The leftmost plant (big beef) has always been a dramatic plant, most days when coming home some to most leaves would be drooping and then would spring back after watering in the evening.
But overnight has yellowed in the leaves and even some fully brown and crispy, can also see a bit of the stem going brown.
New Zealand north island weather is full summer with humid and hot days
any tips on saving my odd shaped tomato please
by StickZorZ
2 Comments
Yellow, brown and crispy is usually under-watered. If you are unsure about whether your plant is being over or under-watered…get a cheap water meter. Check it once a day…twice if it’s really hot. Under-watering and/or over-watering can cause nutrient deficiencies. Your plants are unable to absorb and utilize nutrients. That can cause significant stress and make them more susceptible to pests and diseases…and extreme weather. The water meter can definitely help.
What temps are you getting? I’ve only grown Big Beef Plus and it doesn’t wilt in my environment (average 95 degrees Fahrenheit). Plants will wilt if there’s an issue with water intake. There’s a myriad of issues that can cause this though. Root damage, stem damage, virus, disease, not enough water, too much salt/fertilizer in the growing medium, compaction, root rot, drowning the plant (don’t confuse with this with overwatering).
I think there’s a confusion of what overwatering does. Overwatering flushes out nutrients or can drown plants if the entire root system is in water that has been stagnant for days. If you’re taking care of the nutrients and not having root balls in stagnant water, overwatering doesn’t harm the plant. It can impact your organic growing medium by causing it to rot, which rots your roots. Otherwise, if you’re growing in inert material (actual soil/perlite/sand) or slow decomposing material (coco coir/peat moss), you can leave the growing medium wet 24/7 and it will only benefit the plant.
The plant already has a developed root system and I don’t think you can save it. If I could make a guess on what the problem is, I’m guessing there’s too much fertilizer. Did you use slow release/timed release fertilizer? I’d make this assumption due to crispy leaves. However, crispy leaves can be symptom of disease.
Some other questions that should be asked are:
What growing medium are you using?
Are you watering enough? (that container looks like it needs to be watered thrice a day)
What type of fertilizer are you using?