Started From Seed But What's Wrong With My 'Maters? Please Help!

[MrC]

Hello all. I hope you can help tell me what I did wrong! This is my first time starting tomatoes and I was extremely excited. Unfortunately now I'm very upset! As you can see from the link below what once appeared to be a nice batch of healthy heirloom tomatoes has something terribly wrong with them:

http://picasaweb.google.com/john.all...eat=directlink

After reading around and looking at pictures online of tomato diseases I suspect some sort of bacterial infection - but I can't figure out how that could have happened? I couldn't have over-watered - I waited until the peat pots were nearly crusty and bone dry.

I did notice the growth of some mold on some of the peat pot tops. I'm not sure I would use these again although several sites said they were the most fool proof way for a newbie like me to start good seedlings!

Any idea where I went wrong? Are the seedlings salvageable or should I throw all affected plants away before they destroy my (for now) healthy looking pepper plants on the top shelf?

Any advice is *so* appreciated! Thank you.

[danwigz]

Purple leaves I believe mean they are phosphate deficient; I have this same problem. I've moved mine to a warmer location and have applied a thin (very thin) layer of worm castings over the top of the soil to hopefully kick start extra nutrient intake (I have no idea if this is recommended, but I didn't want to use miracle grow or an equivalent).

As far as mold, I had some hairy filiments growing from the sides of my peat pots that were touching. I think the constant damp condition caused this to happen, and have started rotating my plants daily so they are only touching on two sides. Peat pots are good for transplanting, but leach so much moisture I'm finding it difficult to accurately figure out how much I need to water. Next year I'll put them straight into plastic (I'm thinking of using half gallon milk bottles to save some money).

As for the yellow leaves, I have no idea. So bums rush on that one. You might try using the search feature and see if that comes up with anything.

Anyway, just some (hopefully good) advice from another newbie.

Dan wigz

Edit:

I looked at your pictures again, the plants all are still in there original Jiffy peat pellets. With my experience (I used those too) roots were growing outside of them rather quickly. I've already transplanted mine into 3" peat pots (pots actually made out of peat, not the Jiffy seed starting pellets). I'm wondering if your plants are turning yellow because the root structure isn't staying moist? Just a hypothesis, definitely need someone with more experience than I.

[troad]

John,

Are you providing any fertilizer to the plants?
My first thought is a nutrient problem rather than an infection.
Go to the forum on Common Garden Diseases and Pests. About the third one down is a sticky posted by Suze. I was looking at this one she listed as "additional difficencies: http://4e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=t&id=289.
Maybe chlorosis?
If you are lucky maybe one of the resident experts will chime in here.
Good luck with the tomatoes.
Len

[matermaniac]

Another site to check out

http://plantdiagnostics.umd.edu/leve...?categoryID=59

[velikipop]

Not sure what the spots on the leaves are, but I would not suspect any infection at this stage. However, those seedlings need to be put into larger pots to allow for the roots to develop, as soon as possible.

[MrC]

I knew I came to the right place! Thank you all for the insight. Glad to know it may not be an infection. I will repot as soon as I get home from work this afternoon. I have a 2 cu ft bag of "Miracle Grow Potting Soil" (the kind without moisture control) so hopefully that will suffice. I plan on using some of those big red "party cups" - I'll be sure to poke a few holes in the bottom as well.

[nctomatoman]

The other thing I noticed is that you let them get really large under lights. I get mine outside in the sun when they are still very, very small - they grow much more healthily with sunlight instead of artificial light. Indoors, you can get fungal development much more quickly as well. My plants are in 4 inch pots at about 1-2 inches tall above the soil line outdoors in our driveway. This year they spent all of a week max under lights. Of course, this is also dictated by weather and climate.

[MrC]

Yes the largest ones in the photos I likely jumped the gun by starting a couple weeks to early - I just couldn't help myself as I had a really tough winter and was extremely excited to see some green!

The ones I started a few weeks after that are not *near* as large so hopefully those will be OK - but I will repot all the plants this weekend as time permits (but will do all the large ones this afternoon as soon as I get home as originally stated).

I'm assuming the leaves that are already afflicted will not recover? Do I need to fertilize with something additional the the fertilizer that is included in the "Miracle Grow Potting Soil"?

[Worth1]

This may kill you to do this but in the end you will not no you ever did it.
Pinch off the yellow leaves just in case.

I have pinched off all of my bottom leaves this year to stop any problems that may occur while I am gone to work.

Even after the plants go into the ground keep the bottom leaves pinched off all the way up to a foot or so. These leaves will turn yellow and fall off on their own before you get tomatoes anyway and in doing so you will prevent any dirt from getting on them.
This dirt is where a lot of your problems will come from.

Put the plants outside now as long as it doesn't freeze or frost.
When the weather warms up the purple will go away and the things will be just fine.
This purple is caused by the weather being too cool for the plants to take up nutrients or none to begin with.
(just keep them out of the heavy wind I see you guys are getting up there now.)

The MG potting soil should be fine till you plant in the ground.
If not, water with a dilute solution of MG fertilizer.

Lack of fertilizer will make the entire plant be yellow not just spots.

Sp far as I can see you are doing just fine and only need a little help here and there.

Good job.

Worth

[MrC]

Thanks everyone for the encouragement! I just finished potting up all the large tomato plants. The smaller ones I will also try to pot up but I won't have time until Sunday - none of them are really showing signs of distress like the big guys (perhaps that confirms that it wasn't a disease but rather poor growing conditions on the large ones)?

We shall have to wait and see!

Worth1 - you said to put the plants outside now as long as it doesn't freeze - isn't it still too early for my area? Or do you mean set them out in the flat during the day in an area protected from wind and then bring them back in at night?

Sorry about all the questions - I'm still getting the hang of starting these tomatoes!

[Worth1]

Yes put them out in flats so you can bring them in.
I live in Texas and that is a far cry from where you live but it is April there and I do this in February here.

My Okra cucumbers corn and squash have already sprouted and my beans will be up in three days.

Worth

[MrC]

Originally Posted by Worth1

Yes put them out in flats so you can bring them in.
I live in Texas and that is a far cry from where you live but it is April there and I do this in February here.

My Okra cucumbers corn and squash have already sprouted and my beans will be up in three days.

Worth

I'm envious!

After today it's suppose to get back to being rather nice again (in the 60's and 70's during the day. I'll go ahead and set them out but will be careful to shield them from direct sun and the wind!

[b54red]

I would go ahead and pot up most of your other tomatoes as soon as possible. No need to use the big red plastic cups; plain old styrofoam coffee cups are available for less than 2 cents apiece and they last longer. I've still got some that were first used 7 or 8 years ago and I'm still using them. Those plastic cups will split easily and cannot be used over and over. They also require too much potting soil to fill them.

Originally Posted by MrC

I knew I came to the right place! Thank you all for the insight. Glad to know it may not be an infection. I will repot as soon as I get home from work this afternoon. I have a 2 cu ft bag of "Miracle Grow Potting Soil" (the kind without moisture control) so hopefully that will suffice. I plan on using some of those big red "party cups" - I'll be sure to poke a few holes in the bottom as well.

[Worth1]

That shows how long polystyrene will last in a land fill.
Good point though, the plastic cups do split easy.
Worth

[VORTREKER]

The yellowing of leaves between the veins (interveinal chlorosis) with brown spots is usually due to a manganese deficiency either from an absolute lack of manganese or a pH imbalance.
If a foliar spray (1 tsp. Miracle Grow in a gallon of water) did not help in 1-2 weeks it would indicate a pH imbalance. Of course re potting in a good soil would serve the same purpose.
Pure Peat is usually quite acidic.