Bay of Plenty
November
Q.
My tomato plant leaves are curling quite badly. Confused as to whether it's over watering or over feeding it. They are in a large black rubbish bin, with drainage holes, good food in the soil - vege potting mix and sheep pellets. The plants are growing well but thick tough leaves and good curl.
Jo Cassidy
A.
Hi Jo, leaf curl on tomatoes can be a sign of a few things - too much water, too little water, irregular watering, too much nitrogen in the soil, or too much sun.
Remove the worst affected leaves, and rather than watering a little and often give your plants a deep water once or twice a week instead.
Insect damage can cause the leaves to curl too, if they are the cause, look under the leaves as this is where most of them live, and spray with a suitable insect spray to eliminate if you can see them.
Hold off on feeding any more fertiliser for now (feed again next month), however you can apply Tui Organic Seaweed Plant Tonic which will give your plant a healthy boost. Apply at 70ml per 9 litre watering can once a week until the plant picks up.
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Why are my tomato leaves curling? Comments
As a former commercial tomato grower, I found the curling of tomato leaves was caused by high differences in day & night temperatures. Keep feeding, keep watering regularly and keep to your normal spray programme and they'll grow out of it as summer develops
Gus Aspara
I also believe that the cause of tomato leaves curling are the big differences between day and night temperatures, especially for tomato plants in pots. Move your rubbish bin off or away from the concrete and put it on earth/dirt/garden surface which should help with the spiky temperature fluctuations. As Gus Aspara says, continue with your usual feeding, watering and spraying regime and just hope that the day and night temperatures improve over summer.
Teia Karauria
Thanks for the above answers, I have several tomato plants in a row and only two have curling leaves, they are so tightly curled in some cases they look like silvery lines and it is only leaves on the top few branches of the plant affected. One plant is a seedling I bought from a garden center, the other is one I grew from seed. They are side by side but the 6 or so plants on either side of these two are fine. This is a newly established garden with a mix of topsoil, clay and bagged compost. As the other plants are not affected I am not sure that it is temperature related in this case? Any ideas?
Lisa Ransley
Hi Lisa, if other plants are in the same mix and haven’t shown any curling leaves we suggest it could be temperature related – based on more sun/heat than the others, or it could also be a varietal issue, some tomatoes are more heat/cold tolerant than others. If outside it could be heat but also cold if temperatures have fluctuated. Use Tui Seaweed Plant Tonic 70ml per 9L watering can and do this every week, they plants should grow out of the distortion. The other thing to check for is insects – are there any aphids on the plants, these sucking insects can cause leaf distortion and also Powdery Mildew – talk to your local garden centre or DIY store for the best solution if you think it is a pest or disease, use the seaweed plant tonic regardless, it will only benefit the plants. All the best ^Tui Team
Tui Team
I found these comments very helpful. There have definitely very big differences between night and day temperatures.
Jocelyn Wright