My tomato plant leaves are starting to turn black

Joined
Jul 2, 2018
Messages
4
Reaction score
1
Location
Renfrew, Scotland
Country
United Kingdom
So I've been growing this tomato plant the past few months. It's my first year growing them so I'm figuring out the right and wrong way of things on the job so to speak. I keep the plant in a porch which is basically like a small greenhouse as it can get really warm in there. I water it every morning with roughly a pint of water. Recently, the leaves at the bottom of the plant have started turning black. I'm not sure if this is over watering or if it's located in an unsuitable environment for the plant but I don't think this bodes well for it.

I did repot it recently with a different type of compost that what was used in the beginning so it may also be lacking certain nutrients in the soil.

Anyway, I'm kind of at a loss so if anyone has any ideas, that would be great

71AD9435-08C5-439B-9386-D19001806D92.jpeg
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
11,558
Reaction score
5,641
Location
La Porte Texas
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
Your plant is starving. It needs both micro and macro nutrients, but mainly phosphorus. Feed with good organic fertilizer and liquid seaweed.
 
Joined
Jul 2, 2018
Messages
4
Reaction score
1
Location
Renfrew, Scotland
Country
United Kingdom
Your plant is starving. It needs both micro and macro nutrients, but mainly phosphorus. Feed with good organic fertilizer and liquid seaweed.

see I did think that but read other places that I’d to only start feeding it once the wee flowers start appearing. Cheers for the help though! do you think it’s salvageable?

ill get some food for it ASAP
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
11,558
Reaction score
5,641
Location
La Porte Texas
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
see I did think that but read other places that I’d to only start feeding it once the wee flowers start appearing. Cheers for the help though! do you think it’s salvageable?

ill get some food for it ASAP
I have no idea where you read that because it is absolutely incorrect. If the plant were healthy, maybe, but tomatoes need regular feeding from the transplant stage onward. It is salvageable although I don't know how long your season is there. Tomatoes are extremely sensitive as to ambient temperatures for setting fruit.
 
Joined
Apr 5, 2020
Messages
393
Reaction score
182
Location
Tri Cities, WA (Columbia Basin)
Hardiness Zone
7a
Country
United States
The leaves appear to be yellowing too, so it could also be magnesium deficiency. This is very common in tomatoes but also affects plants like peppers, potatoes, roses, etc. I notice that on the leaves that are not almost dead, the viens are still greener. That is a classic sign of magnesium deficiency. When the plant experiences a lack of magnesium, it moves magnesium from older, lower leaves to newer upper ones, so the effect is seen in the older leaves first. There are several causes, such as heavy potassium content fertilizer or light or sandy soils where the magnesium is leached out by rain or watering (especially if grown in pots). Fortunately, the cure is very simple and cheap. Just get some ordinary Epsom salts from the pharmacy store ("chemist" in the UK I guess), even some garden stores sell it. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons around the stem and water in. Repeat as necessary. I give ours a dose now and then as a preventative too. Also note that tomatoes need sufficient water, but they need a steady regular watering schedule. They don't like irregular watering. They adjust to the schedules and irregular watering will affect pollination and tend to make the fruit split. You problem doesn't look like fungus or mold because it is not affecting the whole plant the same, but it's worth checking as unhealthy or dying leaves can attract things like that.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
27,772
Messages
263,906
Members
14,502
Latest member
mrbones195

Latest Threads

Top