Comments on: Unhappy Tomato Seedlings

By: jenks

jenks — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 03:57:44 +0000

I was just wondering what ever became of your plants last year with TPLD? Did they survive, or produce. I have about 40 plants, all with purple leaf. dont know if I should scrap the project and buy new.

By: karlkatzke

karlkatzke — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 05:42:59 +0000

Oh, I really should update. The VF100 is fine. It’s growing strong in the container and is now actually larger than the nursery-bought plant.

The Big Momma is not doing well; it seems to have died back just in the last week or two, but before that was doing really well. I’m thinking I overwatered it, and I hope it recovers soon.

The third plant in the ground, the Big Boy, is also doing well but has had periods where it was touch-and-go.

By: adam

adam — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 04:18:09 +0000

maybe too much nitrogen? you said you used plenty of horse manure, but how much is that? too much nitrogen can stunt growth, cause discoloring (the color sometimes depending on soil pH), and foliage deformities.

By: Cathy

Cathy — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:37:24 +0000

It’s because the soil is probably not quite 60 degrees yet. They start thier growth when its warm. If it’s not warm enough they will just sit there, esp. if the night time temp is still 50 or below. If you have volunteers like the above poster, they are already used to your climate because they grew there last year. The purple underneath is most likely due to thier variety.

By: karlkatzke

karlkatzke — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 21:19:00 +0000

I did harden them off, including a few nights that got down into the 40s and they came through decently well. I’m finding a few references to TPLD – Tomato Purple Leaf Disorder – as I’m researching this, cause still unknown. It doesn’t match tomato mosaic virus or anything else.

I’ve purchased some small tomato plants from the nursery and I’m going to put them out in the same garden area. At $1.49, I can afford to make a few mistakes. ;) If they acquire it or die as well, I’ll try a different area of my yard.

By: cherise

cherise — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 20:54:54 +0000

I think the purple underneath may just be due to the variety of the tomato plant. The light patches on the top of the leaves though might be sunscald. Did you properly harden them off before putting them out to live in the Texas sun all day long? You might give them a little light shade for a few days until they fully harden off. Good luck! My tomatoes are volunteers from last year and are already 1′ tall and flowering – your garden might be much farther ahead this time next year!