Not sure if disease or overwatering (tomatoes & capsicum)

[2jjg4]

Hey all, would love any help identifying a couple of issues im having but dont quite know why.
All these plants are growing in pots with store bought potting mix.

Weather is late summer here, averaging 30-35c (86f-95f), but always kept well watered and partly shaded.

Left pic is an older capsicum/bell pepper plant, right is a young chili pepper, both are getting the same symptoms where the highest leaves curl up on themselves and get all crinkled. :/ Not sure what's causing this, seemingly otherwise healthy.

But the more concerning issue are my cherry tomatoes, they've been growing totally fine since december, getting huge and green with lots of tomatoes coming in, but just in the last week or two the bottom leaves rapidly go yellow and die, sometimes entire limbs dead overnight, the top foliage seems fine but I'm worried its going to spread and kill the whole plant.

Mostly healthy then bam a limb shriveled overnight.

They're all growing in pots, some have 2 or 3 plants sharing one pot which were mainly just oversow but theyre huge pots, but single plant or several doesnt seem to matter, theyre all getting the same issue :/ defintiely isn't underwatering as I water every morning, but it may be overwatering? first time growing these so I really don't know lol

All have drainage holes in their pots except for one, so they never sit in stagnant water. They're all planted in good store bought potting mix. Gave them fertiliser maybe once a month and some compost on top, covered with mulch as you can see.

Any help appreciated guys

 

[YumYum]

More than likely all of it is overwatering. Roots need air too. Drill drain holes in the pot that doesn't have them.

Looks likey they were getting the right amount of nitrogen at one point but you either suffocated the roots or flushed the nitrogen out. Also looks like the tomatoes need more direct sun as they are too lanky looking to me. It could be the varietey though.

 

[2jjg4]

Alrighty ill ease up on the watering and see if they recover, ill make sure to stick a full finger deep to test moisture before watering.
They all have drain holes, but lets just say ive been watering a lot recently due to some very hot periods of up to well over 100F, so ill have to ease back again. And thats also the reason i havent put them in full sun as much, theyd always end up sunburned and droopy quickly in the aussie summer heat, but i think i can give them direct sun a bit more as it cools down into autumn here. Theyre cherry tomatoes, im not sure on the exact type though, got the seeds free.

But thank you for the feedback

 

[YumYum]

Oh. Yes those temps are tough on them. Plants can droop down in extreme heat such as squash but that is from the heat. A shade cloth may help you out. When it cools back off later in the day and they don't spring back up, that means they are wilting and need water.

 

[YumYum]

What are the tomatoes planted in, a 1 gallon pot? If it is you will need more room for the roots than that. A 5 gallon bucket is about the minimum size for a tomato.

 

[2jjg4]

Yeah ive had them wilting and then a water and some shade they pop back up pretty quick, I did put up shadecloth now, just to cut down maybe 20% of the sun strength.

And yeah its a pretty big pot, about 5 gallon-ish, though not all are that big and I am planning to do a final repot very soon, probably a bit late lol but life is hectic so im catching up on my repotting

 

[redback]

The tomato needs a lot more soil. It should be much stauncher - twice the size and three times as thick. Lift it gently out of the pot to see if it's rootbound. If it is - plant it in the ground, in a semi shaded spot.
I've got the same curly leaf on my citrus that you've got on the capsicum. I don't know what the problem is but check for root bound, pull off the curled leaf and give a seaweed foliar spray.

 

[Logan]

It would be nice to know what part of Straya you are living in your profile.
Is there a reason why you have them in pots?
I watch this guy on YouTube and he's in Australia

 

[2jjg4]

@redback Yeah im going to bunnings very soon, gonna grab a bunch of biggest pots, maybe even those big plastic bins lol use as pots, Im planning to build some raised beds but its expensive as hell... sigh, but yeah ill check for rootbound issues, but im pretty sure that is already happening, hence my new pots soon.

@Logan Haha yeah I watch that guy regularly, great channel, he's up north of me in the more tropical weather, im more south and inland, arid area, but still able to grow plenty. And I use pots because I don't really have good options for planting in ground where I am. Yet anyway.

 

[Logan]

Haha yeah I watch that guy regularly, great channel, he's up north of me in the more tropical weather, im more south and inland, arid area, but still able to grow plenty. And I use pots because I don't really have good options for planting in ground where I am. Yet anyway

That's good.

 

[redback]

If you have land, then adding to the soil could be cheaper than potting soil and pots. It's not necessary to have raised beds.
Tomatoes are small trees that grow to 1800mm high. It's hard to grow in pots where the sun shines on the terra cotta or plastic of the pots.

 

[2jjg4]

If you have land, then adding to the soil could be cheaper than potting soil and pots. It's not necessary to have raised beds.
Tomatoes are small trees that grow to 1800mm high. It's hard to grow in pots where the sun shines on the terra cotta or plastic of the pots.

I have a crappy weed infested patch lol, which im actually solarizing to kill any weed seeds left over hopefully, then yeah i may look into tilling it up to something worth planting in, but for now pots are all I can work with really

 

[redback]

Look for free rocks or old hardwood or secondhand bricks or galv. iron to build your raised bed. Start with just one 4'x8' (1.2Mx2.4M) bed and grow into more as time progresses.

 

[2jjg4]

Look for free rocks or old hardwood or secondhand bricks or galv. iron to build your raised bed. Start with just one 4'x8' (1.2Mx2.4M) bed and grow into more as time progresses.

Yup i have some old junk in my back shed ive been eyeing to use for one, old corrugated iron, an old wood crate, got some old star pickets etc, it is on my to-do list lol, gonna be planting some garlic and other tomatoes around the end of this month, and some beetoroot, lettuce, rapidly running out of space haha

 

[redback]

Tomatoes are killed by frosts. You can plant out your existing potted ones without worrying too much about weeds. Just dig a hole, add manure and stake them up amongst the weeds. You might get some toms before the frosts in April.
The onions, garlic, lettuce are fine for winter. Normally in southern Australia you would plant peas, broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, parsnips, dill, coriander, celery this time of year. Although I'm not sure how far south or inland you are.