I decided to plant tomatoes from seed this year using only heirloom varieties. I've got Abe Lincolns, Boxcar Willies, Big Rainbow, and Rutgers plants. All of them have come down with some malady where their leaves curl up and become deformed. Any suggestions? Should I pull them up and start over with some typical hybrid varieties that are disease resistant? Or will they eventually sort themselves out.
Do you have a picture to post? There are several reasons that a tomato leaf might curl. Malnutrition, pests, and virus are possibilities.
The solution depends on the cause.
I grow both heirlooms and hybrids. I use the hybrids as my production tomatoes since they’re resistant to lots of stuff.
There ARE heirlooms that are disease resistant though. And just plain old open pollinated stuff too.
Try ‘Tropic’ from southern exposure seed exchange.
http://www.southernexposure.com/tropic-vfn-tomato-016-g-p-905.html
It seems to be the most resistant one I’ve found. I’d love to know of one more. Really. I’m trying to concentrate on the ones I can save seed from.
The leaf curl could be from too much rain and not a disease. My maters do that if they’ve been dry and then get a monsoon.
So your heirlooms might recover and then again those particular leaves might always be rolled and hinky looking. New leaves may or may not be happier. If it’s just the ‘i’m not happy about all that rain i got last wednesday’ leaf roll it shouldn’t really affect production.
I do NOT depend on the old fashioned non disease resistant heirlooms for my main tomato production. They’re tasty, some are productive, but they’re not reliable enough to bet the dinner platter on. Especially down here in disease, fungus and pest central.
Meant to add. There are lots of ‘tomato disease’ sites on the net that have pictures and descriptions of various tomato diseases. Along with treatments and cures. Even if it’s just pull them up and burn them. :P
Fungus
Give them a good spraying with a fungicide.
I use Daconil.
This may help:
http://5e.plantphys.net/article.php?ch=t&id=289
Both have photos to help with diagnosis of deficiencies and/or diseases & conditions.
I planted six heirloom Rutgers that I bought at Walmart. Five of the six were 'perfect' plants ... the 6th had curled-up leaves. I don't know why and I haven't done anything to it.
All six now have tomatoes, 'tho they're not ripe yet.
BTW, at the same time I planted one heirloom Beefsteak. I LOVE that plant! It's twice as big as the Rutgers and I've been picking large, tasty, juicy tomatoes for several weeks. Today, I took some cuttings as clones and I'm saving its seeds for next year.