Good morning. I am growing Jersey Giant, Berley Tie Dye, Blue Cream Berries, and Sun Sugar tomatoes. I noticed the other day that the leaves on almost all of them are turned upward exposing the stoma underneath. The entire plant(s) does not show this condition but perhaps the top half to maybe the top third. After some brief searching, it seems at least one cause of this is overwatering and in my particular case I do not believe this to be the cause.
My question is actually could this be variety dependent? All are grown in pots and bottom watered. The mix is the same, they are watered the same, they are in the same area, they are staked the same, etc. however the Sun Sugar tomatoes do not show the effect in any way what so ever. I am curious if others have noticed that some tomatoes do this and others do not when all other conditions are the same.
I have a variety of heirlooms as well as hybrid tomatoes that are doing this. My assumption is that if they look otherwise healthy, this happens when there is fast growth going on. Is there a difference between determinate/indeterminate varieties maybe? All of mine are indeterminate and grow like gangbusters this time of year.
Some varieties just curl for no real reason. One other factor may be the plant curls its leaves in a response to hot weather. I don’t know where you’re at other than zone 7, so I don’t know what your weather’s like.
It has been in the mid-80’s to upper-80’s the past several days but prior to that it was in the mid-90’s for several days. Kind of unusual for this time of year in the Nashville,TN area.
Now that I think about it more the Jersey Giants displayed this behavior first and then the Blue Cream Berries and Berkley Tie Dye started shortly there after.
From what I’ve gathered from my own experience, this seems to coincide with rapid growth. Shortly after up potting or transplanting into the garden, it seems like the additional nutrients, water, and space puts them into hyperdrive. The stem even thickens from that point, leaving the stem below that point thinner for the duration of the season.
My tomato plants are doing this also, this year. This is my first experience with this type of leaf curl. Other than curled new growth, it seems to be growing well. It is just starting to bloom. This year I planted them in a container with compost, sand and manure. That may explain the hyper growth, if that is the cause.
