Your problem could be "water wilt". Tomatoes are highly susceptible to "water wilt," and especially so when grown in poorly drained soils.

The question is frequently asked, "Why are my tomato plants wilting? I thought they loved water." In most cases this is true, but too much of a good thing leads to problems when gardens with poorly drained soil receive rainfall almost every day.

The first signs of "water wilt" is a slight wilting of foliage in the top of plants. Wilted plants cannot survive when exposed to waterlogged soil conditions even for a few days and quickly decline. Three or four days of wilt as a result of soggy soils often leads to plant death.

Under soggy soil conditions, tomato roots use up available supplies of gaseous soil oxygen and carbon dioxide levels rapidly build up. Roots of tomato plants can't survive without oxygen, and root death leads to plant wilting. Peppers and other vegetable crops are also susceptible to "water wilt."

If saturated soils dry quickly enough, tomato plants suffering the effects of "water wilt" may survive. However, gardeners shouldn't count on plant survival, since in most cases root systems have been damaged beyond recovery and replacement with a new tomato trans- plant will probably be necessary.

Replanting of damaged plants in a new garden location is rarely successful, since damaged roots are frequently attacked by Pythium or Phytophthora root rot and other soil diseases.

Water wilt is a good reason to think about making raised-row gardening part of your vegetable production program.