Tomato Plant Leaves are Turning White - Garden Plants and Gardening Forum

fygar · 05-20-2008, 08:33 AM

Does anyone know why my tomato plant's leaves are turning white? We grew them from the seed and had just transplanted them into our garden bed last Sunday. They look healthy except for the whole white leaf thing going on. Any input / advice would be greatly appreciated!

lspichkin · 05-20-2008, 10:38 AM

Hey fygar,

Did you harden the plants off before transplanting them outside? Sometimes when plants are only used to mild indoor conditions, they need a period of time to acclimate to outdoor conditions. So, you would put them outside for a little more time each day (starting with about an hour) for a week or so. Without this, both sunburn and windburn can be a problem and cause this white leaf that you're seeing...

You could wait for some new growth to appear and then at that point remove some of the white leaves.

fygar · 05-27-2008, 07:59 AM

Alright, after we had planted them, my wife's mother suggested the same thing you did with hardening the plants. Woops!

Since planting, we've had four defenite casualties, but it appears the remaining four are gonna make it (I removed the dead / white leaves). Live and learn! Thanks for your input!

lspichkin · 05-27-2008, 09:56 AM

That's great - I'm glad that you've got 4 hardy survivors

happybill · 08-27-2008, 10:42 AM

I hardened mine but a storm hit and jostled them around quite a bit the other night. Even the more mature ones are tunrning white. I live in the midwest.

I wondered if it could be a fungus also?

Thanks for the post.
Happy Bill

lspichkin · 08-27-2008, 03:19 PM

you could try posting a picture and see if anyone here has an opinion about it...

glenita · 09-05-2008, 04:36 AM

Tomato mites may be the reason. They may be infected by viruses. So better to treat them with nitrogen fertilizers. Supply a lot of water and add a cup of lime.
----------------
Glenita

05-20-2008, 08:33 AM	#1
fygar Green Gardener Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Willmar, Mn Posts: 14	Tomato Plant Leaves are Turning White Does anyone know why my tomato plant's leaves are turning white? We grew them from the seed and had just transplanted them into our garden bed last Sunday. They look healthy except for the whole white leaf thing going on. Any input / advice would be greatly appreciated! __________________ My Blog \| My Business

05-27-2008, 07:59 AM	#3
fygar Green Gardener Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Willmar, Mn Posts: 14	Alright, after we had planted them, my wife's mother suggested the same thing you did with hardening the plants. Woops! Since planting, we've had four defenite casualties, but it appears the remaining four are gonna make it (I removed the dead / white leaves). Live and learn! Thanks for your input! __________________ My Blog \| My Business

08-27-2008, 10:42 AM	#5
happybill Green Gardener Join Date: Aug 2008 Posts: 1	Mine too I hardened mine but a storm hit and jostled them around quite a bit the other night. Even the more mature ones are tunrning white. I live in the midwest. I wondered if it could be a fungus also? Thanks for the post. Happy Bill

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search

05-20-2008, 10:38 AM	#2
lspichkin Administrator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Hollywood, CA Posts: 175 Images: 88	Hey fygar, Did you harden the plants off before transplanting them outside? Sometimes when plants are only used to mild indoor conditions, they need a period of time to acclimate to outdoor conditions. So, you would put them outside for a little more time each day (starting with about an hour) for a week or so. Without this, both sunburn and windburn can be a problem and cause this white leaf that you're seeing... You could wait for some new growth to appear and then at that point remove some of the white leaves.

05-27-2008, 09:56 AM	#4
lspichkin Administrator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Hollywood, CA Posts: 175 Images: 88	That's great - I'm glad that you've got 4 hardy survivors

08-27-2008, 03:19 PM	#6
lspichkin Administrator Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: West Hollywood, CA Posts: 175 Images: 88	you could try posting a picture and see if anyone here has an opinion about it...

09-05-2008, 04:36 AM	#7
glenita Green Gardener Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1	Tomato mites may be the reason. They may be infected by viruses. So better to treat them with nitrogen fertilizers. Supply a lot of water and add a cup of lime. ---------------- Glenita