Advice for cause and treatment of yellowing tomato plants?

Question

I keep having problems with my tomato plants starting to turn yellow and die from the bottom leaves up, usually when they've gotten a foot or so tall, and usually anywhere from well before to right in the middle of producing several tomatoes at the top that continue to grow until the yellowing reaches them. The plants continue to grow and produce, but the yellowing also continues to crawl up them. I do feed them and keep them well watered, so I'm not sure what else the problem may be.

All I do know is that I never remember having this problem 20 years ago, whether they were fed or not - and it's more likely that they were not at that time.

Any help is more than appreciated. Thanks!

Answer 1

Im no expert you might have a disease but I know from growing plants and listening to garden call in shows over watering kills more plants than anything else. Take a couple of yellow leaves to your local gardening store. A web site for a local one for me is



http://www.myflowerland.com/

or on FB

Fruit Basket - Flowerland

they have helped me a lot in the past

Answer 2

My best guess, without looking at your plants, is that you're drowning them.



If the leaves are yellowing from the bottom up, and the edges of the leaves curl *up* slightly, (rather than droop downward on the edges), that the classic symptom of too much water.



If they're in the ground, water them well once a week.



Too much fast -release fertilizer (like Miracle-Gro) also causes tomatoes to exhaust themselves early.

I recommend planting with some compost, and then when they start to flower, a side dressing of an oragnic, slow-release fertilizer. And that's all they need.

Answer 3

I think your soil lacks nutrients. You should just use an all purpose fertilizer.



The liquid ones that you can just dilute in your watering bucket. Be sure to follow the instructions because if you don't, you can end up burning the roots of the plants from the fertilizer!

Answer 4

this is easy as tomato plants need a very large amount of water plus they are hungry little devils and need lots of feeding tomato food other wise you may not have proper drainage and also check for pests