These are perfect for anyone who wants to garden but suffers from a lack of space. Use the largest containers you can afford, quality potting soil, and put them where you can easily access them. Full sun is also important. As promised, here are a few more tomatoes.
Dwarf Awesome I am hoping this one lives up to its name. Round to oblate-shaped, deep yellow colored tomatoes with red blushing.Inside is juicy flesh displaying a combination of orange, yellows, pink, and red. Good for a container as yellow tomatoes tend to have a richer flavor when not over-watered.
Dwarf Awesome
Dwarf Betty’s Smile These grow to about four feet and are quite bushy. Their fruit is oblate shaped, pink in color, medium to large size, and mild, balanced in flavor. They are on the sweeter side.
Dwarf Betty’s Smile
Dwarf Russian Swirl Vigorous dwarf (tree-type) plants with regular leaf rugose foliage. Excellent yields of smooth oblate yellow tomatoes with red swirls and streaks, 6-12 oz. The flavor is well balanced and tasty, reminiscent of the best bicolor types Good for a large container. 3 – 4 feet tall Mid-season
Dwarf Russian Swirl
Dwarf Shackelford Giant Pink If you want to grow a giant tomato, this old heirloom variety is a great choice.They have vigorous, spreading vines that produce amazingly huge, raspberry-pink tomatoes of varying shapes that are very meaty and juicy and have a well-balanced, slightly sweet, pleasant flavor. Mid- season
Dwarf Shackelford Giant Pink
Dwarf New Big These plants stay relatively small and manageable. They thrive in containers or small garden beds, making them a great choice for those with little area to garden. Maturing early, you enjoy homegrown, full-sized tomatoes. Exceptional taste and compact nature, a great choice for those looking for great flavor and a smaller footprint.
Dwarf New Big
Dwarf Pink Passion Dwarf (tree-type) large regular leaf plant produces heavy yields of 4-8 oz., pink, medium-sized, heart-shaped fruits with delightful, balanced, sweet flavors. Good for a large container.
Dwarf Pink Passion
Dwarf Maralinga It produces heavy yields of rich-brown tomatoes with deep crimson flesh and medium to large slicing tomatoes. They are full flavored. Plants grow to about 3 1/2’ feet tall. They produce 6-8 oz fruits that are balanced, earthy and satisfying.
Dwarf Maralinga
The ones I have shared with you are not the only dwarfs that I have. Come by and see what we have. Live a little and try something that may be a little different than what you are used to. You won’t regret it!
I think most folks are wary of Dwarf tomatoes, thinking they are miniature plants with miniature fruit. I am here to show you they aren’t any of those things. They are dwarf only in stature, most growing between 3 and 4 feet. They also do really well in large pots if you don’t have the real estate for a garden. You can still enjoy a homegrown tomato instead of those nasty, red things that they call tomatoes at the store.
I started out with a couple of varieties. I was intrigued by the story of how they came to be. For years, if someone wanted smaller plants, they chose determinate varieties that didn’t get very big, the plant or the tomatoes. There’s not a whole lot of variety there. Smaller fruits, almost all of them were red, a lot of the early tomatoes fall into the diminutive category and their flavor, while head and shoulders above store tomatoes, were still not as flavorful as one would hope. (Mostly because they don’t have time to develop the flavors in longer season tomatoes.)
Dwarf (Tree Type) tomatoes from The Dwarf Tomato Project. I grew 6 of them in 2016 and was very impressed with most of them. They are perfect for a small space gardener who wants a slicer instead of the smaller tomatoes that are usually produced by most determinate tomatoes.
This class of tomatoes exhibits characteristics of both determinate and indeterminate types. Historically called “tree-type,” they are now commonly referred to as” dwarfs”. Tree-type tomato plants have very thick main stems with minimal branching. Their foliage can be either regular or potato leaf but in either case, are rugose (e.g. dark green in color and crinkly in texture). Due to their slow growth rate, they appear from a distance to be determinate achieving three to four feet in height. However, like indeterminate, they continue to set fruit throughout the growing season. Compact and everbearing, what a great combination! They come in many colors, shapes and sizes.
To learn more go the link below, it’s really quite fascinating. The Dwarf Tomato Project grew out of a comment made in a Tomato Forum at Gardenweb when Craig LeHoullier lamented the fact that the dwarf category in tomatoes was very restricted. He suggested it would be good to cross dwarfs with heirlooms to remedy this situation and mentioned New Big Dwarf being listed in a 1915 Isbell Seed Catalogue which noted how the variety was developed by crossing Dwarf Champion (known since the late 1800s) with the largest known tomato at that time, Ponderosa. Patrina, a friend thought this sounded like a fun thing to do and decided to have a go at crossing some dwarfs with heirlooms in her next summer season in Australia.
Patrina and Craig decided to use this material to start a project where anyone (who wanted to help grow the many generations that would be needed to stabilise new varieties) could volunteer to grow some plants. The goal was to create a selection of tastes, colours and sizes that would equal heirloom varieties with plants having an advantage of being more compact and therefore more manageable. Volunteers were given the opportunity to name any new novel dwarf tomato type they discovered in appreciation for helping in the project.
I bought the majority of my seeds for these Dwarfs from Tatianas Tomatobase, Victory Seeds, and Tomatofest. As more people become aware of them, they are becoming readily available in limited varieties from other online seed companies.
These plants are wonderful for containers (the larger, the better) as long as they have enough sunlight. Remember that ripening times start when the plants are transplanted into the garden. This year, I have 29 dwarf varieties available.
