Why did my patio tomato plant shrivel up and die?

Question

It was fine one day, and the next day it was wilted. We've had rain here for months, maybe it got too much water, but it was doing so well! Lots of tomatoes and growing like mad.

Answer 1

Tomato plants need to be watered daily, especially when tomatoes are growing on them; if you had one day without rain and didn't water them, they could have died due to not enough water. This is more of a problem when they are in small planters.

Answer 2

1. Did you water it at all between rains if it was more than 2 days after a rain? Plants in containers need regular watering, as they dry out faster than plants in the ground.
2. Was there a hole at the bottom of the container for sufficient drainage? Containers should have that feature or yes, a plant can drown, as the roots not only drink but breathe.
3. It may instead have needed a bit of plant food designed for tomatoes.
4. Is the container too small for the plant now that it has grown larger? If "root-bound", a plant will not be able to handle any more growth and will shrivel and die.
5. Have you harvested all the tomatoes and was it at the end of its natural growing cycle?
6. It could have become infected with a disease or fungus (see link below).

Answer 3

Next time buy a moisature meter and check every day. After a while you will get an idea how often to water. Just because the soil is dry an inch or two down doesn't mean it is not waterlogge further down. Take the guesswork out of it. These meters are cheap.

Answer 4

Patio tomatoes develop right into a much smaller plant than a backyard tomato. you do not pick to stake them. verify they have lots of solar and water them daily if there is not any rain attending to them.

Answer 5

It's usually a good idea to have 2 plants for propagation. They like warm nights and water.

Answer 6

Potted plants dry out very quick.Even with lots of rain. I would think lack of water.

Answer 7

maybe it was too much water.. or maybe not enough sun! or messed up soil idk