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Tomatoes. First time grower. Need advice please.

I'm growing Heinz 3402 plants in pots and grow bags.
The growbag plants seem healthy, have reached 4 to 5 feet but their fruit are smaller than the potted ones.
My potted plants are bearing large tomatoes, still green but lots of large fruit.
Here's my problem. Leaves at the bottom of the potted plants are yellowing and have spots on them that look black but close up are a purple or crimson colour.
Leaves further up the plants feel stiff and kind of crisp if you like.
Is this normal for heavily fruited plants? They are continuing to flower higher up.
I am feeding them organic fertiliser by Green Future, Epsom Salts and a gritty milk from ground egg shells.
Any advice welcomed.
 
I kind of think you have been giving them too much fertilizer, leading to possible potassium defiency if the leaves feel stiff and crisp, but overall my knowledge about growing tomatoes are limited anyway but giving them too much magnesium/calcium can lock out some of the other nutrients in the soil.
 
Do not give them too much calcium as it can displace potassium, too much of good things can be bad for plants.
 
My experience is zero. I got these seeds free with a supermarket delivery and thought why not.
I've been thinking overfed or underfed or pots too small.
Back to basics then. Flush them through today and see what happens.
I'm very impressed with the crop and these are big tomatoes.
Take a guess that is why Heinz developed them as they use them for their sauce.
Experience is everything.
All good fun.
 
Perhaps give them just the Green future stuff and nothing else for now to see if they start to look much better as that Green future fertilizer should contain everything the tomato needs.
 
Yeah, I just flushed them with a couple of gallons each but think I'll repeat that in a few minutes.
I won't feed them for a week at least now.
Trial and error I guess.
 
Crisp leaves don't necessarily mean overfertilizing with tomatoes.  Tomatoes like cool temps, but are also very temperamental about moisture on leaves.  This is exacerbated by either too cool, or too hot temps.  They're also very susceptible to fungal outbreaks.  Worst of all, they are afflicted by blights and wilts, occasionally.  And no matter how well they grow, they lose lower vegetation, eventually.
 
 
Post some pics.
 
Scorchio said:
Well, so far it is just low down but working up.
I'll work it out eventually.
 
Tomatoes are very sensitive to various fungus/maladies from getting wet and/or wet soil on their leaves.  I'd suspect that's what you're dealing with.  I recommend you remove all leaves with any signs of yellowing or spotting.  It can and will spread. Do they look like this?
 
tomato-plant-yellow-leaves-brown-spots-tomato-plant-leaves-yellowing-and-a-slightly-different-yellowing-thing-going-on-on-one-of-my-my-tomato-plant-has-yellow-leaves-brown-spots.jpg
 
SmokenFire said:
 
Tomatoes are very sensitive to various fungus/maladies from getting wet and/or wet soil on their leaves.  I'd suspect that's what you're dealing with.  I recommend you remove all leaves with any signs of yellowing or spotting.  It can and will spread. Do they look like this?
 
tomato-plant-yellow-leaves-brown-spots-tomato-plant-leaves-yellowing-and-a-slightly-different-yellowing-thing-going-on-on-one-of-my-my-tomato-plant-has-yellow-leaves-brown-spots.jpg
Yes only a bit worse lol.
 
Scorchio said:
Yes only a bit worse lol.
 
We get the same type of blight on our tomatoes each year despite aggressively pulling suckers and bottom leaves.  I suspect its because of the soil we purchased for several of our raised beds on a recommendation of a neighbor 2 years ago was not fully composted.  
 
In any case we have had great results using a product called serenade.  It won't bring back plants that are too beat up, but if you catch the blight early enough it will keep it at bay for the duration of the season so that you will still be able to harvest fruits.  
 
Works on our cherry tree and squash as well.  YMMV.  
 
SmokenFire said:
 
We get the same type of blight on our tomatoes each year despite aggressively pulling suckers and bottom leaves.  I suspect its because of the soil we purchased for several of our raised beds on a recommendation of a neighbor 2 years ago was not fully composted.  
 
In any case we have had great results using a product called serenade.  It won't bring back plants that are too beat up, but if you catch the blight early enough it will keep it at bay for the duration of the season so that you will still be able to harvest fruits.  
 
Works on our cherry tree and squash as well.  YMMV.  
Thanks for that. I will look for it in the morning.
Seems this is quite a common problem.
Much appreciated advice and good to know others experience the same. No offence meant.
I am in a very humid climate here. Rarely drops below 85%.
Cider apple trees love it but so do bugs and slugs etc.
On a brighter note, my Chillis have gone bonkers. Joe Long, a Cayenne, has pods 8 inches long, no kidding. My Scorpions have a lot of pods and my dopey wife handled one and touched her face yesterday. Oooops!
 
Ghaleon said:
So this is the specific type of tomato used for all of their ketchups?
Well if you Google it, it appears Heinz have developed a few strains. This is one. Heinz 3402.
I have read it is used in the production of their ketchup.
They did a promotion of it a few years ago and gave seeds away through a supermarket called Sainsburys in the UK as freebies with on line orders.
I got a packet at the time and this year germinated a few.
Doubt anyone wants a pic of my green tomatoes but they are getting quite large lol.
 
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