Stunted tomato plants

FILMNET · June 7, 2012

Last spring all my plants got too much rain in early June and were stunted. This year after 3-4" of rain the last 4 days my plant look like last years. These are all different plants which are small but have big leafs, I cut the bottom leafs off today. The plants only has 3-4 leafs. It is rain now after i shot this files. Should i feed them now?I use Espoma food and fish food from Neptune's Harvest only. Also 14 days in ground, i put 1/2 of the plants the dirt, deep.

RayR · June 7, 2012

The main issue is how is the drainage? If you dig a hole with your trowel to where the roots would be, do you hit water? Does it pool up in the hole or is the soil just moist at that point?
Those roots need oxygen getting to them, if the soil is saturated like a mud pit, the plants will be in stress bad.
I feel your pain, early last June was horrible here with non-stop heavy rain and the beds were soaked to the max. I had to dig a few trenches in a few beds just to push some water downhill away from the garden. A few plants were looking really stressed so I had to dig them back out and pot them up and nurse them until they recovered and the ground was in better shape. One of those plants ended up being one of the biggest plants and produced the biggest tomatoes last year.

FILMNET · June 7, 2012

The dirt is great, it is the bottom of a barn for 100 years with horses only, this is my 3 years growing here. I used a rototiller this year 18" or more dirt was lovely . I read that with a lot of rain your fertilize is gone in pots and in ground. Maybe last year that was bad for these plants, So it looks like i was feed the plants really hard in 3 days from today. I used compost and Espoma Tomato- tone in holes and on top of dirt 14 days ago. MC drench for me in a few days, I give up last years was terrible i thought my compost would feed through the year? I use it later summer and spring.In the same garden peppers, squash cukes do great.

pdxwindjammer · June 7, 2012

I feel your pain. Here in Portland, OR we have had such a wet May and June!

My plants are all in pots on my deck under the eaves until it stops raining. Looks like I won't be putting these into my community garden until early next week.

I am not too concerned because I planted on June 10th 2 years ago and had a great crop of tomatoes. I am just tired of moving them around on my deck so they get maximun sun until I get them in ground!

RayR · June 7, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by FILMNET

The dirt is great, it is the bottom of a barn for 100 years with horses only, this is my 3 years growing here. I used a rototiller this year 18" or more dirt was lovely . I use read that with a lot of rain your fertilize is gone in pots and in ground. Maybe last year that was bad for these plants, So it looks like i was feed the plants really hard in 3 days from today. I used compost and Espoma Tomato- tone in holes and on top of dirt 14 days ago.

So the soil is draining well? If the root zone is not waterlogged from all the rain, I don't see why they would be stunted this year, but they are small for being in the ground for 14 days. It sounds like you've got plenty of organic matter and Tomato-Tone won't wash away since it's organic slow release. Synthetic fertilizers can wash away easily with the rain since they are water soluble.

RayR · June 7, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdxwindjammer

I feel your pain. Here in Portland, OR we have had such a wet May and June!

My plants are all in pots on my deck under the eaves until it stops raining. Looks like I won't be putting these into my community garden until early next week.

I am not too concerned because I planted on June 10th 2 years ago and had a great crop of tomatoes. I am just tired of moving them around on my deck so they get maximun sun until I get them in ground!

Smart move waiting. I should have done the same thing last year when I knew the rain was going to be a problem.

WVTomatoMan · June 7, 2012

Filmnet, I agree with Ray. We've had 3-4 inches of rain since I planted mine 3 weeks ago and they're going like gangbusters. Does the soil drain well? Has it been cool? BTW, I got a break where I could get the plants in without it being too wet.

Good luck.

Randy

lakelady · June 7, 2012

I'm wondering if it is rainy and cooler they might slow down, but once you get those nice warm sunny days they should shoot up like crazy. Mine seem to slow down when we have days on end of rain or cloudy and rain and then the sun comes out and they start growing again. As long as they are not waterlogged and sitting in mud, they should be fine.

