A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum The Tomato Forum Tomato plants are wilting already, HELP!!

I'm writing this post on behalf of my father who lives in eastern pennsylvania. He planted his vegetable garden last week and says his tomato plants are wilting. He used aged manure from his horse, planted the plants and then soaked the ground after planting. Since then, they have had lots of rain, and the temperatures keep fluctuating. 70's one day and 55 the next. Any ideas what could be causing the wilting? Its definitely not lack of water, i'm thinking maybe too much water and the cool temps....not sure.

is the 55 night time temps, or does it get even colder than that at night?

When i spoke to him yesterday it was 55 during the day so it definitely gets a little colder at night.

maybe it's the cold nights? just a guess. I put my tomatoes out when night time temps are upper 40's or higher. someone closer to his zone would probably be able to answer better.

It could be aphids. They will definitely cause leaf wilt and curl. He should look under the leaves and see if there are some very tiny white or orange specks under there. If so, it's aphids. There are lots of products out there for aphids on tomatoes but he'll have to turn the leaves over to spray or powder. I've learned the spray is easiest and most effective but it's still a pain in the rear to have do all the leaves. Aphids will absolutely destroy his tomato plants if left unchecked. He should also check on the stems and stalks for the little buggars.

Also, now that I think of it, there is a fungus that can get on the roots and kill the plants. Not too much can be done about that other than pull up the plants and remove them from the garden so it won't infect the others. Too much water will certainly contribute to that particular problem. Tomatoes like water but not saturated all the time.

Ciao all-

I suspect the cold weather is affecting your father's plants. Mine don't look healthy this year. Some of this is due to them being severely rootbound in cells much too small for them due to light space constraints. I'm also noticing wind burn (white portions of leaves), growth stagnation, and chartreuse foliage. I know they'll grow out of this once the weather settles down and their roots can finally move and grow, but it sure is tough watching them go through this. We had frost warnings overnight so anything not planted already spent the night in the garage.

Cheers,
Julianna

I'm wondering, did he harden the seedlings off before planting?

Mine are wilting as wewll but I am in Va. Beach. Daytine temps have been in the upper 90's and night in the 70's. I use Miracle Grow and have been watering by hose every night. Very little rain in the last month. So I guess my problem is similar to yours but temps are very different. I would like an answer, too.

HWNC