Of the varieties I have grown, I have some favorites: Dwarf Fred’s Tye-Dye, Dwarf Purple Heart, Dwarf Golden Gypsy, Dwarf Tasmanian Chocolate, Dwarf Brandy Fred and Dwarf Sweet Sue.
Dwarf Fred’s Tye-Dye A beautiful, purplish-colored fruit, it is sweet, large, and abundant. I think this is the one I fell in love with in the beginning. A medium-sized tomato, purple with jagged gold and green stripes and the deep crimson flesh of that black tomatoes are known for.
Dwarf Purple Heart This plant produces heart-shaped, medium- to medium-large fruit that ripens to a dusky rose purple hue. The flavor is well-balanced, sweet, intense, and prolific. As with all heart-shaped tomatoes, some are more of an oblate shape, but most are shaped like hearts.
Dwarf Golden Gypsy A potato leaf dwarf with heavy yields of medium to large smooth oblate yellow fruit. Pale yellow flesh with an intense and refreshing flavor.
Dwarf Tasmanian Chocolate Strong-yielding, short, sturdy vines bear heavy crops of beautiful, plump, mahogany red faintly striped tomatoes with a delicious, well-balanced flavor. Perfect for large containers on a deck or balcony. I was surprised at how well it did in a larger pot. Isn’t this one a beauty!
Dwarf Brandy Fred Oblate medium to medium large fruit that ripens to a dusky, rosy purple hue. The flavor is well-balanced and intense, and the variety is quite prolific. It reminds me of a Pink Brandywine, which I believe is in its parentage.
Dwarf Sweet Sue A medium-sized fruit that ripens to a bright yellow with a pink blossom end blush. The flavor is outstanding, well-balanced, and sweet. I like pretty tomatoes that taste good as well.
These tomatoes are the ones I can vouch for having grown and eaten them myself. .
Now for some new ones that I am looking forward to trying,
Stony Brook Heart Compact, reaching 3’ to 4’ and very productive. The distinctly heart-shaped tomatoes are a beautiful scarlet color with distinct jagged golden stripes. Average size run between six to ten oz, but they can reach one pound or more. The meaty flesh has a classic tomato flavor with an initial burst of sweetness
Dwarf Perfect Harmony Orange-yellow skin, a beefsteak type, flattened at the poles and with more or less plump shoulders. Grows 4’ – 5’ tall, and produces a good quantity of medium-large, up to twenty oz, bright-orange colored, with a distinctly tart, full flavor.
Dwarf Metallica All you rock fans unite. I wanted to try this one, partly because of the name. Not necessarily my favorite band, but hey, I know some of you like them. This tomato is a looker, with it’s dark pink color with metallic green striping. A beefsteak I can see a BLT in it’s future.Mild and well-balanced flavor, slightly sweet and tangy. Very productive. Can be grown in large pots.
Dwarf Idaho Gem Any Idaho fans out there? I personally love Idaho. This variety produces lots of medium to large fruits, ranging from 4 to 14 oz, a true yellow (not orange), that are juicy, sweet, and flavorfully mild; a well balanced, delightful flavor. This is a perfect meaty slicing tomato that helps prove that yellow tomatoes are not bland or too mild.
There are many more to choose from. Unfortunately, I can’t showcase them all in this one post. Otherwise, no one will want to finish reading this. I fear I have gone on far too long. However, my next post will be on a few more.
I have a treat for you now. This is one of the prettiest tomato plants I have ever seen. It is called Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet. It is named after the developers own daughter. This has the most interesting chartreuse-green foliage. When it germinated I about had a stroke thinking it had contracted a virus or had a serious nutrient deficiency. I rushed over to pull them until I realized all 9 plants were the same color. Whew! After doing some research, I find that it isn’t any of those things. These tomatoes are supposed to be very sweet. The chartreuse gene that causes that color, also encourages it to grow a little taller than other dwarfs. Most dwarfs only grow 3″ to 4″ feet (hence the name), this one can reach 4″ to 5″. I am excited to try it this year. Without further adieu, I introduce you to my shining star (literally):
Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet Don’t be put off by the chartreuse-colored leaves. The first time I saw them I rushed to pull them thinking they had a virus, except that all of them had it! The fruit are oblate shaped, 6 – 16 oz each, and pink. Flavor i son the sweet side, the texture is meaty The chartreuse gene causes plants to grow a bit taller, so be sure to stake it well.
Every year I grow the same varieties that I have grown in previous years. Either they have become a customer’s favorite, or I just plain like them. I know it is overwhelming when you come to our house and are faced with 387 varieties (this year), and that is just the tomatoes!. It does not include the peppers, herbs, flowers or veggies. My goal is to introduce you to different varieties . . . of well, everything! Life is too short to eat store tomatoes. The old adage,”If it ain’t red, it ain’t a tomatah” keeps a lot of my customers from experiencing the broad range of colors and tastes. A lot of my plants have stories of their own.
I can almost guarantee that I have more tomato varieties for sale than anyone in the world. Granted, some of them are in limited quantities, seeds being somewhat scarce. Every year in the fall, I am so done with gardening. I think about having the garden paved over into a parking lot. Then, I start getting, THE CATALOGS. Yup. All my resolutions go out the door. Thoughts of Super Sweet 100’s, Romas and Early Girls are suddenly forgotten, as I thumb through the colorful pages of exotic looking tomatoes. Blue, green, striped, even white. Its a rainbow of colors. I consider myself the United Nations of tomatoes with varieties coming from all over the world. Russia, Ukraine, Italy, France, Mexico, Poland, Australia even Switzerland to name a few.
