Sunburn Tomato Leaves

Hi, welcome. Today I want to talk with you about sunburned tomato leaves, the causes

the prevention, and the care for plants that are affected with sunburn. It's that time

of year here, their common challenge for many tomato gardeners. The issue arises when tomato

plants get too much direct sunlight and it causes the leaves to discolor, to wilt, or

even be scorched. So in the article for this video, you'll get a little more information

about how to recognize it. There's some pictures on there, how to tell it apart a little bit

from other issues that your tomato plants might be having. In the south, in the deep

south where the heat is extreme, this is particularly a problem. It often happens after you've pruned

away too many leaves or when a disease impacts your plants and you've had to cut your leaves

back. Without the protection, the leaves, more of the leaf surface is exposed to the

direct sun. Where you are determines a lot about if you even have to deal with this or

not. Like I said, in the deep south where the blazing sun, you know, it's up at 7 and

it's 85, 90 degrees at 7 and then it's down at 8 or 9 o'clock and it's 80 degrees then

It's been under a lot of hot sun. Under such conditions, it's not uncommon for tomato plants

to show signs of distress. They might even develop pale discolored patches, which are

a telltale sign of sunburn. What's happening in the leaf is the sun is destroying the chlorophyll

So the sun's rays are very unforgiving on plants. So this is one of the reasons, one

of the many reasons, keeping a garden journal and understanding your local climate, how

that impacts your garden and it's so important. In warmer regions where the sun can be both

friend and foe, you have to learn to balance the sun exposure. You know, when you're planning

out your garden, you don't just walk out and say, oh there's a lot of sun here, we'll use

this spot. You've got to watch what's around it at different times of the day, how the

sun rotates around your garden and that will all help you plan out your garden properly

to prevent certain illnesses. Preventing sunburned tomato leaves, we recommend, you don't have

to prune your tomato plants. We have an article on the Farmer's Sample on pruning your tomato

plants. You don't have to do that, but a lot of people do. We recommend it. Leaves are

essential for providing shade, so over pruning, like I've already said, can expose them to

too much sun. So you can learn exactly how to stake them and exactly how to prune them

on the Farmer's Sample. Now spotting sunburned tomato leaves is pretty straightforward once

you know what to look for. The first clue is usually a change in color. The mat's hard

off is white, it's going to be yellow, it's going to be right around the edges, a lighter

shade of green, and they will eventually of course turn brown and die because the chlorophyll

that keeps them green is gone. They can appear in a few ways. They might appear thin, they

might feel almost like paper, they also might feel thick and leathery. It depends on the

variety of tomatoes that you have planted. Sometimes what looks like sunburn might actually

be a sign of disease, so it's important to know what you're looking at. Diseases like

early blight and septoria leaf spot can cause discoloration and they can, they're sometimes

mistaken for sunburn, but the pattern and the progression of the leaf is how you can

tell them apart. Now, how about preventing? How can we prevent sunburned tomato leaves

Well, selecting the right tomato variety for your zone is crucial. Varieties that are resistant

to common disease often have lush foliage, which naturally shields more of the plant

from the harsh sunlight. So, you want to look for tomato plants that have the label V or

F on it. This indicates whether they are resistant to, I'm going to try to say this, I hope I

say it right, verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt. Now, if I didn't say those right, I apologize

and you can correct me. That's me trying to pronounce those words. Heirloom tomatoes with

their unparalleled flavors and diverse varieties, they don't necessarily have the same resistance

to those funguses, the wilts that we just mentioned. Hybrids are often bred specifically

to be disease resistant. While heirlooms may not be bred in disease resistance, they have

thrived for generations. So, they do have a resilience and we only raise heirloom tomato

varieties. The susceptibility of heirloom tomatoes to diseases can vary from variety

to variety. We don't have a lot of diseases with our heirloom tomatoes, but because we

practice careful crop rotation, proper plant spacing, deep mulch gardening, and we prune

our tomatoes to ensure there's plenty of air flow in there, plenty of sunlight in there

Proper spacing, I can say, in the tomato garden is essential for good air circulation and

a balanced sun exposure. This helps keep your plants healthy and less prone to losing

their foliage, which protects against sunburn leaves. So, a good layer of organic mulch

around your tomato plant serves multiple purposes. It helps prevent soil disease coming up. You

don't ever want your tomato leaves touching the ground. Anything that touches the ground

is just a highway for disease to come up from the ground, especially if you have wet soil

