New Garden

[custosnox]

Sounds like some kind of cut worm or damping off fungus cutting stem.  You got slugs around?  When plant a new one, put a piece of cardboard around base of plant a couple inches in ground and a couple inches above ground.  They make plastic rings for that, too, but can use the tube in a roll of toilet paper or part of a paper towel roll.  Or some 3" PVC pipe, cut about 6" long, slipped around the stem when planting - kind of overkill.  When plant grows a little, the stem will harden up, so won't be a problem for cardboard to disintegrate.

Don't worry about the holes in the leaves unless they are all gone...   Dark spot could be fungus, pick it off the plant and remove it from the area to keep from spreading - don't put in compost pile.  If only one or two leaves, can run through garbage disposer, otherwise, just put in trash - get it away from garden.

Are they getting enough sun?  All day.  And are you watering VERY SELDOM, and none at all with all the rain we have been getting?  Let the ground get dry to about 2" deep while they are still young, then after that, about an inch a week worth of water.  If rains, then don't water at all.  More plants die from overwatering than from drought - it won't hurt them to wilt just a little bit from time to time, before watering (after established) - but too much water will kill them, as well as infecting with all manner of fungi.

I've seen a couple of slugs, getting armed to go to war on them (got some beer I won't drink and salt ready).  I'll pull the dark leaf.  I've got some ceramic worms that stick out of the ground to give me an idea of when to water, but I'll cut back a bit on that.  They are in the area best for sun, so if they aren't getting enough, not much I can do there.  Just got to looking at my tomato plants, and a couple of them aren't looking so good. 

[heironymouspasparagus]

I've seen a couple of slugs, getting armed to go to war on them (got some beer I won't drink and salt ready).  I'll pull the dark leaf.  I've got some ceramic worms that stick out of the ground to give me an idea of when to water, but I'll cut back a bit on that.  They are in the area best for sun, so if they aren't getting enough, not much I can do there.  Just got to looking at my tomato plants, and a couple of them aren't looking so good.

That one looks fine.  The older leaves will brown like that after a while.  Remember, those were started with a massive shot of "tomato meth" and when they get into normal soil zone, there is typically a little too much foliage for the non-meth environment...let them be, they are doing well.  The stem is strong and what I can see, everything is great.  Almost.

Except for that wood chip mulch you got!!  Get rid of that carp ASAP!!  It is too early to worry about the soil drying out right now - another couple weeks of sun hitting the soil may actually help heat it up and give the plant a boost.  And NEVER use that wood chip carp for anything!!  The single biggest "macro" effect you will see in your garden is that it uses up nitrogen to rot that should be used by the plant.  Get it off there!

If you are OCD (like me a little bit), and you just gotta have something around the plant, then use compost.  Cotton burr mulch is magnificent!  And keep it at least 3 to 4" away from the stem all around it.

Oh,....almost forgot - did I mention to get rid of the wood mulch?

[Red Arrow]

Back on topic, the garden is having some problems.  I am seeing some holes in the leaves, and on one of my pepper plants has a dark spot on a leaf.  Also I'm afraid I lost one of my banana pepper plants.  When I came back yesterday it was laying on the ground, looks like it was cut right above the ground.  Hope it continues to grow.  I seem to have a lot to learn about this gardening thing.

A few holes in the leaves won't hurt but if you start losing too much, get some liquid Sevin and spray the leaves.  I don't spray after the plants start to make fruit but a little before then is OK.  

Chewed stems are probably varmits.  I have always had a plastic fence around my in-ground plants primarily to keep the dogs from trampling my plants.  It's like the orange square grid stuff you see at construction sites except it's green.  It comes in 4 ft wide/tall x 50 ft rolls.  That was sufficient for peppers and tomatoes from 2005 until last year.  Last year I also tried cucumbers, several kinds of squash and okra.  I lost several plants very early.  Some were cut down.  Some were pulled up with no trace.  I also noticed and repaired several holes chewed in the bottom area of the fence.  The same happened the next day so I got some steel wire rabbit fence.  No more holes in the fence but there were still a few plants destroyed or missing.  One day mom saw some crows playing with something that looked like a plant from my garden.  Next I got some plastic grid stuff to put on top of the garden.  No more problems of that kind after that.

