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How can I save/salvage my tomato plants?
Being rather a newbie at this gardening thing, I got a bit overzealous and planted more seeds than I needed initially...(blah, blah, blah); so now I have it all pared down to a few leggy plants with some good leaf growth and flowers (pre-tomatoes) forming and about 9 small green cherry tomatoes and two beefsteak starting) One of the beefsteak (the biggest) had a funny abnormality on one side (but it's not blossom end rot...I looked it up), I don't know exactly what it is...I took a picture and will upload it in a bit. So, are all my tomatoes going to end up this way? I live on Oahu, so the plants get plenty of sunshine, and I water daily (usually) in the early a.m. and added plenty of compost a couple of weeks ago, and also feed them twice a week with organic tomato food. I know there's a lot more I could be doing but...damn, this "hobby" is getting expensive! Not to mention all the time I've put into them. If I get a decent number of tomatoes I'll be happy and it will be well worth it. Anyone from Hawaii out there got any ideas? The leaves have had many problems too, including miner leaf damage. I just want a halfway decent yield...any help or advice is much appreciated! Thanks in advance!
How do I add a picture? It won't let me now... :(
5 Answers
- 8 years agoFavorite Answer
I've found that unless there's insect damage or rot, there are no harmful abnormalities. I've had tomatoes of nearly every size and unusual shape, and its just part of the unique beauty of nature. The best recommendation I can make on high yield is this. Insure your compost is fully decomposed before feeding it to your tomatoes, otherwise the rotting material will burn and rot your plants. Also if starting from seed I recommend starting them in pots to get them nice and root bound before transplanting. If you direct sow they tend to get viny and leggy and never really "bush out". Also the first time it tries to bloom try pinching the entire first round of blooms off. This forces the plant back into it's vegtative cycle temporarily making it stockier and bushier and also creates higher bloom production when it tries to fruit next. If you follow these steps your main concern will be supporting the massive weight of all the fruit (tie them up/cage them) and eating the fruit before they go bad. Now those sound like better problems to deal with right?
Source(s): 18 years of intense tomato gardening (record was a 4 1/2 pounder) - bugsieLv 78 years ago
I don't know how to add a picture, or look at one either.
But I do know that water every day and too much feed will produce some of the most ugly cracked, thick skinned tomatoes you have ever seen.
The leaves probably have either Sun Scald or Late Blight, wait for you Early Blight..
Water a little less, feed a little less, BUT with the same food, worry a little less. You will have a much better crop. The other thing that you can do is cut out the SUCKER branches that grow in a V shape from the main stem, and cut the severely damaged leaves and put them in a trash bag and into the trash,
DO NOT put sick looking leaves or plants into a compost pile. They need to go to the trash
- Anonymous8 years ago
Regarding abnormality it could be"Misshapen or malformed fruit can be caused by cool weather occurring during fruit set or from herbicide exposure.
Catfacing is an abnormality that develops on the blossom end of susceptible tomato varieties. It results from cool weather at blossom time and causes the fruit to pucker and have deep crevices."
Source(s): http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopExt/4DMG/Pests/... http://www.amazon.com/How-To-Grow-Tomatoes-ebook/d... - TiggerLv 78 years ago
I think you are feeding them too much and pruning them too little. Though I don't live there, I have raised tomatoes in the past but do to droughts every July, have given up on the "hobby". Like you said, its expensive and time consuming'
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- nexvecterLv 48 years ago
Take your organic waste and dump it at the base of your plants .only water your plants at night.they should buck wild after that. With the waste egg shell peel bread crust every thing it like giving vitamins to diet.