Question
Tomato Plant
Hi,
I have two cherry tomatoes(sweet williams) in large canvas type pots. They are about 2ft high with lots of flowers and were planted about 3 weeks ago. The bottom leaves look fine, but the top ones are mottled and look like they are drying up. I started them with Natural Harvest organic fertilizer and endo/ectomycorrhizae. Last weekend I switched to Mater Magic (8-5-5) which is supposed to work for 2 months. I live in Tampa, Fl. The plants get sun until 2pm (it hasn't been very hot, yet)
Can you tell what the problem is?
Thanks for your help
AnswerBetty, it sounds like the roots were slightly burned by the fertilizer. I use one half the recommended application rate for this reason. Tomatoes that are planted for less than one month are especially vulnerable. This is even true when using organic fertilizers.
The problem should correct itself as the soil leeches out the fertilizer. Just be sure to keep the pots moist, and only water once the top 2" of soil dries out. When watering, water very deeply until you get drainage through the bottom of the pot. This will force the roots straight down rather than reaching for the surface.
In the future, hold off on fertilizing young plants until they are well established. This is especially true for potted plants. And then, as I mentioned earlier, reduce the application rate by one half on the first couple of feedings.
I hope this answered your question. Please write again if I can ever provide assistance.
Regards,
Mike
