fish emulsion...which equates to perhaps a gallon or two of water per plant all season.

[cher68]

I took some pics, now trying to get them on here.

[cher68]

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Yay, was able to make it work.

[cher68]

any ideas? I don't feel like I've overwatered or underwatered. I have no idea!

[Dillbert]

from the pix -

looks like a sandy soil - which can be nutrient poor as it drains so readily. often lacking in organic matter as well.

the pale green is one indicator of poor nutrients.

there is no mulch. this is a problem in the heat and dry - and last pix shows the ground cracking from inadequate moisture.

tomatoes do not like wet-dry-wet-dry cycles - they prefer a constant even moisture level.

my suggestion: mulch heavy - 4-6 inches - not fresh wood chips but grass clippings, straw, what you can get your hands on... if you use fresh grass clippings, do not put them right up against the stems until the grass cools off (clippings generate heat the first 24-48 hrs as they start the decomposition process)

water well - are those drip/weep hoses? use your finger or in hard soil a hand trowel - water enough that 1 inch down the soil has moisture 24x7.

water with a weak (half strength) fertilizer every 10 days or so until the plants get going. full strength may be too harsh in their weakened state. no other sprays, bug anythings - you don't need that stuff - if you get horn worms, hand pick.

at this point, your choice either organic type fertilizers (manure tea, etc) or a balanced chem type 15-15-10.

[cher68]

I'm happy to say that the tomato plants have taken a real turn and are growing, greening up and several of them have blooms!!
I used a different fertilizer and not sure if thats what it was or not. Its a 20 20 20.
Anyway I'm thrilled !! Going to try to get some kind of mulch down asap!