Incorporating organic fungicides like copper solutions into your routine can also help

protect your plants. We have a recipe on the farmer's note in the article for this, for

our neem oil garden spray. Using shade cloth can be particularly significant. In Mississippi

we had like a lean-to made out of shade cloth that in the afternoon I would go out and move

over in front of the tomatoes just to protect them a little bit. Another way to protect

your plants from sunburn, do not water your plant leaves. Water the soil. Water at ground

level. Water early in the morning. I like to water, if I have to water the garden, I

like to water as the sun's coming up or right after it's come up. You don't want wet leaves

and then the sun hitting those leaves and it dries them out. If you do water at night

watering at night increases the risk of disease. But if you do have to water at night, again

be careful to water only the soil. I always say this and I'm going to say it again. Visit

your garden at least once a day. You have to look at them. If you see the first signs

of disease, sunburn, pest damage, any of those things, then you can act faster and

you can save your plants. But if you don't go out there every day or more than once a

day, we visit the garden morning and evening. They will help you prevent sunburn leaves

Now, your plant has sunburn leaves. What do you do? Look for the tomatoes with pale white

or gray spots on them. Those are the tomatoes. The tomatoes themselves are still good to

eat. You just cut away the sunburn spots. This is on the tomato itself. Carefully prune

We've already talked about pruning. Keep as much healthy foliage as you possibly can to

shade any remaining fruit and be sure to remove and prune any leaves that come in contact

with the mulch or the ground. Remember, like I said, it's a highway for disease. You don't

want them up there. If your tomato plants are really suffering and they're already showing

signs of sun scald, sunburn, go ahead and harvest your fruit, even if they're near ripening

when they're first glistening and that is when the tomato starts to change from green

to red. It'll get almost white sometimes. It'll lighten up and then it'll change its

color. Go ahead and pick them. Fried green tomatoes are excellent and you can let them

mature in the house out of the sun. Consider shade. We've already talked about that. A

30% shade cloth is sufficient in most places to block the sun and stop, prevent your tomato

leaves and tomatoes from being sunburned. Provide balanced nutrition. Not too much nitrogen

but sufficient potassium and phosphorus. A healthy plant can withstand stress and damage

better than one that's not healthy. Consistent deep watering. Watering deep encourages roots

to go down into the soil. It keeps them from coming up. The soil is cooler down there

The moisture, they can absorb the moisture through their root systems and it helps them

withstand the heat of the day. We've already talked about the best time of day to water

A thick layer of organic mulch around your plants. We've talked about that and something

we tried a few years ago that we have been really impressed with. And that is these red

trays. And I'll try to remember to put a link down here for them. If I can't, you can find

them on Amazon. They are just red tomato trays. They slide up around the tomato. It reflects

off of there. It helps them ripen. We think faster. It may be just our perception, but

it also prevents bugs, pests from climbing up them. We've noticed that when we use those

we have fewer tomato hornworms and no damage from other pests. Companion planting. Yay

There are, you can create a beneficial microclimate for your tomatoes. Planting taller crops like

sun and sunflowers on the side where the afternoon sun comes down. And that way they cast shade

onto your tomato plants. It promotes healthy soil, biodiversity in your garden. Basil is

even, they say it helps improve tomato flavor. I can't say that's been my experience, but

I planted with it. So I'm not real sure what it would be like if I didn't plant it with

it. Maybe I need to do some kind of experiment on that. We have a complete companion guide

for tomatoes on the farmer's lab too. So you can check out all those. Now, will sunburned

tomatoes recover? Sometimes. If you are checking your garden and you see it early and you provide

the shade, you provide the water, they have the nutrients they need. Yes, they may fully

recover. However, not all varieties react the same. Not all gardens are set up the same

So, you know, I can't say yes, they will recover, but generally as a rule, if you get to it

early enough, they will recover. Do sunburned tomato leaves affect production? Yes, a sunburned

tomato plant whose leaves are all burned up will not mature the fruit. They're so concerned

about repairing themselves. They think they're dying. So photosynthesis, which is crucial

for producing the energy, is being used to do other things. And because the leaves aren't

there to absorb the sun to carry on the process of photosynthesis, then yes, your harvest

is going to be much smaller. Okay. Does your soil type affect sunburn risk? It doesn't

directly cause sunburn, but your quality of soil, which affects the plant's overall health

it makes your plant not as healthy, not as resilient. Healthy soils provide the essential

nutrients that your plants need to support them, support the root systems, but then go

deep and get the water. So soil type may not be an exact sunburn risk, but it can contribute

to your plant's overall health, which makes them more susceptible to sunburn. So opting

for resilient tomato varieties with ample foliage, providing shade, adequate water, regular monitoring, recognizing the early signs of tomato and implementing those protective

measures that we've talked about. There's a lot more detail on the article. Go over

there and you can check out more if you need any more information. With these practices

integrated into your garden routine, you will have healthier plants and a greater harvest

We hope this helps you on your tomato gardening journey. Until next time, safe and happy gardening