Tomato question: yellowing leaves?

[soulrebel]

i went away for the weekend at the bank holiday, watered my tomatoes thoroughly before going but it was a very dry weekend and they were very wilted looking when i got back

i watered them again straight away and have watered them every day since, as well as feeding them with some tomorite, and within a day or so they perked up again, but quite a few of the leaves went sort of mottled and a bit yellowish, and now some of the leaves further down on the most water-hungry plants (my 2 Sungolds, which have masses of fruit on them on multiple growing shoots) have turned completely yellow - i don't know whether they will now drop off...

is this very bad, and does it mean my plants will die without the fruit ripening, or will they be ok? should i remove the yellow leaves?

just got the first red fruits off my tallest one (a Gardener's Delight), which is now as tall as me

my 4th plant doesn't seem to have been affected by the yellowing, but it's much smaller, slower growing and less water hungry than my other 3... it's an obscure variety (ie i haven't found any details of it anywhere else) called "Principe Borghese", with very big individual leaves, and paler green than the others... it only has a few fruit on it, but they have got much bigger than the others have been when ripe, and from the shape of them look a bit like beefsteaks...

 

[nino_savatte]

I think yellowing is symptom of overwatering...or at least that's the case with houseplants.

 

[Psychonaut]

Is the yellowing evenly spreading across the leaves or is it in patches between the veins (usually Mg deficiency). Why do you water every day - If the soil dryies out that quickly you probably need to pot-up, if its still wet you could be drowning them - roots and soil need oxygen.

 

[aqua]

soulrebel - have youpinched out your plants? if so do do it cos otherwise any new fruit setting now just won't ripen and the plants energy will be wasted on those

as for yellowing leaves its fine well it seems to be with mine

its ok to take off leaves below the first truss if they are yellow, and around now if you have loads of leaves covering fruit from the sun take those off too so the sun can ripen the fruit - just whatever you do don't take loads of leaves off at once or the plant will go into shock!!!

if the leaves are deep green round the veins and yellow between you have a mineral definiciency but watering with feed should sort that out

good luck

 

[Funky_monks]

Wouldn't wory about it, they usually yellow at this time of year.

 

[soulrebel]

potting up isn't really practical when the plants are over 5ft tall, multi-stemmed and supported by multiple stakes, and with lots of ripening fruit that would probably get broken off if i tried to get them out of the pots (which would have to involve turning them upside down)...

i don't *always* water them every day (i haven't watered them for 2 days now and they haven't wilted again), but after they wilted they sucked up water that quickly for about 3 days... it depends on the weather as well... the first half of this week was unusually hot/dry (well, compared to the previous couple of weeks)...

i pinched them out ages ago (apart from the smallest one, which is still producing new flowers), altho new growing tips that i have missed still seem to keep coming up now and then...

thanks for replies about leaves, seems i shouldn't be too worried about them then...

 

[aqua]

nah yellow leaves aren't toooo much of a problem

I wouldn't repot anything now, too late in the season and too much hassle

be careful when watering though, the plants shouldn't wilt at all - they need a steady supply of water, not from drought to excessive otherwise it can cause the fruit to split