First time grower looking for some advice

Shemale

I started growing this year, I have San Marzano tomatoes potted in compost 30cm pots in a green house.

I have been watering around every 3 or so days and using tomato feed once a week until 2 weeks ago, I read they only needed feed when they flower and I have been pinching off.

Some of the tomato plant leaves have been going brown with some holes, I caught some slugs last night but there are no signs of their trails into the posts.

I am trying not to spray and have just planted some garlic and peppers in the greenhouse as I heard the smell can keep insects away.

Some mornings there are drops of water on the leaves and I was wondering if that can cause the leaf rot or I read it could be overwatering. I am only watering when the top of the compost has just gone light brown.

Anyone have any ideas or advice please?

TTTT

Don't worry. The bottom leaves tend to die off as the plant gets bigger. They can turn brown and get hard and withered. After a while you can cut them off. How big is the plant?

Shemale

TTTT wrote: »

Don't worry. The bottom leaves tend to die off as the plant gets bigger. They can turn brown and get hard and withered. After a while you can cut them off. How big is the plant?

Cheers, they are quite small, about 5 inches, I lay the smaller pots on their side for a few days before repotting in the big pots and have as much stem under the compost as I could fit.

I am still waiting for 5 trusses so I can pinch off. I was worried the brown leaves were due to blossom end rot. The wind whips around my garden and the greenhouse was €60 and is plastic so the last few evenings I have had the door rolled up to let the heat out and there is no condensation on the leaves in the morning now.

Hopefully starting to get the hang of it.

Shemale

Great success, flowers have appeared, the plants are only about 2 foot high.

I am going out there with a brush to pollenate them tomorrow.

harry999

Hi I'm a first time tomato grower - they are flowering with past 2 months - do I need to pollenate with a brush ? (How do I do this ) I did not do but I also see no tomatoes forming....
I have been feeding with tomato food, but do I also need to spray theM - IF SO WHAT DO i SPRAY THEM WITH ? Some of the leaves are brown and like a fungus growing on them... Plants are almost 6 foot, but don't look that healthy...Should I leave them now for this year ? as it is too late in year to get tomatoes ? Thansk

macraignil

Looks like blight to me so I would take all the moldy plant material out of the greenhouse and dispose of it so there is less chance of the disease carrying over to future crops. I think it is too late now for getting a crop this year and spraying with fungicide is not likely to help when the plants have got that much disease in them already. Your plants look very leafy and you might have not being pinching off the surplus stems enough. To get tomatoes in Ireland you really need the focus the plants attention on producing fruit. I got good crops with bush tomato varieties before but yours look like the more difficult type that require more particular attention (see RHS webpage)

"Indeterminate (vine or cordon) tomatoes

Usually trained as a cordon – one central stem supported by a cane or string, 1½-2m (5-7ft) high. Left untrained, they produce unproductive vegetation
Pinch out the laterals (sideshoots) that appear between the leaf and main stem. Any greater than pencil-thickness should be cut off as they often don’t snap cleanly
Remove any competing leader stems (‘bull’ shoots) that appear
Remove the tip of the main stem two leaves above the fourth truss of fruits (for outdoor plants) or the sixth truss (for indoor plants), as subsequent fruits usually fail to ripen
There is evidence that removing some leaves above the ripening truss (which allows the fruit to be warmer during the day but cooler at night) can encourage slightly earlier ripening without negatively affecting cropping. Removing leaves below the ripening truss does not improve ripening but can help reduce the spread of diseases such as tomato leaf mould or tomato blight where these are a problem. Ensure plants are watered well before removing leaves
Flowers and fruit are borne on trusses (stalks bearing many flowers) that grow directly from the main stem "