02-06-2004, 09:03 PM
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Newbie Tomato questions
(Jessica) wrote in message . com...
I have three questions regarding tomato plants.
1.) One of my plants has lower leaves that are curling up/in and are
beginning to look shriveled. On the same plant, the upper leaves are
cupping down, forming a dome which would work well as a mouse
umbrella. Are the two items related? Should I be concerned?
2.) Yesterday I was pawing through the mulch around the plants, and
found several very small snails near the base of the stems. I tossed
them out of the plant bed just in case they were dangerous. Anyone
have advice regarding these critters?
3.)I live in the Atlanta area, and these are my first attempts at
tomato plants. It's been more rainy than usual over the past month,
and the moisture seems to be trapped under the bark mulch and on top
of the lovely clay I have to plant in (I'm sure why the snails were
there). Is this moisture-trapping detrimental to the plants?
Thanks for all help!
Jessica
Snails have a hard shell. I assume what you are referring to is slugs.
They look like a snail except they do not have a shell. Bark mulch is
a magnet for slugs because they need moisture and cannot tolerate
sunlight because it dries them out. Left untreated, they will be
detrimental to your plants and lawn.
You need to remove the bark mulch. I believe Atlanta gets enough rain
that you do not need a ground cover to retain moisture. If you are
doing it for weed control, you might consider other alternatives.
The South's red clay is a very fertile soil - it sure has grown tons
of cotton, soy beans, and peanuts! To keep it loose for a garden
requires mixing with other soils like compost and sand. After a couple
of years of working in this mixture, you'll have a nice loose garden
that will grow anything you want. If your property had been farmed in
the past, you should also consider getting a soil sample tested to see
what nutrients and conditioning your soil needs.
Good luck with your gardening.
Bob S. (in Alabama)
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