Last year I started a second garden near the first but dedicated to only peppers.  The green plastic fence worked fine.  It didn't work so fine this year.  I planted 59 peppers Sunday the 8th in the second garden and also some eggplant and okra in the first garden.  I had a couple of wimpy plants in the first garden but no varmit damage with the green fence, rabbit fence and top cover.  However, when I came home on Monday the 9th, the second garden had 7 plants either missing or disconnected from their stems. Tuesday, there were 6 more gone.  I also noticed chewed areas in the lower areas of the fence.  I immediately went to Lowes and got some more rabbit fencing and tied it up to the posts for the green plastic fence.  Wednesday there was one more plant disconnected that I may have missed the night before.  Just to be safe, I got some more netting for the top and got that on yesterday.  I bought some make-up plants on Saturday but didn't plant them until yesterday due to the forecast nasty weather Saturday night.  No varmit damage tonight when I got home.  I also have some plants in pots in the front yard.  I had some chewed off plants there too.  The squirrels like to dig in the soft dirt.  I don't know if they are burying something or looking for something but they dig too close to my plants.  I am trying to discourage them by sprinkling lots of cayenne pepper on the dirt around the plants in the pots.  There was some evidence of digging tonight but not as much has in the past.

Good Luck

[custosnox]

A few holes in the leaves won't hurt but if you start losing too much, get some liquid Sevin and spray the leaves.  I don't spray after the plants start to make fruit but a little before then is OK.  

Chewed stems are probably varmits.  I have always had a plastic fence around my in-ground plants primarily to keep the dogs from trampling my plants.  It's like the orange square grid stuff you see at construction sites except it's green.  It comes in 4 ft wide/tall x 50 ft rolls.  That was sufficient for peppers and tomatoes from 2005 until last year.  Last year I also tried cucumbers, several kinds of squash and okra.  I lost several plants very early.  Some were cut down.  Some were pulled up with no trace.  I also noticed and repaired several holes chewed in the bottom area of the fence.  The same happened the next day so I got some steel wire rabbit fence.  No more holes in the fence but there were still a few plants destroyed or missing.  One day mom saw some crows playing with something that looked like a plant from my garden.  Next I got some plastic grid stuff to put on top of the garden.  No more problems of that kind after that.

Last year I started a second garden near the first but dedicated to only peppers.  The green plastic fence worked fine.  It didn't work so fine this year.  I planted 59 peppers Sunday the 8th in the second garden and also some eggplant and okra in the first garden.  I had a couple of wimpy plants in the first garden but no varmit damage with the green fence, rabbit fence and top cover.  However, when I came home on Monday the 9th, the second garden had 7 plants either missing or disconnected from their stems. Tuesday, there were 6 more gone.  I also noticed chewed areas in the lower areas of the fence.  I immediately went to Lowes and got some more rabbit fencing and tied it up to the posts for the green plastic fence.  Wednesday there was one more plant disconnected that I may have missed the night before.  Just to be safe, I got some more netting for the top and got that on yesterday.  I bought some make-up plants on Saturday but didn't plant them until yesterday due to the forecast nasty weather Saturday night.  No varmit damage tonight when I got home.  I also have some plants in pots in the front yard.  I had some chewed off plants there too.  The squirrels like to dig in the soft dirt.  I don't know if they are burying something or looking for something but they dig too close to my plants.  I am trying to discourage them by sprinkling lots of cayenne pepper on the dirt around the plants in the pots.  There was some evidence of digging tonight but not as much has in the past.

Good Luck

We have a few rabbits around here, been keeping an eye on em and haven't seem any sign of them in the back, yet.  The squirrels haven't seem to have discovered the garden yet either, so I seem to be getting lucky on that number.  The one plant that was down looked like it was either cut or broken, not chewed. I've used up the budget for the garden right now, so I'll have to look around to see what I can come up with here.

Another question, as my tomato plants grow, do I need to put something for them to grow on to support them?

[Red Arrow]

The squirrels haven't seem to have discovered the garden yet either, so I seem to be getting lucky on that number. 

At least not while you are looking.  They are sneaky little pests.

Another question, as my tomato plants grow, do I need to put something for them to grow on to support them?

I think most people do but I don't know that it's absolutely necessary.  I cannot imagine commercial tomato fields with cages around every plant.  Try to keep the fruit off the ground if you can to keep the bugs to a minimum.

