By Patricia23q
Surrey, United Kingdom
I have been growing Roma and Gardeners Delight tomatoes in a small cold greenhouse. The plants are only about 3" tall and this week I have noticed some of the leaves have purple blotches on them. Can I remove the leaves in the hope that the plants will grow on? Should I destroy the plants affected? Will it spread to, at the moment, non-affected plants? I normally sell plants in aid of the local Hospice and will be disappointed to lose them all. Thank you.
- 26 May, 2013
Answers
I think Pam is right about the temperature. I have grown G's D toms in a cold greenhouse for years - I have often noticed discoloured leaves, especially when the plants are small. I should wait and see as Pam advises. Chances are they'll settle down and the new growth will be fine.
26 May, 2013
Thank you Pamg and Melchisedec. I will certainly take your advice. I have had them outside today as it is lovely and warm and I hoped the weather would cheer them up. I have even been thinking of planting new seeds, but I guess it is a bit late for that!
26 May, 2013
they do turn 'blue' with the cold so I wouldn't worry about them . It is a bit late to start new ones off.
26 May, 2013
Tomatoes stop growing if the temp falls below 50 deg f, and if it gets down to about 45 the leaves start to discolour, as Sbg says 'blue with cold', they really need a bit of heat until later in the year, when the nights are not so cold, Derek.
26 May, 2013
Mine have been ok this year, what I do if concerned is construct a "warm area" in the gh for them, cardboard boxes or in my case offcuts of twinwall poly carbonate and put them in that and cover with bubble plastic, then if the weather is awful just remove one or two of the sides and top in the day, they need the light or will go leggy, if its sunny days and cold nights remove all sides in the day and put all back at night. Fiddly but its just for this delicate period.
Even when in the grobags if its really awful I,ve been known to construct "walls" at night to keep them warm
27 May, 2013
I've got Alicante seedlings, and in a burst of optimism, brought them out into the sunshine. Since then temperatures have plummetted to a daytime low of 6° and they, too, have gone a rather fetching shade of purple. They are back in the greenhouse now, waiting for a bit of warmth.
27 May, 2013
Oh Gattina, thats a shame, we have had a lovely two days, bright today but the breeze is cool......we may get low temps and rain from tomorrow. :0(
27 May, 2013
Today we have nearly warm sunshine, Pam, but the forecast suggests it isn't going to last. There are times when we wonder exactly why we moved here.......It seems Manchester might have been a better bet!
27 May, 2013
Hope you enjoyed the sun whilevyou have it Gattina, They still get a lot of rain in manchester........east anglia looks good but then they suffer lack of rain! You can't win.......
27 May, 2013
It's raining right now, but due to stop shortly, then we have a predicted peak of 12°c round about midday, when there should be a gleam of sunshine, then back to 10 more days of rain. It's all fun, fun, fun here. We're driven to thoughts of daytime t.v.!
28 May, 2013
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I think it may just be the cold, then the heat
I,d wait and see....you could separate the affected ones if it worries you.
I doubt that those leaves will change but hope that the new growth is normal
26 May, 2013