Topic: Droopy tomato plants

[shaolin101]

Not sure whats wrong with them as i have never grown them before.

Mu girlfriend got me 3 plants from our local city farm (I have no idea what type they are and she forgot to ask - could turn into anyting!)

They have grown leaves so far and are about 9-10 inches tall. I put them in the growbag and watered them but the leaves seem to hang and look weak - I am guessing this is not normal. They were like it in the post as well but i took them out as it was a tiny square pot.

Dont want to over-water them as the growbag says the shouldn't need water for a week once planted in there.

Any ideas?

[Veggie Mad]

Just a guess but if you are only watering the tomatoes once a week, they are too dry.  The grow bag will not hold a lot of water, and dries out very fast.  You should water the tomatoes every day.  In another message i a great tip, insert a small plastic pot into the grow bag and water the bag through the pot, the water should not flow out and will go directly to the roots.  Hope this helps, I am new to growing veggies, this is only my second year - so 'm still learning myself!

[kenkew]

Could be water shortage or more likely too much hot direct shunshine. I trust you have them supported?

[Roy Bham UK]

Hi Veggie Mad ;) that's a great tip for watering thanks for sharing ;)

[shaolin101]

Thanks,

I have the bottle trick in place and hope the water does get to the roots - knowing my luck the bottle will be down too far or something.

I only actually put them in the bag yesterday but they were looking a bit slack in the pots when they got home so wasn't sure if they were salvagable.

Will try more water and see what happens over the week - seems like it may start to get hotter so will keep a closer eye on them.

[aquilegia]

I always find the lower leaves of tomato plants droop after a while. They do eventually turn yellow and die off. That's perfectly natural.

But if it's all the leaves, don't know.

[kenkew]

When I repot Tom's I take off the bottom leaves and put the plant into compost right up to the next set of leaves. This helps firm the plant but also encourages extra roots.

[shaolin101]

I might give that a go.

The grow bags are 2 high with holes cut to allow extra depth.

Might stop the wind nearly blowing them down as well.

[Svea]

poke your hand into the growbag to check moisture. if it's dry, water. if soils sticks to your hand, it's prolly wet enough (too wet?) so dont water. you will soon figure out when they need it.
also, when you transplanted, did you water then in nicely?

lastly, what aqui said ^^
the bottom sets of all my tomato leaves look droopy and will die off sooner or later.

btw, transplanting is stressful for the plant, especially if the roots were very restricted. give them a few days to acclimatise :)

good luck
svea

[shaolin101]

I did water them as soon as they were planted to hopefully let the old soil join with the new.

I will see what happens over the week - hopefully they will perk up.

Some places i have read say to restric to 4 side growts or similar wording.

Does this mean i should cut off some of the mini branches sticking out?

There are no flowers on them - just leaves. Would know what to cut off though - i would probably cut all the ones the tomato would grown on and be left with a plant!

[portway farm]

hi there to everyone, newbie to this site. :)

We are experimenting this year with beef steaks. Some are in a greenhouse the rest are outside. The ones outside are in our 20 yr old muckheap (muck that old looks like peat), they are growing well and are watered via hos couple of times a week as we are still getting rain. The leaves are healthy looking. The ones in the greenhouse have gone mental!! We have companion planted with marigolds and pest wise I recommend companion planting, they are 1 plant in a resevoir water container with a plastic pipe slotted in through which we water. Remember as a general rule toms do not like water on leaves as it burns them. These plants need watering every 2 days at mo. Leaves look great and strong. :)