tomato plant has very few leaves: why?

Question

i'm growing tomatoes in a container. they get full sun and i water according to the temperature and mositure of plant. my plants are still giving fruit, but has very few leaves on it and many of the flowers are drying out and not blossoming. it looks very naked. i sprayed it iwth copper fungicide and fertilized with tomato fertilizer but am seeing very little difference. only one of the plants is growing new leaves from the base but on the others the flowers are still drying out and entire stems are being lost.
any idea why or what i can do?

thanks!!

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Try here for more advice on that.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tomato/msg0620575919835.html

Anne Arkey · Answer

Depending upon your part of the globe, your tomatoes could just be naturally dying off -- mine are starting to here in New York state.  Once you get past mid-August, the light spectrum changes and plants naturally start to die off.  And, any feeding from this point on only hurts the fruits that are setting.

However, you can try flushing the plant.   To flush, you need 3-times as much water as you have pot.  So, if you have a 3-gallon pot, you will need to flush with 9 gallons of water.  If you still have considerable growing season left, you can start with a mild fertilizer the next time the plant needs watering.  

When you say watering according to "temperature and moisture of plant," I'm not sure what you mean by that.  You water when the soil is dry, plain and simple -- if you can poke your finger in a couple of inches and it feels dry, water.  Another way to tell is to life the container to see how heavy it feels.  Too much watering will cause root rot, which will also cause the plant to die off.  Too much fertilizer will just wreak havoc.  Water from the top of the container until you see water coming out of the bottom.

roderick_young · Answer

I see the same thing out in the garden, but just with the early bearing tomatoes.  This year has been unusually cool in summer.

I never spray tomatoes with anything, so don't know what would happen if copper spray was applied.

jean ann j · Answer

If your weather has cooled that could be the reason.  Tomatoes need sun and heat.

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tomato plant has very few leaves: why?

4 Answers