Has it been cool and cloudy up your way?

FILMNET · June 8, 2012

Yes Cloudy and cool and really wet. last year i did nothing after the rain and some plants grew wide with huge leafs really tight, but under 3 ft tall. No fruit either, actually every garden in our city suffered. Brads B/B Boar, Brads Black Heart, Carbon, Solar Flame, Trenton,s Tiger, Stump OTW, P Rosburn, B Krim, Large Red Pear, Flortis, B Cherry, Sungold, Ground Cherry, BTD, Amazon Chocolate. Also J Flame and Siberian in large posts these 2 are growing better now in pots
Here is what my plants looked like after 45 days or more in ground, last year, what a mess. That year i had Carbon Berkeley TD, Stump OTW the leafs were gnarley the plants never grew taller only wider its like the timing was off good roots, strong stems, really tough leaves and ugly plants. i should have used stronger Nitrogen fertilizer i think earlier which i will do now. Miracle Grow
As you see i did Florid weave which was a waste of string?

Tania · June 8, 2012

poor things... I hope they'll get better, and the weather improves.

FILMNET · June 8, 2012

I got some Miracle Grow Pro Select which is now called Nursery Select 20-20-20 this be very strong fertilizer. I put a little in a gal of water and put it on leafs and ground on all Peppers, Herbs, and tomatoes. I did this late 5pm i don't water this late but the plants are small.

Got Worms? · June 8, 2012

Hate me if you will, but it's time for some constructive criticism.

#1 Pull the mulch back from the plants it's keeping the soil wet.
#2 use a fork to loosen the soil around each plant and incorporate something that will hold air so the plants don't drown.
#3 Find a way to stop walking on the soil. Make smaller beds 24-48" wide with dedicated paths. Anything would have a hard time growing in wet compacted soil.
#4 Try to raise the level of your soil beds so you can get some drainage.
#5 Come down hard on Got Worms? for being brutally honest.
Charlie

lakelady · June 8, 2012

wow that does sound like a strong fertilizer. Maybe they just need some extra love right now to get them through the stormy weather and will grow bigger and stronger with some extra attention.

FILMNET · June 9, 2012

That mulch is Salt March Hay I put a little under all plants because we were to get 4-6 days of cloudy cold days withe rain every day. And the plant were touching the ground yellow leafs, even after i cut some off already. It worked nice i try not to walk in the garden but this dirt is so old it is the bottom of a barn some 1809 to 1916 with horse's, no cows the barn was put down 1976. The dirt is great and worms are all around from the first time i cut the grass off, 3 years ago even today, birds are in there getting worms for baby's. I saw a baby getting worm from the others birds yesterday.The first year with this garden it grow great with tomatoes now it is not. So i will not walk into the garden now and i don't know when i will water it? at least 5 days. I have not put MC or other fertilizer on this, only lime, my compost, Tomato Tone, and Fish and seaweed from Neptunes so lets see what the MC will do the next days.

Doug9345 · June 9, 2012

If you've been as cool as we've been at night I can see them being slow. We've been in the 40's a couple of nighs and the 50's for several nights. With as much compost as you indicate is there I'm not sure how much fertilizer they need. I agree with what Ray said.

June 7, 2012	#8
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	I'm wondering if it is rainy and cooler they might slow down, but once you get those nice warm sunny days they should shoot up like crazy. Mine seem to slow down when we have days on end of rain or cloudy and rain and then the sun comes out and they start growing again. As long as they are not waterlogged and sitting in mud, they should be fine. Has it been cool and cloudy up your way? __________________ Antoniette

June 8, 2012	#10
Tania Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Anmore, BC, Canada Posts: 3,970	poor things... I hope they'll get better, and the weather improves. __________________ Tatiana's TOMATObase

June 8, 2012	#13
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	wow that does sound like a strong fertilizer. Maybe they just need some extra love right now to get them through the stormy weather and will grow bigger and stronger with some extra attention. __________________ Antoniette

