[MoonRiver]

Tomatoes were doing great until about a week ago when the leaves started getting white bumps on the leaves. What is it, and how do I treat it?

 

[MoonRiver]

Poor tomatoes. Really bad, indistinct picture. I'd tell him what the problem is but he has me on "ignore" and won't read my posts.

Maybe somebody else can copy this remedy and post it for him.

Answer - it looks like you have insects and insect eggs and mold on the leaves and it looks like you're giving the plants too much water and not enough light, warmth and air circulation. Spread them apart more so they aren't crowded.

For a quick remedy for the bugs and mold, drench the foliage of the plants on all sides of the leaves and stems with very soapy water using a mixture of ordinary dishwashing liquid soap and tepid water sprayed on with a spray bottle. Saturate the plants and allow to drip dry. Repeat with the same treatment the next day after and then 24 hours after that you can rinse off any dead bugs and eggs and soapy residue from the leaves with tepid water.

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Thanks. I sprayed them a couple of times earlier this week. It may have stopped whatever it is from spreading, but I don't see any recovery in the leaves that have been damaged. I am going to get some Neem spray and see if that helps.

The tomato plants are in my front south facing picture window with an additional grow light. Because of the heat from the sun and electric heat, it takes a lot of water to keep the plants from drying out. They are in grow bags in plastic growing trays and I try to keep the trays from drying out.

All the plants were doing great until a week or 2 ago when I noticed some leaves were developing spots and wilting. I also have 1 pepper plant that is fine.

 

[MoonRiver]

Have the plants been getting too cold at night? Also what are you fertilizing them with?

I have the temperature set to 50 degrees F. I add Miracle Grow to the water every couple of weeks.

 

[MoonRiver]

What I called white spots are actually a lighter green than the rest of the leaf, so from a distance it looks white.

On a sunny day, it gets quite warm in the room, and the 3 tomatoes and 1 pepper plant need about 1 gallon of water every 2 days because of evaporation. The room has baseboard heat and I set the thermometer at 50 degrees for protection.

The 3 plants can't be moved farther apart. I would have to remove one to increase spacing.

 

[MoonRiver]

Ah, so the temps are low only overnight.

Have you tried putting some sort of mulch on top of the soil? A mulch will keep the soil from drying out so fast.

You still should set a fan to blow the heat away from the plants and set up a separate source of humidity. A bowl or pan of water would be good for that.

On sunny days, I use a floor fan to blow hot air from that room into the rest of the house. I usually keep the sprinkler can full and setting on the table next to the tomatoes, plus I keep about an inch of water in the containers the grow bags sit in.

I tried watering less frequently, but the leaves stated wilting.

 

[MoonRiver]

Is that fan blowing across the plants?

Sometimes i turn it toward the plants and sometimes I use it to exhaust hot air.

 

[MoonRiver]

Can you set up something to shade the grow bags? I am assuming they are black. Black grow bags will get too warm with the sun shining on them.

The plants should have more air circulation during the heat of the day.

Maybe if I ever do it again. There were at least 100 blossoms on each of the 3 plants. The Roma has 3 tomatoes, one Beefsteak has 4 tomatoes, and the other Beefsteak only has 1. I shook them, I put the fan on them, I even used a q-tip to pollinate some. I think the tomatoes are all my children as they are likely from pollinating with the q-tip.

It's not worth the effort for that few tomatoes,

On the other hand, my pepper is doing great with 4 peppers, one just about ready to pick.

 

[MoonRiver]

According to several articles your nightime temps need to be warmer. Some say 55° this one says 60°f.

Gardening with Allen: Help tomato plants set fruit

My tomato plants have produced dozens of flowers, but very few fruits have set. I have even shaken the flowers to make sure they were pollinated. Can you tell me what is wrong?

www.columbian.com

I have tried tomatoes but my basement is just too cold. I have kept ornamental peppers and got fruit from them. Peppers are a bit more forgiving, and a lot more expensive at the store. Besides, peppers take a lot less room.

I had planned to put the tomatoes in my greenhouse, but couldn't find any rain barrels locally, so my heating plan is on hold. Since I had the tomato plants, I put them in my front window. Its not worth raising the temperature in the room to get a few more tomatoes. Next year I will probably try 2 pepper plants, potatoes, and lettuce

I found a picture of a frost damaged tomato leaf and it does look fairly similar to mine. Since the plants are only about a foot from the window, it could have gotten pretty cold there.