Leaves Turning Yellow and Dying - How Serious?

sarahc · Sat Jul 25, 2015 11:32 am

hello - this is my first year growing tomatoes in above ground planters. Things were developing well, until recently the leaves started to yellow and develop brown/grey areas, and die. I've been reading a number of articles about possible causes, but finding it difficult to figure out if this is a type of fungus like Septoria, and treatable - or something more serious like bacterial canker - in which case I need to get rid of the plants. The symptoms actually look like both - so it's confusing. Here are a few pics would love some feedback. thanks all!

GardeningCook · Sat Jul 25, 2015 12:27 pm

While I can't definitively I.d. the problem, if I were you I would simply snip off & discard (bagged in the trash - NOT on the compost pile) any affected leaves/stems & then see how things progress. That's what I do when confronted with this type of thing - sometimes that's the end of it, sometimes not, but it's worth a try & less invasive than discarding all the plants.

applestar · Sat Jul 25, 2015 12:37 pm

I agree.

... You didn't say what stage of growth your tomatoes are, but it's possible they are at the point when they -- all of a sudden -- start guzzling water. If you have been watering on schedule or giving the same amount out of habit, they may be needing more water at each watering.

sarahc · Sat Jul 25, 2015 4:20 pm

Thanks for the suggestions

I will give both a try. I'm not 100% sure about the growth stage, but there are green tomatoes, and we planted them back in May.

dtizme · Sun Jul 26, 2015 9:22 pm

As long as they are near the bottom of the plant no big deal. If they were yellowing near the top you've got issues. just pinch/cut them off and get rid of them. I'm in the same general area as you/planted around the same time and been getting this for the last week or 2 as well. It happens every year. Good luck.