For the next several weeks, I am going to show you what you have been missing. Let the adventure begin!
But first, I should explain some basic things to you. I place my tomatoes into categories based on common uses, shapes, and maturity dates: Paste, Main Season, Patio, Cherry, Early, Heirloom, Oxheart, Dwarf, and Unusual.
Paste tomatoes are a type of tomato that have dense, meaty flesh, less juice, few seeds, and are usually cylindrical or pear-shaped. They can be snub-nosed like a Roma or San Marzano or large, long shape with a pointy tip such as the Polish Linguisa. They are what everyone thinks of when they think about tomato or spaghetti sauce.
Polish Linguisa
Main-season tomatoes are classified (by me) as varieties that usually ripen 70 – 84 days. They also come in different colors, although most of the ones I know are red, medium-sized, and smooth-skinned. Big Boy, Better Boy, and Goliath come to mind.
Supersteak
Patio/Container friendly plants are good for large or medium-sized containers. Smaller in stature, they include the bush varieties i.e. Bush Goliath, Better Bush, Bush Beefsteak, Bush Early Girl, Bush Campion II, , Bush Blue Ribbon, and Patio. The bush tomatoes can range from cherry sized to beefsteak sized. Not to be confused with the dwarf tomatoes, which I will explain further down. Most are shorter season and do well on a patio or patio table.
Bush Blue Ribbon
Cherrytomatoes No one needs an introduction to a cherry tomato. It usually grows on long vines that need staking. Smaller-vined ones are available, such as Sweet Valentine, Tumbler, Tumbling Tom Red and Yellow, and Tiny Tim. These are some that come to mind. All the colors of its larger brethren, some sweeter than others. Sweet Aperitif is my husand’s new favorite, small, red, and sweet.. Sungold is the sweetest cherry tomato I’ve ever had and is a favorite of most everybody. You have not lived until you picked a sun-warmed Sungold off the vine in the garden. (You can plant any tomato in a large container but it will be constricted by the size of the container.)
Sungold
Earlytomatoes are just that: early, at 55-69 days. We also have some that are extra early, ripening 54 days or less. Early Girl, Subartic Plenty, Stupice, New Girl, and Moskvich are some early varieties. They are also mostly red and smaller sized. Taxi is the only heirloom that I know of that is early and produces beautiful, sweet, yellow fruit.
Glacier
Heirloom tomatoes are what I started with in the beginning of my journey. Their descriptions made them sound really yummy and I was tired of the standard, staid tomatoes I bought fro the store. Whether you call them “Heritage” or “Heirloom,” these are still the varieties you will want to grow for taste. Heirlooms come from seed that has been handed down for generations in a particular region or area, and hand-selected by gardeners for their taste or specific growing characteristics. Heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated, which means they’re non-hybrid and pollinated by insects or wind without human intervention. How experts define heirlooms can vary, but typically they are at least 50 years old, and often are pre-WWII varieties. All heirlooms are open-pollinated but not all open-pollinated are heirlooms. Most of them have stories. Mortgage Lifter paid off a man’s house in the depression years. Amana Orange takes its name from Amana, Iowa, Paul Robeson was named after an operatic singer in Russia.
Pink Jazz
Oxhearttomatoes are very meaty, have less juice and fewer seeds, not unlike a paste tomato. The plants usually have wispy foliage, not unlike paste tomatoes. There are exceptions to the rule. They can grow very large. Cuor di Bueis big, pink, and delicious. Colors range from deep, red, dark, pink to bicolors. My particular favorite is the Orange Russian. Steve loves German Red Strawberry and Kosovo.Those are huge! These work well for canning and preserving. As better, if NOT better, because they are usually larger than paste tomatoes and it takes fewer tomatoes to process in a jar.
Cuore di Bue
Dwarf tomatoes They are perfect for a small space gardener who wants a slicer instead of the smaller tomatoes that are usually produced by most determinate tomatoes.This class of tomatoes exhibits characteristics of both determinate and indeterminate types. Historically called “tree-type,” they are now commonly referred to as” dwarfs”. Tree-type tomato plants have very thick main stems with minimal branching. Their foliage can be either regular or potato leaf but in either case, are rugose (e.g. dark green in color and crinkly in texture). Due to their slow growth rate, they appear from a distance to be determinate achieving three to four feet in height. However, like indeterminate, they continue to set fruit throughout the growing season. Compact and everbearing, what a great combination! They come in many color, shapes and sizes.
Dwarf Sweet Scarlett
Unusualtomatoes are some of my favorites. They have been placed in this category because some of their characteristics defy any other definition. These tomatoes can be large or small, multi-colored, striped, oddly shaped, sweet or not so sweet. I had to put them somewhere! Green Zebra is a a more tart tomato, this one is for you. This year I am bringing back varieties from theIndigo family, Indigo Cherry Drop, Indigo Apple, and Indigo Blueberries. They have more anthocyanins in them. (Think blueberries).
