Wilted tomato plant question

[Xerocles]

First logistics. HEAVY clay earth. Last rain 4 days ago. Daytime temps mid to upper 60s. Scant 8 hrs sun per day. Plant was About 12" tall at planting. Hole dug 12" deep. Bottom filled with compost, potting soil, and rabbit manure. Bottom sets of leaves stripped, planted with 4 sets of leaves above ground. Filled with compost, potting soil and rabbit manure mixture.
Planted almost 4 weeks ago. Doing beautifully, growing, new leaves. Last evening it was wilted. Prostrate, flat on the ground limp wilted. Figured to dig it up this morning to find out what bug had eaten the roots. This morning, it was standing proud, still ok this evening. Some yellowing of the lower leaves
Neighboring tomatoes in the row not affected at all.
Just a head scratcher? Or a symptom of things to come?

 

[seedcorn]

Thinking some animal (grubs) below ground that plant was able to overcome.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

First logistics. HEAVY clay earth. Last rain 4 days ago. Daytime temps mid to upper 60s. Scant 8 hrs sun per day. Plant was About 12" tall at planting. Hole dug 12" deep. Bottom filled with compost, potting soil, and rabbit manure. Bottom sets of leaves stripped, planted with 4 sets of leaves above ground. Filled with compost, potting soil and rabbit manure mixture.
Planted almost 4 weeks ago. Doing beautifully, growing, new leaves. Last evening it was wilted. Prostrate, flat on the ground limp wilted. Figured to dig it up this morning to find out what bug had eaten the roots. This morning, it was standing proud, still ok this evening. Some yellowing of the lower leaves
Neighboring tomatoes in the row not affected at all.
Just a head scratcher? Or a symptom of things to come?

Limp is water. In your efflourescent description, I probably missed your description of the elevation of the plant relative to your local water experience. I hesitate to ask for more detail, but limp vs plump is interesting in the spring of this year.

 

[Xerocles]

Limp is water. In your efflourescent description, I probably missed your description of the elevation of the plant relative to your local water experience. I hesitate to ask for more detail, but limp vs plump is interesting in the spring of this year.

Right. LOTS of rain this year. Heavy clay=holds water. Thus the extra deep hole with compost in the bottom, in case water "puddled" in the hole. LOTS of mulch on entire plot. If anything, too much water, but never heard of that causing wilting.

 

[Xerocles]

I think I figured out out. TOO MUCH water. Bottom leaves turned yellow. I had stripped the bottom leaves, and planted deep. The original roots were deep in the clay hole. Water probably seeped in and partially filled the hole. They started rotting, thus the wilt. But the new roots, up the stem, were able to take over and "revived" the plant.

My Best inexperienced guess. We're getting more rain today. Hope it doesn't wipe out the whole crop.

 

[ducks4you]

Pull some out and put them in pots. Tomatoes always transplant well. You can put them back into the ground in June.

 

[fayechavez]

Couple of reasons for wilting leaves.
1. Overwatering causes leaves turns yellow and droop. Tomato plants requires very less watering. Alternate day watering is also sufficient in hot summer days.

2. Overfertilizer also makes leaves wilted and tips curled as they cannot handle high nutrients.

happy wheels​

 

[ducks4you]

Tomatoes need to be fed. I put down 6 inches of compost to plant mine in. When I transplant, especially leggy tomatoes, they often only need a few initial "puddlings", and then their roots kick in, since tomatoes will grow roots along their stems, one of several vegetables which will do so.

What Vegetable Plants Can Be Started From Cuttings?

Starting vegetables from cuttings is generally suitable for woody or fibrous plants....

homeguides.sfgate.com

I always seem to get to busy to really garden well and usually end up losing a few. I transplanted two volunteers that wilted for a good week. After watering them for the week, they both recovered, though they lost some of their stems and leaves. Doesn't matter.
If you plant in heavy clay, even the purchased fertilizers will fail you bc you cannot keep up with their feeding needs.
Composted soil retains moisture, NOT water, so your plants won't drown, and drains well, too.

 

[Dirtmechanic]

Lol Becky planted 20 tomatoes, lost most of them to herbicide in the black kow I had tilled in so planted 15 more, then I remembered I had 20 grow bags so....well the garden is bigger this year and the lawn smaller.

 

[ducks4you]

WOW! Your compost had herbicide. WE REALLY need to put our heads together on how to correctly compost horse, cow, chicken, rabbit manure. My problem is pasture weeds. But I don't have herbicide residue.