My tomato plant leaves are starting to turn black

[ramageftw]

So I've been growing this tomato plant the past few months. It's my first year growing them so I'm figuring out the right and wrong way of things on the job so to speak. I keep the plant in a porch which is basically like a small greenhouse as it can get really warm in there. I water it every morning with roughly a pint of water. Recently, the leaves at the bottom of the plant have started turning black. I'm not sure if this is over watering or if it's located in an unsuitable environment for the plant but I don't think this bodes well for it.

I did repot it recently with a different type of compost that what was used in the beginning so it may also be lacking certain nutrients in the soil.

Anyway, I'm kind of at a loss so if anyone has any ideas, that would be great

 

[Chuck]

Your plant is starving. It needs both micro and macro nutrients, but mainly phosphorus. Feed with good organic fertilizer and liquid seaweed.

 

[ramageftw]

Your plant is starving. It needs both micro and macro nutrients, but mainly phosphorus. Feed with good organic fertilizer and liquid seaweed.

see I did think that but read other places that I’d to only start feeding it once the wee flowers start appearing. Cheers for the help though! do you think it’s salvageable?

ill get some food for it ASAP

 

[Chuck]

see I did think that but read other places that I’d to only start feeding it once the wee flowers start appearing. Cheers for the help though! do you think it’s salvageable?

ill get some food for it ASAP

I have no idea where you read that because it is absolutely incorrect. If the plant were healthy, maybe, but tomatoes need regular feeding from the transplant stage onward. It is salvageable although I don't know how long your season is there. Tomatoes are extremely sensitive as to ambient temperatures for setting fruit.

 

[cntrlwagdnr]

The leaves appear to be yellowing too, so it could also be magnesium deficiency. This is very common in tomatoes but also affects plants like peppers, potatoes, roses, etc. I notice that on the leaves that are not almost dead, the viens are still greener. That is a classic sign of magnesium deficiency. When the plant experiences a lack of magnesium, it moves magnesium from older, lower leaves to newer upper ones, so the effect is seen in the older leaves first. There are several causes, such as heavy potassium content fertilizer or light or sandy soils where the magnesium is leached out by rain or watering (especially if grown in pots). Fortunately, the cure is very simple and cheap. Just get some ordinary Epsom salts from the pharmacy store ("chemist" in the UK I guess), even some garden stores sell it. Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons around the stem and water in. Repeat as necessary. I give ours a dose now and then as a preventative too. Also note that tomatoes need sufficient water, but they need a steady regular watering schedule. They don't like irregular watering. They adjust to the schedules and irregular watering will affect pollination and tend to make the fruit split. You problem doesn't look like fungus or mold because it is not affecting the whole plant the same, but it's worth checking as unhealthy or dying leaves can attract things like that.