Sweet Carneros
Another thing you should understand are the growth characteristics. There are two basic growth habits: Indeterminate – means that the vines will keep growing for the entire time it is alive. there are instances in the south where I’ve heard of a 20 foot vine. They keep producing the entire summer, just not as extravagantly as the determinate varieties. Determinate – These plants grow shorter vines and stop at a pre-determined height. That varies from 2 to 4 feet. Romas, San Marzanos are determinates. They produce a large flush of tomatoes that ripen over a period of about two weeks and then they are done for the year. There are exceptions to the rule however, some, like Taxi will produce, take a rest and then produce more. These are good when you are putting up your harvests. Glacier is another early, determinate that produces for longer periods of time. Semi-Determinate and Dwarfs (see the entry about Dwarfs up above) are a couple of other types. (I have to be honest, not sure what a semi-determinate defines as.)
Wow, that is a lot of information. The next post will start showcasing tomatoes. Below is another tidbit I want to share.
I changed actual days to a seasonal range for our area of Eastern Washington. If you aren’t familiar with your climate, contact your local extension agency. Our weather is so unpredictable here, the days to maturity are from transplanting into the garden. On a seed packet it may say “72 days.” That means you should start seeing ripe tomatoes around 72 days from when you put the plant into your container or bed. It is not from the time when your seed has germinated. There are a lot variables that affect your plants. Weather, condition/health of your soil or planting medium, variety, microclimates, amount of sun, even the area of the country you live in, etc. Very Early – 54 days or less. Early – 55-69 days Mid-season – 70-84 days (most of them are mid-season) Late Season – 85 or more days (late yes, but worth the real estate)
It has been an interesting “non-winter” this year. Mild weather all through January and into the first part of February. I so badly wanted snow for Christmas. I was concerned that all the shrubs, spring bulbs and trees would think it was looking like spring and starting to bud.
In February, the weather started to look more like winter; we had really cold temperatures, like in the single digits, for about a week and a half, and then we had 6 inches of snow over a few days, with a little warmer temperatures.
In the meantime, I am holding seedlings under lights and watching them grow taller and taller. When we had cold temperatures, we didn’t want to risk losing plants that needed to be transplanted. We have the experience of losing 1500 tomato plants a couple of years ago. It just got too cold. I am happy if we can keep the greenhouses at about 40 degrees.
Greenhouse #2, outfitted for transplanting.
We did get the peppers transplanted about 2 weeks ago. They went into the greenhouse that we were keeping heated to winter over some geraniums and jasmines and keeping dahlia tubers from freezing.
Peppers prior to transplanting.
As usual, some were looking spectacular, and others not so much. We are trying something new this year, we are putting the not-so-great plants back in the house for more light and warmth. After they were transplanted in the number two greenhouse, Steve placed one of those translucent plastic domes over the flat to cart them over to the pepper house. That protected them from the nasty cold air.
Steve doing the honors, mixing up soil and filling up pots.
Back to the tomatoes. I just finished transplanting all the tomatoes that we are putting into gallon containers at 1:00 pm today. I am so glad that it is over. I transplanted 3662 plants over 4 and a half days. My back hurts, my bruised foot hurts and so do my hands (Uncle Arthur).
What our yard looked like two days ago. Today is Monday the 24th.
I have slogged through snow, back and forth to the greenhouses, waded through massive mud puddles, and got wet from being rained on! The ground was so frozen and was unable to handle the prodigious amounts of rain that we got, so it just sat on top of the ground. Even my dog took offense at being asked to walk through the slush. She started making tracks through the garden which is a no-no in order to avoid the slush and mud.
Baby tomatoes in their new homes.
As I mentioned in the post before, we are going to have more tomatoes in gallon size, partly because I am getting older but mostly due to the fact that by the end of the season the 3 ½ ” pots look pretty ragged.
After a short rest, I need to get started on the cole crops, kale, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and bok choi.
Even though I said I would cut back on the amount of plants we sell, well, that hasn’t exactly worked out for us. Somehow, even after culling varieties that I either didn’t like or couldn’t find a source for, I ended up with more of everything!
(I have included some pictures of various stages and techniques we are using. Nothing to do with what I am talking about but it’s fun to share.)
How it starts, This is seed starting mix that we put into individual gray cells. Each one of these has 20 or so, very carefully placed, seeds of one variety.
This is what they look after germinating.
Seed catalogs are like “adult material “for gardeners. You know what I mean. The pictures and descriptions are so enticing. This year, I have 386 varieties of tomatoes and 165 varieties of peppers. I have decided to put almost every one of my tomatoes in a gallon pot. Yes, it is more, but they are almost 2 months older than the 3 ½” size and are much more mature. In our climate with such a short growing season, that is important if you actually want to have some tomatoes on your sandwiches.
The biggest reason is that no matter what I do, I always have tomatoes left over at the end of the season, and they don’t look good. They are an embarrassment. I take pride in my plants, and they do well for about a month once they are transplanted into a smaller pot with fresh amended soil, but inevitably, they start looking like &^%&^$#! There is nothing I can do to make it better. I’ve tried. I could throw fertilizer at them all day long, and they won’t respond. The problem is the lack of real estate. In a gallon size, they have room to roam, but not so much with the smaller size. Plus, by this time, it is getting hot. and that means they start drying out very quickly. Plants as a rule don’t like to be rootbound and their little root hairs dry out. Not a pretty situation.
These are pansy seeds. I decided to try them in a 50 strip pkug tray. there are a few more that have come up since I took this picture. I like the plug trays but find they take a lot more room. Less root disturbance when transplanting though.
We have had to put some in bigger pots in an effort to save them, and we have to charge less since they aren’t as mature as the ones we put into gallon pots earlier.
These are the domes I tried for the first time this year. They act like a mini greenhouse, keeping in warmth and moisture. I believe I can see a difference. Especially with the peppers, they take forever to germinate.
