Dwarf Tomato Issues
 

Hi.

First of all I need to let you know that I know nothing about gardening/growing. I'm giving it a go though :)

I live in an apartment with 2 South facing windows so all my growing is indoors on a windowsill.

I have been trying to grow some dwarf tomato plants from seed on one of my windows for a few weeks now. There are 5 plants in a 20 inch long tray that is about 6 inches deep. Initially things looked good but recently things have taken a turn for the worse.

Firstly the leaves at the base of the plant shrivelled and died. I thought at first that this may be as they are no longer needed?

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...m/be083811.jpg

A few day's later I noticed some brown spots of dried leaf on one of the plants. The others still looked healthy so I ignored it. Was this my mistake?

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...m/6f79d6ef.jpg

This morning it's not looking good for them. Every plant has started to shrivel and I am absolutely gutted :(

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...m/b07046e8.jpg

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...m/ab5b45fd.jpg

I have been watering them daily with quite a lot of water. Could this be the issue? I have been adding plant food to the water too. I also have sprayed the leaves with the plant food infused water too. I'm beginning to think that wasn't a good idea?

My Chilli plant seems to be doing ok though. I planted 3 in this pot but 2 germinated and died. The remaining plant seems to be doing ok though.

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...m/e2717445.jpg

Strawberries are taking an age and seem very hit and miss also.

http://i682.photobucket.com/albums/v...m/0c5cf41b.jpg

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

Cheers

Tom

Dwarf Tomato Issues
 

brgsstm said:

I have been watering them daily with quite a lot of water. Could this
be the issue? I have been adding plant food to the water too. I also
have sprayed the leaves with the plant food infused water too. I'm
beginning to think that wasn't a good idea?

My Chilli plant seems to be doing ok though. I planted 3 in this pot
but 2 germinated and died. The remaining plant seems to be doing ok
though.

Oh, my. You are killing them with kindness. Too much water, and
too much fertilizer.

"Plant food" is a misnomer. Better you should think of them as "plant
vitamins and minerals." That it, something that is neccessary, but in
small quantities. Plants make their own "food" from air and sunlight
(and water).

You might also want to consider potting the tomatoes up into an
even larger container eventually. Even "dwarf" tomatoes like a bit
more room for their roots than that container would provide.

--
Pat in Plymouth MI

"Yes, swooping is bad."

email valid but not regularly monitored

Dwarf Tomato Issues
 

On Thu, 26 May 2011 08:33:15 +0000, brgsstm
wrote:


Hi.

First of all I need to let you know that I know nothing about
gardening/growing. I'm giving it a go though :)

I live in an apartment with 2 South facing windows so all my growing is
indoors on a windowsill.


I assume you are in the northern hemisphere, how many hours per day of
sun will they get? If none or only an hour or two your success is
going to be very limited. Fruiting plants should get full sun (all
day) ideally.

I have been trying to grow some dwarf tomato plants from seed on one of
my windows for a few weeks now. There are 5 plants in a 20 inch long
tray that is about 6 inches deep. Initially things looked good but
recently things have taken a turn for the worse.

Firstly the leaves at the base of the plant shrivelled and died. I
thought at first that this may be as they are no longer needed?

http://tinyurl.com/3qm5fey

A few day's later I noticed some brown spots of dried leaf on one of the
plants. The others still looked healthy so I ignored it. Was this my
mistake?

http://tinyurl.com/3s5memo


They don't look that bad.

This morning it's not looking good for them. Every plant has started to
shrivel and I am absolutely gutted :(

http://tinyurl.com/3djmh48

http://tinyurl.com/3gjnfll


I've seen better but it isn't the end of the world.


I have been watering them daily with quite a lot of water. Could this
be the issue? I have been adding plant food to the water too. I also
have sprayed the leaves with the plant food infused water too. I'm
beginning to think that wasn't a good idea?


Slow down. They need even watering but do not want to be constantly
wet or waterlogged. Don't over do the fertiliser either, you can
quickly kill them with too much.

David