Distressing Tomato Problem

[so lucky]

So sorry to hear about this, Kassaundra. Are all the affected plants together, or are they interspersed along the row? Are some of the "healthy" ones slightly affected, or just fine?

edited to add the word "sorry"!

 

[Ridgerunner]

For a bunch to do that overnight my first thoughts were mechanical damage, such as a vole or mole digging underneath, or a herbicide. I killed a couple of my tomato plants a few years back by using too fresh chicken manure and bedding too near to them. I tried putting it a distance away as mulch but didn't work, so they died. So did you over-fertilize?

Maybe a disease? Especially with all the rain you are getting, do you have some type of fungal wilt or something like that. Or are they drowning because they are water-logged? I think it may somehow be related to all the rain you are getting. I think you are getting a bunch of rain out of these systems.

 

[Kassaundra]

A couple of things come to my mind but I doubt they apply. I have never seen this happen. Fertilization burn or root damage from tilling too close. If it's not dry I would dig it up to look at the roots. Could it have sen poisoned by a neighbors chemical use? Or was they too much rain?

No run off from any neighbors, no tilling, not fertilizer use recently and when I did it was just comfrey tea, we have got a lot of rain lately. If they are wilting from to much rain will they live when it dries out a little?

 

[Kassaundra]

So to hear about this, Kassaundra. Are all the affected plants together, or are they interspersed along the row? Are some of the "healthy" ones slightly affected, or just fine?

They are planted in a row in the shape of a triangle. And it is like an on / off switch they are either almost dead or the picture of health. Even healthy ones between affected ones.

 

[Kassaundra]

For a bunch to do that overnight my first thoughts were mechanical damage, such as a vole or mole digging underneath, or a herbicide. I killed a couple of my tomato plants a few years back by using too fresh chicken manure and bedding too near to them. I tried putting it a distance away as mulch but didn't work, so they died. So did you over-fertilize?

Maybe a disease? Especially with all the rain you are getting, do you have some type of fungal wilt or something like that. Or are they drowning because they are water-logged? I think it may somehow be related to all the rain you are getting. I think you are getting a bunch of rain out of these systems.

I am thinking you are right about it being related to the rain, no obvious sign of fungus on any stem or leaf.

 

[skeeter9]

Interesting. Hope things dry up and your toms come back healthy. That's so strange that some would be affected and not others. How frustrating for you.

 

[catjac1975]

They are planted in a row in the shape of a triangle. And it is like an on / off switch they are either almost dead or the picture of health. Even healthy ones between affected ones.

Are the dying plants all of one variety? Though we may like the idea of the old varieties many are not tolerant to diseases.

 

[Kassaundra]

Couple of varieties, but all heirloom. All the Cherokee purples, and I forget the others, that one was most important to me.

 

[897tgigvib]

Years ago when I worked at the Nursery/Greenhouse, my boss' husband, a really intelligent engineer, one of the guys who helped invent claymation, went around on their 20 acres spraying roundup along their fence lines. Within days, some of their Poplar and Cottonwood trees began dying. Some of them died only on one side.

It did not occur to them at first what was causing this. They called in the forest service. The forest service expert asked if herbicide had been used. Sure enough, it was decided that the slight breezes carried the roundup into some of the trees.

Roundup does not have to be a runoff thing. And, it is amazing how it spreads in the wind. Some places get hit, while right next to the hit place, another place is left alone.

 

[seedcorn]

Marshall, what kind of sprayer was he using? In 16 years I've never heard of glysophate drift killing trees. Glysophates transfer to the roots and kill from bottom up.

Now I've seen Balance do that.