These are some of the changes we are making this year. We are looking at different types of flowers, (some which are testing my patience to germinate) more education in that I am going to try and have more information on best practices for gardening utilizing larger signs, info sheets. I also want to have more workshops on things like container gardening, the basics of gardening (I tend to forget there are a lot of newbies out there who really don’t know much about planting) and flower gardening. Of course I’d like to share what I know about tomatoes and peppers.
These are the tags, a small fraction of what I needed to organize. We literally had thousands to deal with and these were just the flower tags! Waste not, want not. Right?
I am looking forward to this season and can’t wait to see you out back. If you have any qustions, go to my facebook page and message me. http://www.facebook.com/thetomatolady
I feel like I am just awakening from hibernation. The bears have it right, taking a nap in the winter. Although I wouldn’t exactly call it a winter. Very little snow. That makes a lot of people happy but I live HERE for the four seasons. What this does for me, is make me antsy. I hear the birds chirping, I don’t need a coat for the most part and I am chomping at the bit to start our plants.
My table is filled with germination mix, seed trays, and seed packets, a sprayer, garden marking pens, tags, etc. All the paraphernalia you need to plant seeds. and I even have printed spreadsheets. I am trying to be organized.These are my seeds. I store them in the dining room, which at this time of year is no longer called a “dining room” but a “seed propagation” room. You can see in the background the racks and LED lights we use to germinate them.Tomato babies, they look really good this year.Pepper babies, they take a lot longer to germinate than tomatoes do.
I spend a lot of time looking online at seed catalogs, choosing new and old varieties of tomatoes, peppers, veggies, and flowers. It is a veritable buffet out there. So far, I have 357 varieties of tomatoes, 64 kinds of lettuce, and 126 kinds of peppers and the number of flowers is almost incalculable.
Flowers and more flowers. Snapdragons, stock, alyssum, asarina (a beautiful vining plant), begonias, salvia, and alyssum.
Now that I’ve found out I can grow teeny, tiny seeds that look like dust, I am growing all of them I can. Of course, for things like coleus, begonia, and petunias, I am finding the benefits of using pellleted seeds. I am even trying calceolaria. Talk about dust. You want to plant maybe 30 or 40 plants, no, what you have in your hand is more like 5000 seeds, or so it seems.
Petunias, I am trying something different using plug trays for individual flowers. It doesn’t necessarily save space but it should save time in the long run.Here I am transplanting the first sets that are going to live in gallon pots
So it begins, transplanting. We put a couple of heaters out in the greenhouse for me to work and not freeze, a fine music system (well actually my iPhone and a Bose speaker) and I am happy as a clam. There’s something about playing in the dirt.
Today I have transplanted 600 tomatoes. Only a billion more to go. I am glad I love doing plants although it can be overwhelming at times. They say that if you find something you love, you’ll never work a day in your life!
We have had really strange weather lately, hot then cold then humid then wet then dry! Enough to make a tomato plant cry. Some of my customers have contacted about some leaf rolling, spots etc. Even I am starting to see what I think is called Septoria Leaf Spot. this is a guide that you can use to try and tell what is wrong with your tomato leaves. Courtesy of You Should Grow.
If you’ve ever grown tomatoes before, you’re probably familiar with tomato leaf problems. You might have noticed your tomato plant leaves turning yellow, brown, or getting spots.
SO WHAT CAUSES THESE TOMATO PLANT PROBLEMS?
We all love the flavor of a homegrown tomato. You just can’t get the same intensity and sweetness from any tomato at the grocery store. But homegrown tomatoes also come with lots of pest and disease issues.
The unfortunate reality is that tomatoes are susceptible to many pests and diseases. And many of them lead to yellow or brown spots on tomato leaves. Often you can determine the cause of the issue just by looking at the leaves.
The particular pattern of yellowing or spotting will give you lots of information about what disease or pest is plaguing your tomato plant. Use this guide to tomato leaf problems help you figure out what’s wrong and what, if anything, you can do about it.
NUTRIENT DEFICIENCIES THAT CAUSE PALE OR YELLOW LEAVES ON TOMATO PLANTS
Whenever your plant’s leaves look pale, but the plant is otherwise healthy, try adding an organic liquid fertilizer first. Neptune’s Harvest is a reliable brand that we frequently use. Liquid fertilizer is more quickly absorbed, and you should notice improvement within a day or two.
Whatever the deficiency, the liquid fertilizer should take care of it. But if you want to know exactly which nutrient is deficient, you might be able to figure it out by looking at the specific pattern of yellowing.
If you notice your young leaves(those at the top of the plant) are yellow with green veins, suspect iron deficiency. Check your soil pH to make sure it is between 6 and 6.8. If it’s too high, your tomato can’t take up necessary nutrients including iron.
If you notice older leaves (those at the bottom of the plant) are yellow with green veins, suspect potassium deficiency.
If you notice dark spots within the yellow areasand the leaves are small and narrow, you might have a zinc deficiency.
If young leaves are paleand the growing tips of your tomato plant die, suspect calcium deficiency.
Stunted plants with general yellowing of the leaves is an indication of nitrogen deficiency.
It’s best practice to have your soil tested to confirm nutrient deficiencies before adding anything other than organic fertilizer and compost.
Adding too much synthetic fertilizer can burn your plants, and overuse of lime and wood ash can alter your soil pH causing more problems with nutrients than they prevent.
Pests are a common cause of tomato leaf problems. They are often carriers of tomato diseases as well, so it’s prudent to keep an eye out for any insects on your tomatoes. Read about some of the bugs I’ve found in my tomatoes.