June 7, 2012	#2
RayR Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Cheektowaga, NY Posts: 2,466	The main issue is how is the drainage? If you dig a hole with your trowel to where the roots would be, do you hit water? Does it pool up in the hole or is the soil just moist at that point? Those roots need oxygen getting to them, if the soil is saturated like a mud pit, the plants will be in stress bad. I feel your pain, early last June was horrible here with non-stop heavy rain and the beds were soaked to the max. I had to dig a few trenches in a few beds just to push some water downhill away from the garden. A few plants were looking really stressed so I had to dig them back out and pot them up and nurse them until they recovered and the ground was in better shape. One of those plants ended up being one of the biggest plants and produced the biggest tomatoes last year.

June 7, 2012	#3
FILMNET Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: North Charleston,South Carolina, USA Posts: 1,803	The dirt is great, it is the bottom of a barn for 100 years with horses only, this is my 3 years growing here. I used a rototiller this year 18" or more dirt was lovely . I read that with a lot of rain your fertilize is gone in pots and in ground. Maybe last year that was bad for these plants, So it looks like i was feed the plants really hard in 3 days from today. I used compost and Espoma Tomato- tone in holes and on top of dirt 14 days ago. MC drench for me in a few days, I give up last years was terrible i thought my compost would feed through the year? I use it later summer and spring.In the same garden peppers, squash cukes do great. Last edited by FILMNET; June 8, 2012 at 05:48 AM.

June 7, 2012	#4
pdxwindjammer Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 625	I feel your pain. Here in Portland, OR we have had such a wet May and June! My plants are all in pots on my deck under the eaves until it stops raining. Looks like I won't be putting these into my community garden until early next week. I am not too concerned because I planted on June 10th 2 years ago and had a great crop of tomatoes. I am just tired of moving them around on my deck so they get maximun sun until I get them in ground!

June 7, 2012	#7
WVTomatoMan Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: West Virginia - Zone 6 Posts: 594	Filmnet, I agree with Ray. We've had 3-4 inches of rain since I planted mine 3 weeks ago and they're going like gangbusters. Does the soil drain well? Has it been cool? BTW, I got a break where I could get the plants in without it being too wet. Good luck. Randy

June 8, 2012	#12
Got Worms? Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: NY Zone 5b/6a Posts: 546	Hate me if you will, but it's time for some constructive criticism. #1 Pull the mulch back from the plants it's keeping the soil wet. #2 use a fork to loosen the soil around each plant and incorporate something that will hold air so the plants don't drown. #3 Find a way to stop walking on the soil. Make smaller beds 24-48" wide with dedicated paths. Anything would have a hard time growing in wet compacted soil. #4 Try to raise the level of your soil beds so you can get some drainage. #5 Come down hard on Got Worms? for being brutally honest. Charlie

June 9, 2012	#14
FILMNET Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: North Charleston,South Carolina, USA Posts: 1,803	That mulch is Salt March Hay I put a little under all plants because we were to get 4-6 days of cloudy cold days withe rain every day. And the plant were touching the ground yellow leafs, even after i cut some off already. It worked nice i try not to walk in the garden but this dirt is so old it is the bottom of a barn some 1809 to 1916 with horse's, no cows the barn was put down 1976. The dirt is great and worms are all around from the first time i cut the grass off, 3 years ago even today, birds are in there getting worms for baby's. I saw a baby getting worm from the others birds yesterday.The first year with this garden it grow great with tomatoes now it is not. So i will not walk into the garden now and i don't know when i will water it? at least 5 days. I have not put MC or other fertilizer on this, only lime, my compost, Tomato Tone, and Fish and seaweed from Neptunes so lets see what the MC will do the next days.

June 9, 2012	#15
Doug9345 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Durhamville,NY Posts: 2,706	If you've been as cool as we've been at night I can see them being slow. We've been in the 40's a couple of nighs and the 50's for several nights. With as much compost as you indicate is there I'm not sure how much fertilizer they need. I agree with what Ray said.