Why are my tomatoes dying? 😭
Hey friends! Been growing tomatoes (heirloom varieties, cherry, etc) for about a decade and over the last 3 years all of my plants have died around this time of year. I've lived in the same house/had the same garden since 2020 and it only began happening about 3 years ago when we redid our raised beds and moved them to a new spot. Up until then they were always thriving, happy plants that I could barely keep up with.
I assumed at first it was cats getting into our yard and using the bed as a liter box, but that didn't seem to happen last summer so I thought maybe they weren't getting enough water (I'd just had a baby so the garden as a whole was neglected haha). We've moved them closer to our sprinklers so now they get consistent watering, but half the ones I've planted are clearly on their way out just like before😞
Other details that might be helpful:
- We live in coastal NC (zone 8a), so we have fairly unpredictable weather. However, when rain is in the forecast we don't run the sprinklers and when we've got a dry spell I water them consistently so they don't dry out. I suppose over/under watering them could be the issue? But I've just been so diligent about it this year that I can't see that really being the problem.
- I did the water test for bacterial wilt and that doesn't seem to be the problem even though they appear very similar to plants that do have it.
- The soil is amended with fresh dirt and compost every year and I fertilize as well so they should be getting nutrients.
I'm at a loss and very frustrated that this is happening for the third time. Any ideas??
Thank you in advance!!