[custosnox]

At least not while you are looking.  They are sneaky little pests.

I can see the garden from where I sit at my computer.  Let's me keep a pretty good eye on things.   

I think most people do but I don't know that it's absolutely necessary.  I cannot imagine commercial tomato fields with cages around every plant.  Try to keep the fruit off the ground if you can to keep the bugs to a minimum.

speaking of bugs, how bad can ants hurt a garden?    They seem to love this yard.

[custosnox]

That one looks fine.  The older leaves will brown like that after a while.  Remember, those were started with a massive shot of "tomato meth" and when they get into normal soil zone, there is typically a little too much foliage for the non-meth environment...let them be, they are doing well.  The stem is strong and what I can see, everything is great.  Almost.

Except for that wood chip mulch you got!!  Get rid of that carp ASAP!!  It is too early to worry about the soil drying out right now - another couple weeks of sun hitting the soil may actually help heat it up and give the plant a boost.  And NEVER use that wood chip carp for anything!!  The single biggest "macro" effect you will see in your garden is that it uses up nitrogen to rot that should be used by the plant.  Get it off there!

If you are OCD (like me a little bit), and you just gotta have something around the plant, then use compost.  Cotton burr mulch is magnificent!  And keep it at least 3 to 4" away from the stem all around it.

Oh,....almost forgot - did I mention to get rid of the wood mulch?

The primary reason (other than keeping moister levels up, of course) was to help keep weeds down.

[heironymouspasparagus]

The primary reason (other than keeping moister levels up, of course) was to help keep weeds down.

Good idea, but with different material.  Cottonseed burr compost.  Or any compost....

Tomato cages are good, if you want to keep the plants going.  Commercial growers don't use, but they grow the plants, wait until there is the "maximum" amount of ripe fruit, then go through and harvest plant and tomato all at once, leaving no plants for more tomatoes.  You can let it stay and then keep picking tomatoes...

I have tried about every kind of cage there is and even made my own.  The best I have come up with so far is kind of pricey if you only need one or two.  Starts with a fence material that is about 4' tall, with 6" x 6" squares in the fabric.  Cut to a length that gives about a 2' diameter for the cage - that is Pi x 2, or 6.3 feet long, curved into a circle, with the ends wrapped around to close the circle.  If you only have a couple, then even those cone shaped things will probably work.

One more thing, when the average temperature goes above about 85 degrees, the plants will stop blooming and setting fruit.  Just a little shade at that time will help the plants survive until Sept then, so they will bloom and set again after average goes below that again.

[Gaspar]

I've seen a couple of slugs, getting armed to go to war on them (got some beer I won't drink and salt ready).  I'll pull the dark leaf.  I've got some ceramic worms that stick out of the ground to give me an idea of when to water, but I'll cut back a bit on that.  They are in the area best for sun, so if they aren't getting enough, not much I can do there.  Just got to looking at my tomato plants, and a couple of them aren't looking so good. 

That pic tells me that they don't have enough drainage.  Not a whole lot you can do after these rains.  If they continue to have the chlorotic appearance and edge browning after things dry up a bit than you may need to replace them.  Don't be afraid to replace a tomato plant when it gets sickly.  They are very slow to recover, and nursing a sick plant sounds noble but won't produce any fruit.  

Stick your hands down in the soil and if it's wet and "Clay like" then you don't have enough organic matter to allow it to drain, or the location you've chosen does not promote adequate drainage.  

When you see that browning of the tips and edges of the leaves that means that the tips and edges of the root have died.  If the soil is too moist that will continue, and the plant will halt adventurous root growth as a survival mechanism. Sometimes the plant will also do this if their is too much fertilizer applied.  The cause is the same though, the root tips have died.

[Gaspar]

Good idea, but with different material.  Cottonseed burr compost.  Or any compost....

Tomato cages are good, if you want to keep the plants going.  Commercial growers don't use, but they grow the plants, wait until there is the "maximum" amount of ripe fruit, then go through and harvest plant and tomato all at once, leaving no plants for more tomatoes.  You can let it stay and then keep picking tomatoes...

