Yellow Brown Leaves On Tomato Plant

[Paul233]

Hi,

I'm growning a few varieties of tomato plants in a small pvc-type greenhouse and they have all suddenly developed yellow patches which have started to go grey and dry. I can't quite identify the problem from the pictures I've seen of various tomato leaf diseases.

I was about to plant them out into 25 litre containers but I'm worried they may be diseased.

Any suggenstions please?

Thanks,
Paul

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Paul, welcome! The marks on the leaves look like scorch, which is nothing to worry about, but wetting the leaves when watering makes the scorch worse. The beads of water on the leaves act like a magnifying glass when the sun hits them which then scorches the leaves. It's important to always water around the base of the plants.

[DavidT]

I agree with Lesley, it`s scorch damage. Take more care when watering, especially with cucumbers. Welcome to the site, by the way.

[Paul233]

Lesley / David,

Thaks for the warm welcome and the advice.

I have removed the damaged leaves as there are plenty of healthy ones remaining, and I've now planted them in large pots which are no longer in the greenhouse. Living in England, UK, I didn't really anticipate sun related damage as we spend all year complaining how cold it is. However, I was away one weekend and the tempertaure in the greenhouse can get quite high even with the door fully open.

I'll keep an eye on the toms and my next step is to investigate cheap self-watering systems for next time I am away from home. The water wicking system looked tempting at first but this wasn't practical given the size of my pots. Maybe it's finally time to get to know the neighbours...

All the best,

Paul

[DavidT]

Paul, what toms are you growing? Also, where are you based, because the temps are going to drop tomorrow. If you are growing greenhouse toms, get them back under cover. Oh yes, and don`t remove leaves needlessly.

[Paul233]

David, I am growing Tumbling Toms, Ailsa Craig (cordon) and F1 Incas (bush). I grew the Tumblings Toms last year with great success in hanging baskets (if it was up to me the whole garden would be full of fruit and veg, but I have to respect my partner as well - she prefers pretty flowers (though she seems happy enough to eat the fruits of my labour!).

I live in Coventry. If the night time temperature drops below 3degC then I put the toms under cover of my greenhouse. However, now I have planted them in huge pots I'll struggle to fit more than 1 or 2 in my tiny greenhouse.

I'm also growing sage, basil, oregano, raspeberries, blueberries, rosemary, chillis (cayene and another I can't remember the name of at the moment) and thyme. The blueberries, rosemary and raspberries are well established (been growing for the last few years) but the trick now is to find places for all my herbs, currently all in small pots.

[Lesley Jay]

Hi Paul, you can buy horticultural fleece from the garden centre to cover over frost sensitive plants when temperatures drop and a frost is predicted.