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Tomato Wilt #876987

Asked July 12, 2024, 1:20 PM EDT

Happy Friday! Reaching out today to see if I could get your opinion on my wilting Tomato. I've had this happen over the past three years and can't figure out what the cause is. I've read a bunch of material online over that time but it just seems nothing matches the complete description of the common issues so here I am! Context: Due to clay soil I have moved to fabric grow pots for my garden plants, love them (at least for my peppers and outside of this issue!) I have about 12 plants, all of them are in 15 to 20 gallon pots. I used 50/50 topsoil/compost and amend with perlite and peat moss to lighten the compaction, help with water retention and provide more space for air. On top of that I mix in a cup of so of organic chicken poop and will water in (5-10 second out of a watering can) 20-20-20 fertilizer 1-2 times over the course of a two week period. Typically I'll single stem my tomatoes; this year I let more suckers grow thinking maybe I had dirty snippers in years past. I used clean scissors for each plant this year (I have like 6 pairs) and in-between plants wiped them clean and let them sit in a 10% water/bleach mix to kill anything. I did and do always, prune my tomatoes about 12" from the mulch to prevent any splashing during watering. Given the wet year, I've only watered in fertilizer 2-3 times and only in the past week have I brought the hose out to water additional. When I use the hose I stick to 10-15 seconds per plant and have only done that twice this year. I do move the straw multch layer and check the moisture, it is wet, however in my opinion not excessively. The garden does get sun from 8-11am, shaded for a couple hours over mid day and then more sun early afternoon thru the end of the day. What I'm seeing: My plants are big, strong (I do tie them loosely with plant tape to 8ft stakes) and are dark green and fruiting. They really look great, no yellowing, I don't see bugs or anything like that. All the sudden each of the past three years they just wilt. I see it at the top first typically as the stems just look limp. I will lightly lift them with my hand and you can instantly tell they have lost their rigidity. Eventually the whole plant will be limp and I just remove it and plant something different in there. I'm growing Golden Jubilee and Roma Tomatoes. I grow peppers, dill, basil, cucs, and a couple of marigolds. I really approach these the same way as the tomatoes and those plants do so well each year. I'm to the point where I'm thinking next year I just go with more peppers in place of the Toms if I can't correct whatever my issue is here. I love the garden, its so fun, super interested to get your thoughts!

Hennepin County Minnesota

Expert Response

Thanks for your question.

I need three pieces of additional information to formulate an answer to you.

1).  If you were to remove the wilted tomatoes from the pot, what would the root structure look like?  More specifically, I'm wondering if the wilting might be due the rotting of the roots?

2).  Do the Golden Jubilee and Roma tomatoes ever show signs of wilting?  I ask this assuming that they are grown under conditions identical to those under which the other tomatoes are wilting.  Is it possible that the wilting is attributable to the particular variety of tomato being grown?

3).  Have you ever checked the soil pH in the pots?  The chicken manure would have a tendency to lower the soil pH level, possibly below that which is optimum for tomatoes.

Looking forward to your response.  Thanks for consulting us.

An Ask Extension Expert Replied July 12, 2024, 9:04 PM EDT

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