Tomato plant gurus - help please!

[S. McCormick]

Hello everyone!

I'm new here, and I'm also a brand new gardener. I live in South West Florida and I have never grown tomato plants before. I am so lost when it comes to this stuff and I really wanted to have a successful back porch garden. I had been doing really well up until this week. My tomato plants (beefsteak) are potted and I had to move them to the front porch last week because the people next door had been pouring concrete to make a back porch, and all the dust was starting to fly this way so I thought it best to move them. I just moved them back to the back porch a few days ago after their construction was finished. My problem is this: My tomato plants have brown and yellow leaves which started at the bottom and now the plant looks wilted qnd like its dying. A couple of my tomatoes have what looks like rotten spots or like bugs ate their way through them. I have a homemade organic pesticide I have been using consisting of garlic oil and a mild soap and it seems to be working well at keeping insects away. I have no idea what's happening. I live in a very humid climate and so I water them frequently, every other day or so. I have gone a few days without watering them here and there. I am going to post pictures. PLEASE tell me if you know what this is and how I can fix it! I am all alone in my gardening ventures, my husband wants no part and I don't know anyone who gardens either. Also, I have Bibb lettuce growing and it's also starting to get some tan spots on the leaves which makes me think this is some kind of bacterial infection or something.Please help!

 

[Plantdoctor]

Don't panic, from the pictures the tomatoes are fine, just some of the leaves have done there bit and the tatty ones can be removed.Just take the whole leaf stalk away .

You may be over watering, one of the fruits is splitting again nothing major.

I would not be too concerned about anything at this stage.

 

[S. McCormick]

Don't panic, from the pictures the tomatoes are fine, just some of the leaves have done there bit and the tatty ones can be removed.Just take the whole leaf stalk away .

You may be over watering, one of the fruits is splitting again nothing major.

I would not be too concerned about anything at this stage.

Ahh! Thank you so much! So I just remove that specific stalk thats affected and that's it? You don't think there could be any illness I need to be concerned with? I'm so glad. I thought I'd done something wrong. Okay, what would be a good watering schedule for average 85-90 degree heat with lots of humidity? Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Plantdoctor]

Those yellow/green ones in picture 5,that is just a sign of aging, nothing to worry about.

You can safely remove the whole leaf stalk.

Any leaves with whitish marks, are probably leaf scorch ,sun on water droplets, again nothing to worry about.

Only water,if,in the morning plants are showing signs of wilting, then thorough soaking and leave till the next time.

People tend to over water, rather than under water, some plants especially tomatoes thrive on neglect.

 

[S. McCormick]

You've been so helpful. Thank you so much. So so you think they will come back from the way they look right now, all wilted and droopy, just by sort of leaving them be? How often should I use the plant food I have for them? I have nature's care, a natural all purpose water soluble plant food for organic gardening. Thank you again!

 

[Plantdoctor]

Don't know natures care ,so just follow the instructions.

The norm is to feed once a week,once the first truss is set, if growing in containers.

Again ,don't over-do the feed either .

 

[S. McCormick]

Also! I just noticed this on the stalk, is this normal?

 

[S. McCormick]

Another tomato with some kind of marks on it

 

[S. McCormick]

And the stakes Im using - after I had them in the dirt supporting the plant for about 2 weeks, I found out they contain chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer/birth defects/etc. Obviously, I don't feel safe with those holding my plants up when those plants are something my family will consume. What's a good alternative?

 

[Plantdoctor]

The blemishes on fruit are just one of the side affects of incorrect watering, again,can't keep saying this, nothing to worry about.

Perfectly edible.

As for the stakes,no idea,but l doubt they are going to induce any harm.

Relax, enjoy your tomatoes and stop fretting.

 

[S. McCormick]

Thank you!

 

[headfullofbees]

Your plants look fine to me too.
I use bamboo, which the Chinese have been eating for many centuries, to support my tomatoes.
You are doing well, and things are progressing nicely.
You are right to seek the advice of people with more experience, who are willing and eager to help novices on their way, and don't hesitate to ask for advice again, should you be uncertain.

 

[Tjohn]

Garden catalogs put in pictures of perfect (photoshopped) fruits that tend to make beginners think they did something wrong when the garden doesn't look like the picture. Real vegetables have holes,warts, bumps, splits, brown spots, ect., so if yours at least look like cousins of the pictures, you're doing fine! As long as they aren't mushy, or obviously diseased, a few blemishes won't hurt anything. As a side note, my tomatoes get marks like that when we have been through a rough patch of weather while the fruits were forming. Yours look healed over pretty well.