I moved our tomatoes from a hydroponic growing area inside to the back deck thinking they’d enjoy real sun- they are dying within a day. The leaves are dropping and turning brown and dry and the new small tomatoes are like withered raisin tomatoes. The basil in the pots is totally fine.
Any thoughts on why they’re not surviving well??
by runmamaruns
13 Comments
My 2 guesses would be it’s too cold at night, or you moved them into direct sunlight right away without letting them get used to the sun in a shady spot first.
Did you harden them off before moving outside full time? If they haven’t been exposed to little bits of outside for short periods to build up tolerance, they’re likely not going to make it.
They’re used to a specific set up/climate, and you’ve put them into a completely different environment without warning.
Probably not hardened off, and the larger a plant is the harder it is to harden off.
https://extension.psu.edu/hardening-transplants
Hardening off is needed as others have said. Also you’re always gonna get extreme transplant shock when going from hydro to soil.
Too much sun. Take them back inside see if you can save them…..next time you put them out, put them in the shade for a day then you can introduce them to a little sunlight at a time.
Sunscald
I second ILCHottTub – it was probably just a bit too much for them. I’ve transferred from water to soil in previous years, some have been fine, some died. This year, I plan to try it a bit more gently – ensure the soil is VERY wet, (still draining well) but just keeping it more moist than usual for a couple days. It’s just an experiment, not my main plants.
And this was a good reminder for me whilst I’m at it, to take it slow on the hardening off and not do it all at once. So thank you, your loss has benefitted me at least, and keep going! Hopefully you can get some to recover, let us know? Best wishes!
Thank you so much, everyone. I don’t know how I didn’t even think about any issues happening from moving the plants. This is my first year trying to do any plants and I’m really doing it so kiddos can better understand where veg comes from.
I have definitely learned my lesson and will do it differently next time. I love how helpful and kind everyone was. Hopefully will be sharing some thriving plants on here one day.
If you went totally hydroponic to dirt that’s probably the issue. I start some in my aerogarden and move em to dirt they lose a lot of leaves and look like crap for awhile.
I have one that I did the exact same thing to. I took it out of a hydroponic bucket in an indoor setup and stuck it directly outside into a soil container… and I got the exact same result. I also live in Arizona, for context. It’s been outside for two weeks, and already experienced multiple days at 100°. Plant looks like absolute shit, but there is new, healthy growth, and even new tomatoes growing on the plant! So, even though they’re shocked and look awful, they could very well survive, make a turn around and still produce tomatoes!
Have to harden them off, couple hours real sun then back inside, gradually working them up to a full day outside
This is caused by not hardening off your plants to outside temperatures.
They’ll grow out of it it’ll just take time.