Leaf curling on tomatoes

Is leaf curling on tomatoes the biggest concern for people growing tomatoes?

Well going by my post hits it must be, my post here about Leaf Curl on Tomato's has had 12626 views and  it is the top post on my blog.

Personally leaf curl on tomato's is the least of my worries, blight is my biggest. I would guess that the main problem when people tend to worry is when leaves look like this;





It can look a little scary for new growers of tomato's but if you read my post it is just a simple case of the plants protection themselves when they are trying to create less leaf area to cool themselves down. I never ever worry about this, but do try to make sure my plants are getting enough water at the correct rate when it is very hot. Remember the secret of watering tomato's is a little but often and you will not go far wrong. Tomato leaf curl or roll is not a disease, it is a physiological response of the plant to environmental stress.

Here are a couple of more photo's taken from Garden web forum  


This plant looks pretty poorly, but I bet it was fine once the sun went down. I would say a little more watering would help. Tomato's do not have a large root system, so the soil should be fairly moist in really hot weather.

This plant is often how mine look when full of fruit, If you feel your plants are getting enough water, then try to shade your plants a little with some netting to cool them down slightly.




Of course there are other types of leaf curl which can be more worrying, like contaminated compost or even too much feed, you can see pictures of this on my post.

If in doubt please email me a photo, I will do my best to help with any problems relating to tomato growing, but sometimes it's a little like have a doctors appointment by email.

Comments

  1. Nice to see someone who cuts the "Myth" about leaf curl!!
    Our worst offender is the variety of Coeur de Boeuf we grow... slightest bit of heat and it looks like it is dying... come the evening... as you state... back to normal.

    As for the "contaminated compost" curl... we had a guy on our allotments when we lived in Leeds, who had a regular supply of old manure... suddenly he got terrible leaf curl... first on his spuds, then the tomatoes. None of the plants thrived. He had got a supply of manure that had been contaminated by the selective weedkiller that grazers use... can't remember the name at the moment.
    I thought I'd got a picture up on flickr that I could refer to... but I hadn't!
    One or two other plotholders had the same problem... but they'd got their dung from Joe!!
    You blog is now on the list of blogs to visit... and when i have time over the next few days I'll shove it on the side bar of "De la Bonne Bouffe" our food and potager related blog.
    Hope your growing season is bountiful in 2013.

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  2. I think people panic about leaf curl Tim, I have the same symptoms with Coeur de Boeuf.
    In the past did go on a UK growing forum and there were a lot of complaints about contaminated compost, much of it from cheap brands.
    Thanks for adding me I will add yours to mine.

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    Replies
    1. I remembered the weedkiller group as we were driving to Orleans today to get 2CV bits...
      Aminopyralids...
      pass straight thro' the cow...
      so barn raised animals in winter...
      or here in France, all the milkers...
      supply you with contaminated manure...
      I am making compost here from our meadow grass...
      leaving some to dry [the brown matter] and layering it in piles with fresh cut [the green matter]...
      and it is good stuff too...
      with plenty of ortie in it!!

      Gardening Which had a big article on contaminated compost...

      Delete
  3. So perhaps I've just been overwatering my plants and greenhouse too much

    ReplyDelete

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