Seedling Leaves Dying

[withdiscipline]

Hello! Just joined hoping to get some help with this issue I'm having. Picture is below - the middle is a golden harvest tomato and the two outside are heirloom cherry tomatoes. They were nice and full and bushy originally, but over the last several days the lower leaves have started to fall off. They've been planted for 26 days, and I have not pruned away the smaller buds yet because the first direction I saw indicated I should wait until the plants were about 4 inches.

Will pruning salvage the plants? Is there something else happening here?

Note: I've got three other plants going, different kinds of peppers, that all seem to be doing well, so I don't think it's an issue with the basin or aeration.

[Shawn]

Welcome to the forum!

I am not a tomato grower but it may be from too much nutrients.  HOWEVER we do have many members that are and I am sure they will jump in to assist.

The plant on the right does look good with the exception of that one branch off (as far as I can see in the picture). 

Some questions that may  help are:

1)  Are you feeding them nutrients?  If so how much are you give and how often?

2)  Have you checked the water temp?  Is it hot to touch or just warm or cool?

Here are a couple of threads that are similar to your question. 

Leaf Burn and Nutes Question

Leaf Edges Turning Brown

[lynnee]

withdiscipline , What do the tomato roots look like? (You can gently lift the grow deck and tilt it to see the roots.) Are the roots white, or very light brown? If so, the plants can be saved.

If the roots are brown, then the plants may have root rot, and they will die. (Young tomatoes like yours should have mostly white roots.) With root rot, you need to remove the healthy plant at the left while you dump the water and disinfect your Aerogarden. (You can put the plant in water, or wrap the roots in wet paper towels for a short time.) Then you can start a new garden with the healthy plant in one of the pod holes.

If the roots look okay, then the tomatoes should benefit from a "rinse and refill". Drain your garden, refill with fresh water, and add the nutrients as recommended on the label.

Also, the water in the bowl may not be aerated. Is the pump plugged in? Test the pump to make sure it's working.

Are you keeping the water level up? If roots have grown into the float, your garden won't report the water level accurately. You need to keep an eye on the water level visually.

Tomatoes will wilt like the ones in your photo if they have root rot, are overfertilized, are underwatered, or are growing in water that hasn't been changed often enough.

Good luck!

[Sher]

I agree with lynnee.