Tomato problem with pics

It's magnesium deficiency, its fairly common with tomatoes in grow bags or containers like yours. It affects the lower older leaves first.

It occurs when you start feeding with a High potassium feed (such as Tomato Food like Tomorite), up to that point the plant looks nice and healthy. In severe cases premature defoliation can occur, but mild cases like yours are unlikely to affect yield or quality. It is easily treated by spraying with Epsom Salts (ask for Magnesium Sulphate at the chemists). Dissolve ½ oz in a pint of water (20g/litre) and apply as a foliar spray each day for a week.

 

Vicki; Re: Epsom Salts, don't go to Boots for it, they don't sell it (at least my local one didn't and had no idea what Epsom Salts were, so I got some strange looks when I told them what I needed it for!), I got mine recently from the pharmacy at Asda, a box of Magnesium Sulphate cost about £1.70 ish from memory.

 

It is difficult to judge how much to water. Usually Hanging baskets need watering once or twice a day in hot weather. There are a couple of ways I judge it, stick my finger in the compost to feel if its damp/soggy (no water needed) or feel if its dried out. The other way is to put your hand underneath and raise it a fraction to judge the weight, it will be very light if its dried out and much heavier when watered. It will take you a day or so to get the hang of it and judge for yourself what the weight feel like. Even in this rainy spell we are having you still need to water every day unless they get drenched with rain.

Whats inside the basket? Is it a pot, if thats got a hole at the bottom then thats OK, if you have lined it with plastic then it definately need some holes in the bottom, they are in danger of getting water logged otherwise.


:thumb:

 

Is it sold as "gardeners epsom salts" then? Blast, I missed a trick there.

 

:wink: Vickie I know they are in hanging baskets & it is difficult, but be very careful they are not water logging at the bottom... Toms like plenty of water, but really hate being waterlogged.. You can get nutrient lock up if they are..... Maybe make sure the roots are healthy at the bottom where there is no drainage if you can..
Roots constantly in water will rot after a while & the plants will suffer from that as well.....
I think, if it were me, I would put some drainage in there..... Poke a couple of holes in, you may need to water more in the long run, or soak daily for a few hrs instead, but don't risk water logging & nutrient lock up.. The symptoms look almost the same....