I planted 30 gorgeous heirloom tomato plants this spring, and exactly half are dying. I don’t understand it! Are they thirsty? Are they drowning? (It’s almost impossible to tell the difference at first.) I’m inclined to go with the latter given all the rain we had this spring. The roots never had a chance to dig down and thrive.
And to think of all the hard work I put into those plants. Working in the hot sun, digging holes, pruning them, watering them (that was what probably killed them!), suffering dirty finger nails and soil-covered knees….and for what??? To have my tomato dreams ripped away from me, that’s what. I was so looking forward to canning truckloads of heirlooms, all varieties, and eating ratatouille until it came out my ears, I was even going to preserve homemade pizza sauce. Yes, I am that domestic, people! If you come too close to me, I may try to bedazzle you a sweatshirt. A bedazzled tomato sweatshirt. And lets not forget the annual tomato toss across my front lawn.
Is it any wonder people buy their tomatoes in cellophane at the grocery store? Allow me to be clear: Gardening is a big pain in the butt full of disappointment and sorrow.
All original content © 2012 by Jessie Knadler
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Hello, I just found your website and have been wondering around in it. As far as your tomatoes (I know it’s a bit late for the 2010 plants) but there are so many things that can turn a tomato crop to a pile of diseased refuse. There is an early blight, a late blight, and then there are tomato worms. The blights that hit tomatoes is a disease in the soil. And when it rains and splashes the soil up on the plant, it will start to show yellowing at the bottom leaves first and then make its way up the plant. A way that I have found to reduce this is to put down black plastic. Mound the soil and lay the plastic over it. Stake it down and cut X’s where you want to put a tomato plant. When it rains, it will not splash as much water on the plant and it also keeps the weeds down. As far as the tomato worms, you are on your own. Those suckers can destroy a tomato plant overnight. It starts as a tiny little worm and by the time it devours your tomato plant, it is nice and big and fat. The only thing you can really do is keep a look out for them and hand pick them and squish them. Now if you see a tomato worm with all kinds of white things sticking out of it…..leave it alone. That worm will not live long as the white things are parasites (wasp eggs) and they will kill the worm very quickly. I know that wasps are not a real fun insect, but they are very good pollinators.
There are other things that can happen to your tomato plants. If you use any herbicides around your property or your neighbor uses them, these can drift in the wind or breeze and land on your tomato plants and /or other plants. It can kill your plant in a heartbeat.
I hope this does not discourage you from growing tomatoes in 2011. I just plant way more than I would ever use, if they all survived, and that way I am sure to get enough tomatoes for my enjoyment over the summer and maybe enough to can.
Good Luck in 2011