Tomato resuscitation?

[Midwestnoob]

I have started 3 tomato hybrid plants from starter plants. I trimmed most of the suckers after they became established in their pots. The hybrid cherry tomato has grown very nicely. The other two have not done so well. In fact they pretty much went belly up. They curled their leaves and stopped producing new leaves. Its been almost a month now and nothing new has happened so i planed on pulling them out and starting over. When i got down close and looked i have some new leaves starting under the mulch.

So my question is, should i pull those new branches and try and propagate them in water or should i just leave them be?

I started using fish tank water high in nitrate and ammonia then once the nutrients where gone in my tank i started using just straight tap water. We have had any usually high or low temps and i water about every other day depending on rain. They both get about 8 hours of direct sunlight.

Any ideas?

 

[Chuck]

Growing tomatoes is simple. You are killing them with too much TLC. Stop with the pruning of suckers. The suckers are where the fruits will grow. You will be wasting your time trying to root them in water. You would be better off buying new plants and starting over................and don't use so much nitrogen. Use a balanced organic fertilizer when you plant, when it blooms and when it fruits. Remember that tomatoes only set fruit reliably between 68F-74F NIGHTTIME LOW TEMPERATURES. The larger the tomato the more the temperature is a factor. Cherry types will set fruit at higher temps than larger varieties. You should water only when the plant needs it, and a pot of that size saturate the plant about every 7 days. If the plants survive they will have to be transferred into a much larger container, about a 5 gallon size.

 

[Beth_B]

In other words, stop watering them so much. When growing tomatoes in containers the smallest size I use is a 5 gallon bucket. Because it rains where I live I water them rarely - when they wilt. Which is maybe once or twice a month. Otherwise not.

Occasional stress due to lack of water is not only OK, it's good for many plants. Makes them more resilient. Commercial tomato growers know that withholding water encourages fruit growth, even at the expense of leaf growth (which is secondary to fruit production.)

 

[headfullofbees]

Sometimes you have to let them go.

 

[Midwestnoob]

Thanks guys. I can use all the advice i can get!