Plants are turning yellow

[marbles]

We're new to gardening, this is the second year we've done it. Our potatoes and tomatoes are turning yellow at the bottom. The tomatoes just have some yellow spots, but the potatoes are bright yellow for a good foot off the ground. What does that mean? Is that disease or do we need to add something to the ground?

[Aerynne]

I don't know a whole lot about tomatoes specifically but too much water can often make plants turn yellow. So can not enough sun.

[Dovenoir]

What are you using to water them?

[marbles]

Originally Posted by Dovenoir

What are you using to water them?

We just put the sprinkler on for a bit. It's just one of these positioned so at one end the water hits the garden.

[Macky]

Are the leaves dying or are they just yellow? Pics?

ETA: If the leaves are alive, but yellow, I'd test the soil on suspicion of a nitrogen deficiency. If they're dying, I'd look at diseases. Potatoes and tomatoes are related and are susceptible to some of the same diseases. I'd first suspect they need a nitrogen boost, though.

Here's a link with pics for you.

[Dovenoir]

Originally Posted by marbles

We just put the sprinkler on for a bit. It's just one of these positioned so at one end the water hits the garden.

City water?

[marbles]

Originally Posted by Dovenoir

City water?

Sorry, yes, it's city water

Originally Posted by Macky

Are the leaves dying or are they just yellow? Pics?

ETA: If the leaves are alive, but yellow, I'd test the soil on suspicion of a nitrogen deficiency. If they're dying, I'd look at diseases. Potatoes and tomatoes are related and are susceptible to some of the same diseases. I'd first suspect they need a nitrogen boost, though.

Here's a link with pics for you.

Looks like the nitrogen deficiency to me.
Potatoes:


Tomatoes:


And just realized the bottom leaves of the zucchini has it too:

[Dovenoir]

Chlorine is added to the water supply to make it drinkable, most water treatment companies use chloramine.

"Chloramines make the water acidic which over time can change soil pH. This may result in nutrient tie-up and create yellowing (chlorosis) problems in many plants. Chloramines prevent the absorption of other nutrients which also may lead to yellowing... Chlorine and chloramines kill the nitrifying bacteria that fix nitrogen from the air into the soil. Hence additional nitrogen must be supplied to the plants to replace the loss of free nitrogen from nature."

http://www.natureswayresources.com/r...hloramine.html

Calling my master gardener dad for fixes... may take a little bit of time..

[Macky]

Yup, nitrogen deficiency. The cause could be chlorinated water as Dovenoir has suggested or it could just be plain old lack of nitrogen due to regular gardening of the land. Nitrogen is highly mobile in the soil and needs to be replenished yearly at minimum, if not multiple times throughout the growing season for high-demand plants. Easy fix, though... you have lots of choices, organic and synthetic, to up the nitrogen levels. Because you're plants are stressed, I'd either use a synthetic water-soluable fertilizer to get them the nitrogen quickly (or something organic like fish emulsion), then add slower-release nitrogen sources (manures and compost, etc.) to feed the soil.

At least they're not diseased. Deficiencies are much easier to fix!

[marbles]

Thank you! I, obviously, didn't know the water could do that. This is a new plot, in an untouched for years area. We will see what we can do, then. Thanks!

[Macky]

Lots of people water city gardens with chlorinated water and the gardens do very well. You need to add nitrogen to all gardens in some way, regardless of your water source. With chlorinated water, you may just have to add more N. A soil test is your best friend.