Need Help With Tomato Plants

[lunangel]

Every year we have been trying to raise tomato's, and they start out great, then right before the tomato's start to ripen, the leaves on the bottom of the plants turn yellow and die. We have tried different varieties, and rotate our crops, every year, but keep having the same problem. This year we put cow manure and lime on the garden, before we tilled it. I water them every morning, and miracle grow, once every one to two weeks. I took a picture of the leaves. Has anyone ever had this problem, and if so, how can I stop it from happening? Thanks.

[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v297/austin355/tomato2.jpg[/img]

[img]https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v297/austin355/tomato.jpg[/img]

[grandpasrose]

It looks to me as if the bottom leaves are getting burned by fertilizer splashing up, or fungi splashing up from the soil as you water.
Try using more organic additions to your soil to build up it's nutrients - see the organic forum - and then you won't need your blue fertilizers and they won't get burnt.
When you water, use a drip or soak method to prevent splashing, and the soil will stay on the ground, not on your plant.
In the meantime, I would remove the damaged leaves, as the plant will continue to try to heal them, using energy better used producing fruit!
Good Luck!
VAL (Grandpa's Rose)

[lunangel]

Thanks for your advice. I have a lot to learn.

[grandpasrose]

No Problem! We are all learning all the time!
Good Luck, and feel free to ask any other questions you have.
VAL (Grandpa's Rose)

[rrrbs29]

I showed your pictures and Q&A to my husband. He said grandpasrose is correct on the water splashing up and burning the leaves.

[lunangel]

Thanks , but I am not sure if thats it, now. I sniped off all the yellow leaves, and I only have been watering the bottom of the plant. My plants are over 3 and 4 feet high, and some of their upper leaves are turning that way too. I posted on another board , and they told me it looked like early blight. which there was no cure for

[grandpasrose]

If it is on your entire plant, then it is likely blight. Tomato blight rapidly destroys affected plants. For tomatoes to be affected the fungus must be present in the air or soil(nothing you can do about that) and the leaves have to be wet. Dry leaves cannot be affected. The spread is prevented somewhat by drip or soaker watering, so there is not spraying up on the leaves.
Blight is worse in cool, damp weather.
It starts with some damaged leaves (they go yellow and brown then dry up and fall off). The plants get brown blotches on the stems, flowers dry up and fall off and any fruit that has formed turns brown and leathery. The brown areas on the stem lose their strength and bend and break easily. If you collect undamaged fruit to ripen off the plant, it usually dvelops the brown leathery fungal damage and cannot be eaten.

Some people spray with copper sulphate, but this needs to be applied before attack to be any good.

DO NOT put diseased plants in your compost heap and make sure you collect any tomato leaves/flowers/fruits that have fallen onthe soil as the fungus can survive on these for up to a year.

DO NOT plant tomatoes in the same ground the following year. If you do, you will continue to have the same problem.
Wish I had magic for you!
VAL (Grandpa's Rose)

[rrrbs29]

OLd school suggestion here. Use pot ash. Wood stove ashes in your ground too (if you have it) before planting. It will kill everything bad in the ground. Tomatoes like low ph too. Hubby said it will get rid of the tomato blith too. Best thing to do with damaged veggie plants is to pull it and burn it. along with any fallen leaves.

[lunangel]

Thank you both for your help. I have so much to learn! I also had great looking cucumbers, squash and pumpkins, and for some reason, their leaves are now turning yellow and dying. They don't have the brown spots like the tomatoes, but they don't look very well.
Thanks for the advice on the wood ashes. My husband burns wood in our garage, so I will have him save it, for next year. Hopefully that will help.
Thanks again for all the advice.

[grandpasrose]

Sounds like the blight has hit them too! It will spread very easily, that is why it is necessary to elimate all of the old plant material.
Sorry!!
VAL(Grandpa's Rose)

[NZG]

The bottom leaves on the tomato plant always die off anyway, so don't be concerned.
You can remove the bottom leaves up till the first truss. Won't do any harm what-so-ever to your plant(s).
Removing the leaves lets the air in to circulate through the plants better too.

I live on a dairy farm and often use cow stools and water combined to feed to my tomato plants. I've never had any ill effect of this method on the leaves. BUT make sure it is diluted well.

[The Helpful Gardener]

Compost tea sprayed on leaves early in the season (and weekly thereafter) act as a biological counterculture to other badguys that show up (a weak dilution of milk works the same way). If somebody already lives there, (a harmless germ or fungus) there's no room at the inn!

Mother Nature has a million ways to beat the baddies

HG

[hugh]

If you are using water from your public supply, it could be chlorine in that water. Tomatoes are sensitive to chlorine.

You can either 1) run rain water from a roof into a barrel or 2) if using the public suppply store it in a barrel for a few days before using to let the chlorine evaportate off.


Hope this helps

[The Helpful Gardener]

Thanks Hugh!