Thursday, May 20, 2010

Why do my tomato plants have large, thick curling leaves. Too much water? The blossoms aren't setting fruit

I water my plants every day and wonder if I should slow it down. I am doing square foot gardening with the special soil. Could I be lacking some nutrient? I keep the plants pruned so that they are not growing too many shoots.

Why do my tomato plants have large, thick curling leaves. Too much water? The blossoms aren't setting fruit
No, tomatoes loves lots of water, that's why they are juicy. They love hot climates and if you have thick leaves, they are healthy as long as the leaves die and turn brown. Sounds like you don't have enough bees and other insects that pollinize. I would make sure your plants are well exposed so that pollinizing insects can have access to them. Also I would fertilize them with well balanced fertilizer. Also you should not prune them, let them grow as they like. In addition, it could be caused by harmful bugs or birds love young buds. Keep a sharp eye on your tomato flowers. No flowers, no tomatoes.
Reply:You are obviously growing "inderterminate " plants, which means that they will as high as you allow them to. You do not "prune " these plants you simply nip out the side shoots you do not need. I don't think that you are overwatering, I think that they are really starved of nutrients. The plants should be planted 2ft apart, with plenty of sunshine, they should be fed a Tomato feed which contains a mixture of, Nitrogen, phosphorus, and Potassium in equal parts. The best plants to grow are Celebrity, Sunbeam, and Mountain spring. Speak to your local garden centre. I would sugest that you forget the tomatoes for this season, I'd say your plants are diseased.....hope this helps
Reply:I don't know where you live but if you're in the South the heat could be preventing pollination. Tomatoes won't pollinate, i.e. set fruit, if the night time temps. stay above 72 or the daytime temps. get above about 94. If you had no blooms I'd say you had too much nitrogen but you seem to have blooms. I'd water every other day for a while and you might want to spray with a fertilizer like Miracle Grow or the like. That would cover you for any nutrient you might be missing. Good luck.


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