I have tried about every kind of cage there is and even made my own.  The best I have come up with so far is kind of pricey if you only need one or two.  Starts with a fence material that is about 4' tall, with 6" x 6" squares in the fabric.  Cut to a length that gives about a 2' diameter for the cage - that is Pi x 2, or 6.3 feet long, curved into a circle, with the ends wrapped around to close the circle.  If you only have a couple, then even those cone shaped things will probably work.

One more thing, when the average temperature goes above about 85 degrees, the plants will stop blooming and setting fruit.  Just a little shade at that time will help the plants survive until Sept then, so they will bloom and set again after average goes below that again.

I gave up on cages of any kind.  They get crowded and promote rot on the inside of the plant.  Indeterminate tomato varieties will always outgrow a cage anyway and just make a mess.  I just run stainless steel wire across fence posts and train the vines like grape vines across it.  Works very well, is cheap, and my cherry tomatoes can run the whole length if necessary.  In a month this row will look like a solid fence of foliage.  The wire makes it easy to "weave" the leaves and support the whole plant.  At the end of the season, a few snips and you're ready for the composer.



In a week or two I will weave a vertical wire for each tomato and pepper plant.  All of my plants are already loaded with fruit.

[custosnox]

That pic tells me that they don't have enough drainage.  Not a whole lot you can do after these rains.  If they continue to have the chlorotic appearance and edge browning after things dry up a bit than you may need to replace them.  Don't be afraid to replace a tomato plant when it gets sickly.  They are very slow to recover, and nursing a sick plant sounds noble but won't produce any fruit.  

Stick your hands down in the soil and if it's wet and "Clay like" then you don't have enough organic matter to allow it to drain, or the location you've chosen does not promote adequate drainage.  

When you see that browning of the tips and edges of the leaves that means that the tips and edges of the root have died.  If the soil is too moist that will continue, and the plant will halt adventurous root growth as a survival mechanism. Sometimes the plant will also do this if their is too much fertilizer applied.  The cause is the same though, the root tips have died.

Is it possible that it has been overwatered instead of a drainage problem?  I figure in a couple of years I might have a chance of getting this right.

[Gaspar]

Is it possible that it has been overwatered instead of a drainage problem?  I figure in a couple of years I might have a chance of getting this right.

Certainly.  Won't take you that long. 

We've had a wet couple of weeks, so chances are your location does not provide enough drainage for wet weather.  Tomato roots require lots of air, so you may be able to perk them up by taking a long screw-driver and plunging holes in the soil about 2 1/2 inches away from the base of the plant all the way around it.  Whatever you do, don't fertalize any more until after initial fruiting.  If you have a drainage problem and root-rot, additional nitrogen/potassium will exaserbate the problem. 

[custosnox]

Certainly.  Won't take you that long. 

We've had a wet couple of weeks, so chances are your location does not provide enough drainage for wet weather.  Tomato roots require lots of air, so you may be able to perk them up by taking a long screw-driver and plunging holes in the soil about 2 1/2 inches away from the base of the plant all the way around it.  Whatever you do, don't fertalize any more until after initial fruiting.  If you have a drainage problem and root-rot, additional nitrogen/potassium will exaserbate the problem. 

Gotcha, don't have and fertilizer right now anyhow and my compost is still small and young.

[Conan71]

I gave up on cages of any kind.  They get crowded and promote rot on the inside of the plant.  Indeterminate tomato varieties will always outgrow a cage anyway and just make a mess.  I just run stainless steel wire across fence posts and train the vines like grape vines across it.  Works very well, is cheap, and my cherry tomatoes can run the whole length if necessary.  In a month this row will look like a solid fence of foliage.  The wire makes it easy to "weave" the leaves and support the whole plant.  At the end of the season, a few snips and you're ready for the composer.



In a week or two I will weave a vertical wire for each tomato and pepper plant.  All of my plants are already loaded with fruit.

I see you have that chipped wood carp all over the place.  Tsk tsk.

As to Red's solution for pest fencing.  I'm using 24" chicken wire.  Plenty high enough to keep teh bunnehs out.

[Gaspar]

I see you have that chipped wood carp all over the place.  Tsk tsk.

As to Red's solution for pest fencing.  I'm using 24" chicken wire.  Plenty high enough to keep teh bunnehs out.

It's bizarre but red wood chips make more tomatoes.  You can actually buy red plastic mulch just for tomatoes but it looks crapy so I prefer the cheap red cedar. http://growerssolution.com/page/GS/PROD/srmred