Aphids love tomato plants and cause yellow, misshapen, and sticky leaves. Look for tiny insects on the undersides of leaves and on the stem. These pests will suck the sap from your tomato plant and can be a real problem in any garden.
If you notice dark spots within the yellow areasand the leaves are small and narrow, you might have a zinc deficiency.
If young leaves are paleand the growing tips of your tomato plant die, suspect calcium deficiency.
Stunted plants with general yellowing of the leaves is an indication of nitrogen deficiency.
It’s best practice to have your soil tested to confirm nutrient deficiencies before adding anything other than organic fertilizer and compost.
Adding too much synthetic fertilizer can burn your plants, and overuse of lime and wood ash can alter your soil pH causing more problems with nutrients than they prevent.
Pests are a common cause of tomato leaf problems. They are often carriers of tomato diseases as well, so it’s prudent to keep an eye out for any insects on your tomatoes. Read about some of the bugs I’ve found in my tomatoes.
Aphids love tomato plants and cause yellow, misshapen, and sticky leaves. Look for tiny insects on the undersides of leaves and on the stem. These pests will suck the sap from your tomato plant and can be a real problem in any garden.
They can be many colors, but we often see the red/pink ones. Ants love the sticky substance they excrete, and you may have an issue with both insects at the same time.
Treat aphids organically by dusting them with diatomaceous earth.
Brownish, finely dotted leaves with thin webs are an indication of spider mites. Look for tiny spider-like insects on your leaves that make fine webs between and below the leaves. Infested leaves will dry up and fall off.
Spider mites and aphids can be treated with diatomaceous earth (DE). DE is a natural substance that is readily available at local garden centers.
We use a plant duster like this one to apply diatomaceous earth to affected plants. This powder will cut through the aphids’ soft exoskeletons and cause them to dehydrate and die.
Rain and watering will negate the effect of the DE so reapply as needed. Be careful to use DE in well-ventilated areas as inhaling this powder can cause damage to your lungs. And the lungs of kids, pets, and chickens, too!
If they get really bad, other forms of organic pest control including insecticidal soaps and spinosad sprayscan also help.
YELLOW LEAVES WITH HOLES
Whenever you see holes in your tomato leaves, you should suspect insect damage. Colorado potato beetles, tomato hornworms, grasshoppers, and flea beetles are all common culprits. Remove and squish these pests when you see them and utilize organic pest control practices to manage them.
YELLOW LEAVES AND PLANTS THAT WILT
There are several kinds of wilt caused by bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and toxins that can affect tomatoes. Regardless of the cause of the wilt, it’s best to remove severely affected plants from your garden and destroy them.
For mild infections, remove affected leaves (usually the lower leaves) and send them to the landfill or burn them in an area well removed from your garden. Do not compost diseased plants or leaves.
Fusarium and Verticillium wilt cause yellowing and wilting beginning with the lower leaves.
Tomatoes planted within about 50 feet of a black walnut tree, may suddenly wilt and die. This is caused a toxin secreted from the roots of black walnut trees and tree stumps.
Nematodes in the soil can infect the roots of your plants and cause wilt. If you pull up wilted plants and notice swollen sections in the root balls, nematodes may be the problem. Choose resistant varieties and/or add parasitic nematodes to decrease the incidence of disease.
There are many varieties of tomatoes that are documented to be resistant to various types of wilt. Look for resistance codes BFNV (Bacterial, Fusarium, Nematodes, Verticillium).
A note about resistance: don’t expect resistant varieties not to be affected by these diseases. Expect them to tolerate the disease. Remove and destroy affected leaves as they appear, and the plant should continue to produce fruit for you.
YELLOW LEAVES WITH BROWN SPOTS, MOTTLED, OR DAPPLED APPEARANCE
Pale thin spots like the ones below are due to leaf burn. Leaves will experience sunburn when they haven’t been properly hardened off or when water droplets concentrate light on the leaves. If the burn is not too extensive, your plants will heal on their own and are not cause for concern.
LEAF PROBLEMS DUE TO TOMATO PLANT DISEASES
Tobacco Mosaic Virus
Dappled yellow leaves with twisty new growth are common with tobacco mosaic virus. This virus is often transmitted by insects and especially aphids.
Do not try to treat these plants. Destroy them and remove them from your property, and be sure to wash your hands after touching any plant you suspect could be infected with this virus.
When choosing tomato varieties for future gardening seasons, look for the TMV resistant label.
Bacterial Speck and Bacterial Leaf Spot
Small dark spots on leaves that then turn brown and fall off are a symptom of bacterial speck and bacterial leaf spot. These diseases thrive in hot, humid environments and can be transmitted by your hands and garden tools.
Be careful working with plants suspected to be infected with this disease. To prevent future issues, remove and destroy severely infected plants and choose varieties with BLS and PST resistance in the future.
Late Blight on tomatoes
Leaves develop brown patches that turn dry and papery when they become infected with late blight. Sometimes a white mold grows along the edges of the brown patches. If your tomato plants have late blight you will also notice blackened areas along the stems and the tomatoes develop hard brown lesions.
Late blight will wipe out your tomato crop, and there is no treatment for infected plants. So try to prevent this disease by removing and destroying infected plants. Don’t compost them. Send them to the landfill and clean and remove all remnants of the infected crops from your garden.
