Tomato problems

I will take care of that. What's a quick fix?

Sand? Or perhaps mixing this same thing with compost as mentioned by @shiney.

In any case, that would mean repotting the plants again which I would hate as I just set these things from scratch on my terrace

 

Well, if I have overwet pots I often put them on thick newspaper for a few days, it acts like blotting paper and draws moisture out though the drainage holes of the pot.

I dont think I would repot, unless you are sure the compost is totally unsuitable.

Best to just be careful how you water, from now on, until the plants get a good root system.
Usually once the plants are established, its unlikely you could over water, in hot weather.

 

I think removing the saucers have helped. I gave them lots of water today and it didn't stagnate. Leaves are also looking good today.

Let's see how it is tomorrow. That should tell if the water is logging somewhere down in the pot

 

Did you put some kind of stones at the bottom of the pots before putting in the soil?

 

No. I put extra cocopeat at the bottom thinking it will help retain more moisture there. Not sure if that's right.

 

This is what I was going to ask. I've recently been using broken up polystyrene in the bottom of pots, and seems to work quite well. As far as I'm concerned, good drainage is vital for good root growth. With tomatoes, I only water when I think the plants need it. If the surface of the compost looks dry, before going ahead and watering, stick your finger into the compost to see if it's actually dry underneath, quite often it is still plenty damp enough. Once the plants really get going, then you can give them plenty of water.

 

When I transplanted my plants, they went from a small cup to huge pots.

I also cut a couple of branches and buried till the top leaves to encourage new root growth.

Right now of I don't water them every morning, they wither even thought the pot has fairly a lot of moisture.

So am guessing maybe the roots have not yet settled around. They may be in one place so can't access the surrounding water in the pot. Is this even possible?

 

If the roots get "checked" by too much moisture when potting on it could take some time for the plants to recover.
A shaded position for a few weeks might help, but if the soil is moist and the leaves are limp you must not water, a spraying of the leaves might help.

 

Am really thinking of directly starting the seeds in these big pots next time or transplanting them as early as possible so that I don't disturb the roots later on.

Some plants have already started flowering and if the root are still adjusting, am sure am doing something wrong here.

 

No your not.
Its nearly always done this way, and if you get it right, moving up the pot size, you usually see a growth spurt, its only if you over water, or temperatures are low that the plants "stall".

 

That's a relief.

New problem, leaf Miner!!!

I so hate them. And found this creature on the soil. Wonder what it is.

 

Its a fly, stop worrying

 

But I got lots of leaf miners. I had to prune a lot of leaves. Today I even killed a live yellow larva that just came out of the leaf. Looked like a small worm.

My Neem pesticide does not seem to work on it. Does neem even work?

 

Ok so my tomatoes plants are growing happily and flowering everywhere.

However this tomato in the pic has a small black punctured hole? What can this be?

And secondly the stems have this protruded dots on them? Are they normal?