I have two raised beds with tomato plants, and they look totally different. They both have the same type of plants, same soil, same fertilizer, watering schedule and amount. Everything is exactly the same… EXCEPT one bed is white and one is black. Thoughts on why this is happening, and what i can do? Both have flowers and tiny fruit. Thanks!
by paulah65
30 Comments
What’s the sunlight distribution like?
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If I had to guess, the black material on the one bed is absorbing more heat and cooking the soil.
I could be totally wrong here but maybe being also by the fence, they’re less exposed? My tomatoes in grow bags by my fence are doing fantastic and the ones in raised beds look like your black bed. It’s kind of depressing!
If one is getting more sunlight, it might need more water than the other one. The black might also heat the soil more than the white and thus contribute to water loss, not sure if it heats it up enough to be relevant though.
Maybe the direction of the sun 🌞 Minimum of eight hours of sunlight for good healthy tomato 🍅
If you have a digital thermometer I would check the soil temps of both beds, at different points in the day. See what the variation is in the reads?
I’ve been told the mulch for tomatoes should be compost and nothing else….
Thank you 🙏
Is one bed more established (been there longer?). If so, my guess is it is the one with the thriving plants. Soil is a living thing, so it takes time sometimes to get established.
is it me or you packed your tomatoes in there tight. the ones on the left look healthy than mine so who am i to judge though haha
Could be soil compaction from previous high traffic.
Is one bed protected from the afternoon sun by that fence that would be my guess
Well I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the fence is clearly closer to the on bed and probably offers much more shade to the closest flower bed than the far. The furthest needs more water than the closest since it’s getting more sun.
I have 2 guesses.
1. Did anything grow in these beds or areas of your yard prior to this year? Sometimes I read things like don’t grow tomatoes where something grew the year before. I’m sorry I can’t remember if it’s brassicas?
2. The sun exposure is different. That fence has some sort of influence on the bed closest to it. Also…I wonder what is on the other side of that fence? Is it possible that that bed is benefiting from something happening on the other side? Watering? Fertilizing? If your beds are open to the ground underneath, they are still affected by what’s happening nearby.
It’d be kinda sad to sacrifice a white box tomato but I think you might compare the roots found in the 2 beds. Dig out one of those black bed tomatoes and see how happy the black box roots are. Maybe something is in there attacking them…I’ve heard of root nematodes having a negative effect…though idk if that’d be limited to just the one bed…but maybe you’ll find something under the soil to help diagnose what’s happening here.
This is so interesting! Im curious to hear about potential soil temp differences/other differences mentioned in the comments.
Soil
One is likely alive one is sterile
The fence could be shading the white one a tad more. Along with the white reflecting more heat. I’ve also noticed that my full sun tomatoes have been stunted at a little over a foot, but the ones I have under dapple tree shade with noon full sun are 3ft tall.
I suppose the white bed is just in the most optimal spot.
Both are covered with straw so that little bit of color difference shouldn’t make much difference. It might just be too much sun for the right one. Add a shade cloth.
I’m thinking some nematodes got into that black bed. There’s such a difference, and seemingly not much else to account for it.
Fusarium crop wilt might be present in the one on the right . Especially if you start seeing yellowing. This
The tomato plants in the black box seem to have some leaf curling to them, suggesting some physiological stress. I’d guess that there are slight differences in the amount of sun that the two beds are getting (black more, white less). Try hanging some shade cloth over the black bed and see if that helps improve growth
1 is close to the fence on 2 sides while the other is close on 2 side. Depending on how your yard is oriented and where you live they’re probably getting slightly different amounts of sunlight and the soil in the bed with the black border may be losing moisture to evaporation slightly faster.
Maybe some bad shit you didn’t think about yet from last year is in the soil of that bed
Either way, that’s way too many tomatoes per bed. Good luck
The black bed is getting way too hot. Especially if it’s metal. Soil is cooking the roots. People try metal beds in Utah and it doesn’t work well unless you water it 2 times a day and you need to keep the plants like 10 inches away from the edge.
I have some same type of tomatoes in the same type of soil but different locations. The ones that are shaded from afternoon sun grow noticeably better. If your fence blocks afternoon sun as well, that could be the reason. Everyone says tomatoes need full sun, but I have my doubts. Will check the actual yield later this year.
Were the tomatoes growing slower in the black bed or did they just started feeling worse at some point?
I had a similar situation. This year I dug a little deeper into the poor performing bed and discovered a lot of stones. After I removed all that, both beds performed the same this year. I discovered the same “stone/junk” situation in other areas around the house. Clearly that’s how builders finish their work around here.
It may not be your case, but if nothing else makes sense, see if you can dig and find something.
The black bed looks like it has only recently been installed, while the white looks like it’s been a fixture for a few years.
I can see you have wood or something under the front facing section of the black box.
I did something similar with my last bed. Unfortunately the soil and composted material was flushed through the courser/sandier material by the retic and rain, which affected the plant growth. Also when I reworked the plant bed I found mice/rats, snails/slugs, roaches/ants had taken advantage of the loose soil and easy access points, further adding to the loss of water and vital minerals.
Black metal sheets make the ground get warmer burning roots and dry out faster.
I once made the mistake of getting a darker colour planter. Never ever again.