On 10/05/2012 16:01, Chris wrote:
Three hard frosts seem to have done for my outdoor tomato plants.
The leaves have turned yellow and shrivelled up.
There are a few small green leaves at the top.
The plants are about sixteen inches high.

Is it worth leaving the plants for a while, to see whether they recover?
Or should they be removed immediately, to prevent disease?
Or what?




Bob is right; it may be a bit early if you're still getting frosts.

In your position, I would remove the spoiled leaves as they may attract
fungal disease (including Blight) and snails. Then, I would earth up
the stems slightly (draw soil up around the base of the stems for an
inch or two), because tomato plants are stem rooting. This will give
them some added protection from the frosts at soil level, and tend to
strengthen the plant. If you can use fleece (or similar) to protect the
plants for a while, you may find that your plants survive and start to
put out new leaves and branches.

*After the frosts have passed*, it may help to give them a *little*
general purpose feed to put back some of the energy they've just
expended and wasted. Don't start using high potash tomato feed until
the fruit trusses have formed.

If you rely on your tomato crop, it may be worth starting off some new
plants as insurance against losses. You'll have no trouble giving them
away if they become excess to requirements.

Good luck.

--
Spider
from high ground in SE London
gardening on clay