[oldbean]

I have a tray of tomatoes some of which are ok, others are stunted. there is a nasty looking growth on the stunted ones.

Any ideas?

[Aidy]

the orange balls are slug eggs. The plants look a little leggy to me and you have yellowing on the leaf, which I think means either a nutrient def or dodgy compost.

[oldbean]

Sorry, they are not slug eggs, if you look they are growing all over the sides of the pot too.

It has got into the compost, and that's what causing the wilting. What I need to know, is what it is.

[Kristen]

They look as though they haven't been warm enough to me, is that possible?

I work on the basis that Toms need minimum 10C whilst growing on (i.e. from germination to planting out)

[oldbean]

They almost certainly haven't been warm enough continuously.

I wonder if there is a problem with the compost and paper pots. The compost is Erin multipurpose. (I will change to non-peat based in future). I think it might be better to mix some soil into the multi-purpose. We have a sandy soil so it will mix easily.

Would still be interested as to the mystery growths though.

[Patricia]

I think it comes from the paper. I had some last year when I grew things in paper pots. I wonder if it isn't some kind of tree fungus that gets mixed into the paper pulp.

[peterjf]

Looking very wet and sad , looks like fungus to me , maybe its the ink from the paper pots , dont water so much

[strangerachael]

Yes, looks like fungus to me - you often get them with paper/cardboard pots when they get a bit too wet. It doesn't usually affect the plants, yours look as if they will be fine.

[oldbean]

Thanks for the replies. The problem with the compost as I see it is that peat based (really its all peat) is it has not got the right capillary action to hold water in, and so it evaporates meaning more watering is needed. As I do this by standing the trays in water, the paper must stay soggy enough for fungus.

There is also a problem I've noticed, that plants grown in non-soil composts seem less able to throw roots out to the surroundings than the soil based plants. Come back at the end of the season to clear up, and when the plants are pulled up, the roots don't seem to have gone very far.

What do others think?

[Kristen]

I don't think I have the problem of watering that you describe (I use J. A. Bowers multi purpose compost), but I have definitely noticed the rootball-still-mostly-in-the-original-compost syndrome! when pulling them up at the end of the season.  Perhaps I leave them too long in their pots before planting out?

[Bombers]

Pot 'em up into some 3" pots, they'll be fine!

[gobs]

Glasses on, Aidy!

Well, I do not use paper pots and soilless compost , this is one of the reasons, but the plants might and should be well unaffected in this case. It's rather the conditions for them not too good which in turn is good for the fungus, so it's related after all, anyhow, keep them warmer.

[blackbob]

I think it comes from the paper. I had some last year when I grew things in paper pots. I wonder if it isn't some kind of tree fungus that gets mixed into the paper pulp.

patricia go to the top of the class,it is indeed a paper borne fungus.
i used to have the latin name off by hearrt,but it escapes me at present.
moist toilet roll sleeves are a haven for bacteria.stick to ROOTTRAINERS.

[David.]

They don't look stunted - just too small for the pots.

I would only put them into that size pot when they had outgrown a cell tray, and they would have been dropped into the very bottom of the pot (right up to th level of those first leaves - that would have been removed) so all those hairs on the stem would have turned into roots to produce a stronger plant.

[blackbob]

They don't look stunted - just too small for the pots.

I would only put them into that size pot when they had outgrown a cell tray, and they would have been dropped into the very bottom of the pot (right up to th level of those first leaves - that would have been removed) so all those hairs on the stem would have turned into roots to produce a stronger plant.

warm atmosphere with low light levels.