Can my tomato plant be saved?

Question

I have read through old postings, that when the plant starts to turn yellow, it's from too much watering... I have not read anyone saying that the plant can recover. I have TONS of green tomatos and definatly want to save my plant...is it too late? If I cut back the watering, will i make it? The summer heat wave was making me think i needed to give it extra water. I have them being watered for 3 times a week, then I was adding extra in the afternoon, because they were wilting in the heat. I will no longer worry about the heat. the temperatures have been in the upper 90's.

Answer 1

Oops - bad adivce strikes again!  Tomatoes love water, but they will get blight like mad when it is in the upper 90's and humid.  We live in SE Virginia so we lose all our tomato plants sooner or later - when we are lucky, it is later.  But do not give up on it!  Pick off the dead and yellow leaves to limit spread of the blight - which is a fungus that lives in the soil and is really hard to eliminate altogether (most tomatoes in the store have already been exposed!)  If the stem is wilting, then take the tomatoes in and let them sit on a window in the sun until they turn red and they will still taste lovely (we just ate two little ones from our unfortunate plant which had died shortly before.)  In the future, pick fungus and blight resistant varieties and be sure to use things like milk sprays and fish emulsion to make them as strong as possible, but we always lose our little vines to the heat and humidity at some point - they do not die a natural death (from frost).  Plant them early and look for early bearing varietiies and mix those with indeterminate wilt-resistant varieties - keep notes on how the varieties you choose do and do not try ones that do badly again!  LOL  You can try not to water the leaves when you water by using a soaker hose, but they love water and the wilt and blight progress anyway - pick off the spotted looking leaves even just after you buy them - look for clean plants but you are unlikley to find them.  Good luck - it is not your fault, it is the heat and the humidity.

Oh - it those black spots are at the bottom of the tomato, then you also have "blossom end rot" caused by a calcium deficiency.  They make a spray and some soil amendments to correct the problem - treat it for this each year, because in poor clay soils (gee, are you from Virginia? LOL) the calcium leaches out.  But once you deal with these two issues the best you can, you will get tomatoes!  Be sure to mix compost in their planting holes when you put them in the garden, too - it makes them more blight-resistant! And you can mulch them with compost as well.

Answer 2

Blight comes from a fungus that lives in the soil.  As someone said you can cut off the bad branches to keep the disease from spreding faster.  And the black spots sound like blossom end rot.  If your plant is dead then by all means bring in the green tomatoes.  If they are mature enough they will go ahead and ripen.  

Next year when you plant your tomatoes pick plants such as Parks Whopper or Beefy Boy.  They are more resistant to blights, but will get them.  As soon as the plants are in the ground mulch them with grass clipping or straw.  Even newspapers wetted will work.  But I have had the best luck mulching with our grass clippings.  But keep them away from the stem so they don't burn the plant. And also staking them and keeping them tied to the stake and off the ground helps so much.  Also I spray every week or so with a fungiside to keep the blight off the plants.

I wish you the best of luck as there is nothing better than a home grown tomato.

Answer 3

You are not watering too often in this heat, however do a web search on tomato blossom end rot.  This is what is causing your black spots.  There are photo's on some sites of what it looks like.  Tomato blight will also turn the leaves as well.

Answer 4

From your information, the problem doesnt seem tobe overwatering. You are doing just right. It looks like the tomatoes need some fertiliser. I fertilise my tomatoes every two to three weeks in small amount. That way it keeps my plant healthy and its fruits bigger. :D :D :D