PICS ADDED--My tomatoes are getting wilty and look burnt

[warmfuzzies]

My tomato plants are getting wilty leaves that are now starting to get dry and crunchy on the ends. They look almost burnt on the ends. An now they are starting to be yellowed too.

They are tall, healthy plants, about 3-4 weeks old, that have been potted up once, into topsoil. They were started in jiffy pellets. They are about 6-8 inches tall, very stocky and not at all leggy. I have them under 100watt equivelent florescent bulbs, those energy saving spirally ones.

I am in zone 5b and I can't plant them outside until the first of May.

DH thinks they are getting too hot under the lights, but I just want to make sure they don't need something else. I have wondered about a light fertilizer since they have grown so fast and they are in just bagged topsoil.

 

[4grandbabies]

I would think they may have gotten too hot, or the potting soil was carring a disease, I would sit them in a tray and bottom water, not get the leaves wet, pinch off the damaged ones, and take the extra light away.

 

[warmfuzzies]

Here is a picture of one of the leaves, see how it is dry on the ends. this leaf is aboout 1 1/4 inches acorss.

I just noticed this morning that they have slight yellow spots. Only one tray seems ho have a problem, so I would think it would be environmental, not from to soil, since they were all potted up the same.

Thay are also very purple underneath, which I read could be from a lack of nutrients.

 

[boggybranch]

Sure hope it's not early blight.

 

[digitS']

Taking a guess

Dry, browning edges usually indicates lack of water - even if it was only briefly.

I don't like to use garden soil in pots. The container isn't the same as the open garden. Jiffy pots and pellets aren't a favorite either and I haven't used them in years. If the peat pot is above the soil, it can wick away moisture. Making sure that they are completely covered can be very important.

Yellowing can be stress and is often nitrogen deficiency. Peat doesn't have any nitrogen (don't know about peat pellets). Soil from the garden may or may not have adequate nitrogen.

Tomatoes turn purple when we set them out in the garden because (we are told) it is too cold for them to adequately take up phosphorus. It isn't a real serious issue as the temperature warms if there is sufficient phosphorus in the soil. Tomato plants are often a little purplish anyway . . .

One thing you probably don't want to do is sock them with a lot of fertilizer when they already have problems. Certainly, bottom watering is preferable at all times. If you haven't been setting them in a basin for their water, it may be a good thing to try.

Steve

 

[warmfuzzies]

Thanks Steve I was hoping to hear from you. I water them from the bottom most of the time.

The top soil was bagged, so it was very dark and rich, it wasn't from my own garden. It hasn't seemed to be compacting.

It very likely could be a lack of water, we have had very low humidity here (less then 25%) and I have noticed they have been wilting every day or so and then perking up when I water them. I have been trying not to over water since I had damping off last year.

Whew, I am glad it doesnt look like a disease to you though! Thank you!!

 

[digitS']

Sounds like it may be a fairly safe source of soil, WF.

There are 2 types of blight . . . at least. Late blight was the BIG problem in many parts of North America last year, partly because of all the rain.

I guess we should really go with the simplest possibility first. Occam's razor and all . . .

Here is the Texas A&M tomato problem solver page.

S'

edited to add: But, I don't believe Texas A&M even considers watering. So, you may not want to look at those pages until tomorrow, when your blood pressure goes down a little .

 

[warmfuzzies]

Actually that made me feel even better. It looks nothing like any of those pictures, and there are several other symptoms that are different- the upper leaves are affected first, unlike wilts and blights, and the wilting happened long before the discoloration.

Thank you so much!!