![]() Many tomato problems aren't noticed until the fruit ripens? Here are tips for dealing with 3 common problems and how to avoid them in the future. Get your weekly DIY fix with our customized newsletter. Thanks! You've been added to our list. Good stuff is on its way! Reprocessing. Jars of tomatoes or tomato products that do not seal can be safely reprocessed within 24 hours of the initial processing. However, if the jar sealed at. ![]() Common Tomato Plant Problems and How to Fix Them. If you’re one of the three million people who planted a home garden this year, you’re most likely growing tomatoes. Nine out of 1. Sometimes, right in the middle of thinking everything is alright with your tomato crop, you will find splitting tomatoes or tomato cracking. What causes tomatoes to. Nothing beats the taste of a fresh home- grown tomato! Many gardeners who grow tomatoes, however, are frustrated with the progress of their plants. The plant may not set fruit. Or your tomatoes may ripen, but have ugly, spongy black spots at the bottom. Worse still, your plants may look great in the evening when you say goodnight to them, but in the morning, they’re skeletons waving empty branches in the breeze. Welcome to the world of tomato problems. This list of 2. 0 common tomato problems and their solutions will help you identify an issue — whether it’s just starting or already full- blown — and show you how to correct it, so you can save your tomato plants and harvest yummy tomatoes this year. Identify Tomato Plant Problems and Diseases. Before diving into the list, it’s important for you to correctly identify the problem or tomato plant disease. When trying to identify tomato plant diseases, use these steps: Identify the affected part of the plant — Is it the tomato itself, the leaves, stems, flowers or roots? Note differences — When you compare your tomato plant to a healthy plant, how does yours differ? For example, a healthy tomato plant has softly fuzzed, medium- green leaves. If the leaves of your plant have brown or black patches, holes, chewed edges or fuzzy mold growing on them, make a note of that before perusing the list of problems. Look for insects — What insects do you see on your plants? If you need help identifying them, take a photo and contact your local Cooperative Extension agent to identify the insects. Armed with this information, you can easily scan this list and narrow down the possible tomato plant disease or pest problem and how to fix it. The list is divided into two sections: 1. We have also included some tips for growing delicious, healthy tomato plants so you can keep those problems away next year. Tomato Plant Diseases. Tomato diseases, garden fungi and certain environmental conditions can quickly cripple your plants. Oftentimes, you can rescue the tomato plant with a little TLC, but some circumstances may require you to destroy the plant and plant another crop in its place. Be sure to browse the extended information below on tomato plant problems, but, overall, here are the most common disease and fungus triggers in tomato plants: Not enough fertilizer. (Solution: Test your soil and apply fertilizer as appropriate for the growth stage.)Over- pruning. (Solution: Always use a tomato cage and leave enough foliage to shield the fruit.)Not enough calcium. (Solution: Test your soil, apply lime and gypsum as needed.)Planting before temperatures raise to ideal levels. (Solution: Wait for the right planting time for your Hardiness Zone.)Too much water or too little water. (Solution: Water them evenly through the growing season.)Watering overhead, which promotes fungal growths. (Solution: Water at the base of the plant. Lack of air flow around plants. (Solution: When planting, space tomato plants at appropriate distance from one another and prune leaves (but not too much, see above) as they grow. Apply fungicide if powdery mildew appears.)1. Blossom End Rot. What it looks like: The tomato plants appear healthy, but as the tomatoes ripen, an ugly black patch appears on the bottoms. The black spots on tomatoes look leathery. When you try to cut off the patch to eat the tomato, the fruit inside looks mealy. What causes it: Your plants aren’t getting enough calcium. There’s either not enough calcium in the soil, or the p. H is too low for the plant to absorb the calcium available. Tomatoes need a soil p. H around 6. 5 in order to grow properly. This soil p. H level also makes it possible for them to absorb calcium. Uneven watering habits also contribute to this problem. Hot, dry spells tend to exacerbate blossom end rot. What to do about it: Before planting tomatoes in the spring, have your local garden center or Cooperative Extension conduct a soil test. Tell them you’ve had problems with blossom end rot in the past, and they will give you recommendations on the amendments to add to your soil. Lime and gypsum may be added for calcium, but they must be added in the proper amounts depending on your soil’s condition. That’s why a soil test is necessary. Adding crushed eggshells to your compost pile can also boost calcium naturally when you add compost to the soil. A foliar spray containing calcium chloride can prevent blossom end rot from developing on tomatoes mid- season. Apply it early in the morning or late in the day — if sprayed onto leaves midday, it can burn them. Water plants regularly at the same time daily to ensure even application of water. 2. Blossom Drop. What it looks like: Flowers appear on your tomato plants, but they fall off without tomatoes developing. What causes it: Temperature fluctuations cause blossom drop. Tomatoes need night temperatures between 5. F in order to retain their flowers. If the temperatures fall outside this range, blossom drop occurs. Other reasons for blossom drop on tomatoes are insect damage, lack of water, too much or too little nitrogen, and lack of pollination. What to do about it: While you can’t change the weather, you can make sure the rest of the plant is strong by using fertilizer for tomatoes, drawing pollinators by planting milkweed and cosmos, and using neem oil insecticides. 3. Fruit Cracks. What they look like: Cracks appear on ripe tomatoes, usually in concentric circles. Sometimes insects use the cracks as an opportunity to eat the fruit, or birds attack cracked fruit. What causes them: Hot, rainy weather causes fruit crack. After a long dry spell, tomatoes are thirsty. Plants may take up water rapidly after the first heavy rainfall, which swells the fruit and causes it to crack. What to do about them: Although you can’t control the rain, you can water tomatoes evenly during the growing season. This prevents them from being so thirsty that they take up too much rainwater during a heavy downpour. 4. Sunscald. What it looks like: The plants look healthy, and the fruit develops normally. As tomatoes ripen, yellow patches form on the red skin. Yellow patches turn white and paper- thin, creating an unpleasant appearance and poor taste. What causes it: As the name implies, the sun’s rays have actually scalded the tomato. What to do about it: Tomato cages, or a wire support system that surrounds the plants, give the best branch support while shading the developing tomatoes naturally. Sunscald usually occurs on staked plants that have been too- vigorously pruned, exposing many of the tomatoes to the sun’s rays. Leaving some foliage and branches provides shade during the hottest part of the day. 5. Poor Fruit Set. What it looks like: You have some flowers but not many tomatoes. The tomatoes you do have on the plant are small or tasteless. What causes it: Too much nitrogen in the soil encourages plenty of green leaves but not many flowers. If there aren’t enough flowers, there won’t be enough tomatoes. Another cause may be planting tomatoes too closely together. Tomatoes are self- pollinating, meaning that each flower contains both the male (stamens) and female (pistils) parts. Wind typically pollinates tomatoes, but if plants are too close together, the wind can’t reach the flowers. What to do about it: Have your soil tested. If you’re planting tomatoes in the spring, leave at least two feet or more between plants so that good air circulation can help pollinate them. If your plants are already in the garden, you can simply shake the flowering branches to simulate wind and get the pollen from the stamens to the pistils. 6. Catfacing. What it looks like: Catfacing makes tomatoes appear deformed. The blossom end is rippled, bumpy and lumpy. What causes it: Plants pollinated during cool evenings, when the temperatures hover around 5. F, are subject to catfacing. Blossoms fall off when temperatures drop too low. However, if the flower is pollinating before the petals begin to drop off, some stick to the developing tomato. This creates the lumps and bumps typical of catfacing. What to do about it: If possible, plant tomatoes a little later in the season. Make sure the weather has truly warmed up enough to support proper tomato development.
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