I need advice on growing tomatoes.
I decided to start a garden this year, well really just growing tomatoes. My tomatoes have been doing well until recently, they started to die. One plant is turning yellow all over the leaves, and the other is just losing mass of the plant. I did put them into pots, so I'm not sure if that is whats harming them or what.
Answers ( 1 )
If you live in a cold climate and the leaves wilted and turned brown very suddenly, your tomatoes may have died from frost. Potted plants are especially vulnerable to freezing since their roots have less protection than their in-ground counterparts. More likely, however, it's a matter of routine care. Tomatoes can be successfully grown in pots, but they are very particular about the amount of water, sun, and soil they have. Potted tomatoes require more frequent watering than planted tomatoes, but are very sensitive to overwatering. It is easy to kill a tomato plant with too much love. Yellow leaves are both a sign of overwatering and underwatering, and so is leaf loss. Make sure your potted tomatoes have full sun every day (that is, 6 or more hours of direct sunlight). It's possible that the pots were too small and they've become root-bound. It's also possible that there is a problem with the soil. Potted tomatoes don't have much soil to pull nutrients from, so they need regular fertilization all summer. Once every two weeks should be enough. At this point, it's too late to save the plants, but if this happens next year, dry out the soil immediately. This can be done by (carefully!) removing the entire plant from the pot, shaking off the soggy soil, and allowing it to dry in the sun for a few hours. Then, repot the tomato in dry soil and do not water again for a few days. The next watering should have a little garden fertilizer in it to help revitalize your plants. From then on, make sure your tomato is in a sunny spot outside and allow the top 1-2 inches of soil dry out before watering again. Good luck! Growing potted tomatoes can be tricky, but so rewarding!