Here’s a video from the University of Maine about late blight:
For future crops, try applying a preventative copper fungicide or Bacillus subtilis spray, make sure to water your plants at the base as wet conditions favor the spread of this disease, and look for resistant varieties labeled LB.
Septoria Leaf Spot
Septoria leaf spot has a similar appearance, but the brown patches are circular with light centers and dark specks. And the disease will start with the older leaves. Trim off infected leaves and remove them from your garden. Sanitize your hands after dealing with infected plants.
Early Blight on tomato plants
Early blight causes spots of dark concentric rings on leaves and stem of the lower plant first.
Early blight tends to strike your tomato plants when they’re loaded with fruit and days are humid and warm.
Preventative sprays may help slow the onset and spread of the disease, but infected plants should be removed and destroyed. Look for resistant varieties labeled AB (A for Alternaria fungal species) for future gardens.
Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus
Dark brown rings on the leaves can also be caused by tomato spotted wilt virus. In this disease process, you’ll also notice brown streaks on the stems, stunted or one-sided growth, and green rings on immature fruit.
This disease is spread by tiny flying insects called thrips. Check purchase plants carefully for signs of thrips and disease before bringing them home to your garden.
Practice good pest control and remove infected plants to control the spread of this disease. Resistant varieties are labeled TSWV.
Bacterial Canker disease on tomato plant leaves
Leaves with brown edges may be caused by bacterial canker. Lower leaves will also curl up and you may see light brown streaks on the stems of your plant. This disease often shows up after plants have been injured, so be careful when trimming your plants not to leave open wounds.
A note about disease resistance:
Don’t expect resistant varieties not to be affected by these diseases. Expect them to tolerate the disease. Remove and destroy affected leaves as they appear, and the plant should continue to produce fruit for you.
TOMATO LEAF PROBLEMS YOU SHOULD NOT WORRY ABOUT
Tomato leaf curl is often an environmental change due to stress. With no other symptoms of disease, no treatment is necessary.
Purple leaves are caused by expression of anthocyanin due to light exposure. Often appearing on plants grown under intense light, there is no cause for concern or need for treatment of purple tomato leaves.
QUICK TIPS FOR DEALING WITH TOMATO LEAF PROBLEMS.
Make sure your plants have adequate nutrients. Try an organic liquid fertilizer first.
Check for pests on the stems and undersides of your tomato leaves. Remove them by hand and use organic pest control sprays retreating as needed.
If you do find leaves that are yellow, wilted, or spotty. Remove them immediately and dispose of them in your trash. Wash your hands after you handle any plants you suspect may be infected with fungal, bacterial, or viral diseases.
Plant resistant varieties remembering that even resistant plants can be affected by tomato plant diseases but will often continue to produce if cared for properly (remove infected leaves, water, fertilize).
Severely affected plants should be removed from the garden and disposed of as soon as possible.
This is an excellent article on testing the germination rate of seeds. If you are like me, I am always saving seeds I buy, seeds I collect from my garden, seeds I save from other folk’s plants… Sometimes I feel the need to test the germination rate of seeds I buy from commercial seed houses! Occasionally I get no or little germination on a seed packet.
How to Test the Germination Rate of Your Old Seeds
I love to buy, collect, save, and trade seed, but I have to admit that I do not go about it in a particularly organized fashion. While I am careful about where and how I store my seeds and I do have my own “it’s all in my head” system, it doesn’t exactly compare to some of the personal seed banks I have seen. I do not have Excel charts or lists of any kind that track what I have and when I got it. If I’m being honest, I often don’t realize I am out of a particular something or other unless I bother to check ahead of time. However, most years that moment doesn’t come until I am in the act of sowing. Whoops, guess I won’t be growing that this year. For this reason, it’s not uncommon for me to find packets in my stash that are older than I can remember. Most store-bought seeds have a “packed for” date on them, but I receive a lot of seed in trade, and some of those traders are even less organized than me. The seed of some plants last no more than a year or so. If I find an unmarked, rogue packet of onions or leeks I can be nearly certain that they are junk. Tomatoes seem to last forever, so if I find a packet of unknown origin that I’d like to grow, it’s worth spending the time to test its germination rate.A germination test determines the viability of the seed — how many in a packet will reliably germinate. This is important because the window of opportunity to get some crops sown and growing can be short. I’ve lost the chance to grow a specific variety some years because I sowed and then waited on seed that wouldn’t grow.Germination rate can also provide a gauge of a seed’s vigor. I explain what this is below.
How to Test for Germination Rate
There are lots of ways to go about this. Some people use paper towels. I use coffee filters because I find it easier to see the germinated seeds and their roots should I opt to plant those that have germinated. Fragile roots and leaves tend to disappear in the pile of paper towels.
What You Need:
Coffee filters
Plastic baggies
Water
10 Seeds (per test)
Permanent marker
Cut or tear the coffee filter along the bottom and one side seam. Lightly moisten with water so that it is moist, but not sopping wet. I sometimes use a spray bottle but you can also just dip it into a bowl of water and squeeze it out.
Open the filter up flat and lay out 10 seeds on one half. You do not have to do 10 seeds at a time, but it makes figuring out the germination rate a heck of a lot easier. Spread the seeds out so that they aren’t touching. I do this so that there is less chance that their roots will become entangled should I decide to plant them up.
Fold the half of the coffee filter that does not have seeds over onto the side that does.
Fold the bottom half up.
Place the moist and folded coffee filter inside a baggie and seal. Write the variety name and the date you started the test on the outside of the baggie. I write this onto sticker labels so I can reuse the baggies in further testing.
