Help! We planted 13 plants and two of them are turning grey.
The leaves are turning over and revealing a grey underside. The plants aren’t thriving at all. I’ve looked online and can’t find any pictures that look similar.
Help Doper gardeners!
They need more water than you are giving them. Leaf curl is a pretty clear sign of underwatering.
That’s the first thing that comes to mind. What are they planted in? How much sun do they get? One thing I’ve heard, as well, is that getting water on the leaves when you’re watering is ungood. You’re supposed to get under the leaves and water next to the ground.
You may have overfertilized them as well. Get back with more info.
Generally, tomato plants need about a couple gallons a week. They’re heavy feeders, as well. I use fish food on my (ground up fishies, sold in bottles). I also made sure the surface has compost on it. I don’t know the quality of your soil, so YMMV here.
I had a similar problem this year. I had built a raised bed and put in six plants, and they started curling and yellowing. A dose of fish food and a ring of compost turned them around nicely.
Tomatoes send down deep roots, and they need deep watering. That means soaking them very well, and letting the soil dry out no more than, well, I use my index finger to judge, so I’ll say 2-3 inches between waterings. I have never had any problem with water on the leaves. You also may be experiencing fertilizer burn. I hope you are able to save them.
meh, I should have looked at your photos first. It looks like underwatering to me. In addition to watering deeply, I would pinch off the worst leaves in order to help the plants direct their strength into recovering. The plus side is this will encourage branching and your yield will be larger!
I don’t think it’s overfertilization. We put some food in the ground with planting but haven’t done anything else. The other 11 plants are very happy.
These two are at the end, in heavier soil than the others–more clay. We haven’t had much rain, so we’ve been watering them ourselves, and I’ve been afraid the soil doesn’t drain well enough. An area of the yard near there gets boggy much of the year.