Sunday, May 27, 2007

Is This a Problem?

I'm a bit worried folks, not hysterically so, but worried all the same. My tomato plants are lush and suprisingly huge, already hanging with green orbs of expectations. But, my well-loved Black Krim plant looks strange. Although the plant is growing with vigor, blossoming beautifully, and apparently as apt to bear fruit as a bad decision, its leaves are curling.

This plant's leaves have curled like this throughout all of its life so far. I've looked for bugs, fungus, or some other type of obvious cause, but have found none. None of the other plants in the octagon are affected, and this one doesn't seemed slowed down by its case of the curlies.

Should I be worried? If it is a real problem, does anyone know how to fix it?

Thanks for your input. I really, really am looking forward to a good crop of Black Krim.

5 comments:

Susan said...

Leaf curling in an otherwise healthy plant can either be due to too much watering, or more likely, if you are going through drought, too little watering. Tomatoes curl their leaves to conserve water.

Don't know why other tomatoes in plot aren't affected. Could be the Krim is more sensitive to water issues than other varieties.

There could be a whole host of other reasons, from 2,4-D drift from another garden patch, to viral problems, but these usually manifest in other obvious symptoms than just leaf curl.

You could experiment with the watering, but the proof will be in the setting and healthy growth of the fruit. No need to be hysterical at this point.

Christina said...

Susan: Thanks for the advice! You're full of great information. Happy day.

Christa said...

One of my tomato plants is doing the same thing and I've been trying to figure out why. We got heavy rain yesterday, so I'm waiting to see if that might cause the plant to uncurl its leaves again. I hope so.

Christina said...

Christa: Let me know if the rain changes the leaves. I've now experimented with more water and less, to no effect. The plant seems perfectly healthy (other than the leaves) and it is literally COVERED with fruit. I won't trust that it actually is healthy though until I get a bucketful of ripe fruit.

Christa said...

Christina,
I was out to the plot today and it does in fact look like Sunday's rain made a difference for my curly-leafed tomato plant. A few leaves are still curled, but over all it's looking much better. I hope your plant takes a turn for the better, too.