Place the sealed and labelled baggies in a warm place and check on them every few days to see whether germination has occurred. Some seeds may require more time. Some may also require light in order to germinate, or more heat.
Tip: The majority of the seeds I test do well in a kitchen or utility drawer that is used often. Otherwise I have a tendency to forget about them! I also put a sticky note on the front of the drawer as an added reminder to keep checking the seeds! Hot peppers tend to need more heat, so I keep them on top of a reliably warm (but not hot) appliance.
The rate is determined by the number of seeds out of 10 that have germinated. For example, 6 out of 10 seeds = 60% 3 out of 10 = 30% and so on.
You can go ahead and plant any seedling that have germinated into soil just as you would a seed. Don’t bother trying to remove the seedling from the paper — you risk damaging delicate roots. Instead, tear the paper around the plant. (Note: If your seedlings have browned roots like mine do in the above photo then I would not suggest planting them up. I left those too long and the roots were starting to rot.)
Loss of Vigor: Seeds that fall below 70% germination tend to suffer from a loss of vigor that will increase with each passing year. What this means is that even though many of them will still germinate, the seedlings that develop may not be healthy or develop into strong, vital plants. If the percentage isn’t too low you may decide to take a chance and see how the seedlings develop. It should be easy enough to determine which are suffering. However, if you’re planning to save seed from this plant for future crops then you may want to replace the seed now. Unhealthy plants beget unhealthy plants and since you’re going to the effort, it is worth it to start out with the best of the best.
Please note that some varieties suffer from a poor germination rate even when new and healthy, so it’s important to know your plant/variety.
Tip: I keep all of my seed testing equipment (including the used baggies) together with my seed saving equipment in one of the dollar store containers that I use for organizing seed. That way I have it on hand whenever I need it.
this is a good article that I got in my email. it showcases early tomatoes. I have grown all of these but Novia. I am carrying SubArctic, Legend, and Black Prince. Look for my My Two Cents Worth: I will tell you my thoughts on the variety.
Here’s a tip for early tomatoes. I will try it and let you know how it works. Or you can try it and let me know how it works for you. Flick the blossoms (they are self pollinating) or take a cotton swab/paint brush to pollinate your early tomatoes. Sometimes we don’t have the necessary wind or the bees aren’t out yet so they aren’t being pollinated, therefore no fruit. I don’t know why I never thought of this myself!
Tomatoes are very adaptive plants, and can produce fruit in a wide variety of climates and regions. Whether you live in zone 4 or in zone 10, you can grow tomatoes without too much trouble.Although this is true it is important to choose varieties that are well-matched for the climate you live in for the best results. Some tomato varieties perform best in very warm climates, while others are bred for better production in cooler climates.If you live in a cool climate (from zone 6 to zone 4) here are five tomato varieties that should thrive for your area.
Northern Exposure
Northern Exposure is a determinate tomato variety that performs very well in cool climates. They are generally ready to pick in about 67 days after transplanting outside which is great for shorter seasons.The compact size of this tomato plant makes them perfect for containers. According to my sources it is now sold on Burpee seed racks as Burpee Early Harvest Hybrid. I honestly don’t know why they change the names! My Two Cents Worth: I have grown this for sale but not put it in my own garden (I only have so much garden space). I have heard from my customers that they love this tomato. It is a very healthy plant in my greenhouse.
Sub Arctic
With a name like Sub Arctic you know this tomato does well in cooler, short climates. It is a determinate variety that produces four ounce tomatoes in about 42 days after transplanting.Ideal for short seasons in the north, or for a quick harvest in southern vegetable gardens. My Two Cents Worth: I love this tomato. Grew it for years but never put it in my garden until I had a leftover plant. I put it into an enormous container and loved, loved, loved it. They are a smaller tomato, about the size of a ping pong ball, sometimes larger and very sweet and bright red. I am offering this one this year.
Legend
The Legend tomato is another variety that produces well in cool climates and is resistant to late blight.It produces large fruit that can measure four to five inches in diameter and are a bright, glossy red color. This is one of the earliest maturing slicing tomatoes available. My Two Cents Worth: This is a lovely tomato, good flavor, consistent size, shape and color. Plus, it doesn’t want to take over the world. In my garden the fruit didn’t get to 5″ across but about the size of baseballs. I am offering this one this year.
Novia
The Novia tomato variety is an indeterminate that produces seven to nine ounce fruit and is very disease resistant.They contain a high level of lycopene which is a beneficial antioxidant. These tomatoes perform well in cooler climates, but can also be grown as far south as zone 9.
Black Prince
The Black Prince tomato variety comes from Siberia, so you know it is used to some cold weather and short seasons.This heirloom tomato features medium-sized fruit that are a deep red with green to purplish shoulders. They are loved for their rich, almost smoky tomato flavor and excellent hardiness in cold temperatures. My Two Cents Worth: This is very pretty tomato. One of those that are considered “black” Mine were a dark, dusky puprle with green shoulders and about the size of large eggs. The inside is a beautiful dark red and the taste is good but I honestly don”t get the “smokey” flavor. I think that is a trick of the mind! I am offering this one this year.
Great article from PepperScale.This is in response to a post I saw on Facebook this morning.
A plant world sex scandal… Do bell peppers have a gender? Some say they do. The idea has been around for a while but only recently has it caught traction. According to the theory, there are distinct male and female peppers and the gender indicates whether a bell pepper has more seeds or whether it […]
Notes From The Tomato Lady 