Leathery Leaf curl container tomatoes

[thear111]

Hey guys, new to The Forum, glad to be here, been growing tomatoes in the ground for about 25 years oh, this year I started my first container tomatoes project ever... figured I knew enough about growing tomatoes that everything would go splendidly, but guess what? Nope... not only are my tomatoes not very full, the lower leaves have a leathery feel, and are curling inward... I'm really disappointed, hope anybody here can help me get these things going better than they are

[thear111]

By the way, if anyone could explain to me how to post pictures into this application platform , that would be appreciated

[Labradors]

thear111 Just click on "Full editor & preview" underneath the box where you type, then click on the icon with the mountain, then attachments and the rest should be self-explanatory.

Linda

[thear111]

Awesome Linda thankyou!!

[thear111]

20200707_134413.jpg

So here is what I'm talking about, if anyone can spot this one right away?

[thear111]

Sorry the picture is sideways, LOL

[thear111]

I used this potting mix, new


I mixed this throughout the soil

20200707_150942.jpg

I used this fertilizer about 1 week in... then again in another 2 weeks

20200707_150956.jpg

I did not water much at first, because we were getting quite a bit of rain and the plants were small, but now I am using this drip irrigation device to water approximately 1 gallon 3 times a day

20200707_151208.jpg

But this condition existed before I started with the drip irrigation....
Thanks for any advice

[Labradors]

It looks incredibly dry and the leaves are probably curling due to stress. Dry? Windy? Hot? Suggest that you pull back the mulch and stick your finger in there to check moisture content.

I don't know how big your containers are, but I am watering my 3-gallon containers twice a day and our temps are in the 80's.

Now I see some more info from you has just come in. Perhaps they are reacting to all the fertilizer, yet they are too dry?

(BTW the fish fert is high nitrogen and not much else. I would save that for when you have little seedlings as you want more than just nitrogen for big plants).

Linda

[thear111]

Okay, exactly the feedback I was looking for, I used the fish fertilizer twice and do not intend to use it again, I was just hoping to boost the foilage at the beginning, and then hope for flowers and fruit later with bigger plants... this is the way I've always done it in the ground, with ammonium nitrate... with great success... anyway this did not work as well as I anticipated... my containers are fairly large, and I promise you that the soil has never dried out once, this is what has me perplexed... you will notice in this picture how large the containers are also, I am not using saucers underneath so that they are fully draining, but I know for certain they have never gone completely dry, it has been raining way too much here for that to have happened regardless of my attentiveness, and I do stick my finger in the soil daily... so I'm like okay maybe they're not getting enough water because I'm not using a saucer, or maybe they're getting too much water, I can't figure this one.... thanks Linda, here's the picture

[thear111]

I don't know why my pictures are sideways, but hey I'm new, LOL

[thear111]

The top leaves on the tomatoes don't look really bad, but look how spindly these plants are

[eyegrotom]

It's easy to see what the problem is you left your shoe out there lol. None of the pictures that I see are sideways.

[thear111]

Haha... took my shoe off and set it there for size reference, but very funny I mean it could just stink really bad and the tomatoes just really don't like that

[Labradors]

Have you done some massive pruning? They look healthy, but spindly. They need more nutrients and people say that the organic stuff doesn't cut it in a pot (because there's no soil web to break it down!!!!!) I normally use a potting mix with added nutrients and plonk some Tomato Tone (or dehydrated chicken poop) in the planting hole, then I forget about ferts until the leaves begin to yellow (which is a bit late!) Some people advise watering weaky, weekly.....

[thear111]

Pruning the bottom leaves heavily in hopes of getting them to grow over the top of this deck railing, and then hang down so no need for cage support... have not been pruning the tops however... perhaps I am accomplishing exactly what I was hoping for, but thought they would still be a little fuller at least at the top... and really thought they would be growing like gangbusters with the slow released nutrients and the regular drip irrigation... perhaps I just need some patience... but I've never seen or felt that leathery leaf on any of my tomato plants in the past

[MissS]

Welcome to the forum. Did you start these plants from seed or buy them from a store? They do appear to be rather spindly and anemic looking. Can you give them a boost of some Tomato Tone or MiracleGro? I think that a balance meal would help them a lot.

[MissS]

I forgot to say that as these plants grow you will need to water well twice a day. In doing this you will also need to maintain a good fertilization schedule because you will be washing nutrients out as you water.

[thear111]

Thanks PattI... I mixed Miracle-Gro shake and feed into the soil, and I have fertilized twice with fish fertilizer... I don't intend to do any more nitrogen based fertilizing I have the drip irrigation system set to water for 10 minutes at a time three times a day... the very top leaves look like this

[thear111]

Here are a couple better pictures, to me this just doesn't look right, is this too much fertilizer?

20200710_183112.jpg

[Spartanburg123]

Hello- that curly inward look in your first picture looks exactly like herbicide drift- have you used Roundup nearby or have the neighbors used it out in the yard on a windy day? It only takes a very small amount and it goes right after the most tender parts of the tomato plant, the growth stem at the top....