Why do tomato plant leaves curl? Vegetable farming Botswana

Why do leaves curl on tomato plants?

Tomato leaf curl can be caused by a variety of things, in Botswana red spider mite are often the problem, if you look at the under side of the leaf you will be able to see tiny red mites and often also see lots of spider webs too. Red spider mites often arrive on your farm by means of chicken manure, you can read more on that: Here

If you don’t see bugs on the underside of the leaves, it’could be that you have a fungus problem. You can tell if it’s a fungal problem by looking at the entire plant, especially the leaves. If the leaves are lighter in color than they should be for your variety of tomato, you probably have a viral or fungal infection. The same holds true if you have spotting on the leaves. New article on fungus coming soon will link it here,

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How to grow tomatoes in Botswana, part 2 soil preparation

How to grow tomatoes in Botswana, part 2 soil preparation.


When it comes to growing tomatoes successfully in Botswana a lot of planning and work is needed, especially if one is planning on growing tomatoes out in an open field.

Because it is so very hot here in Botswana one has to really prepare the ground before hand so that it holds moisture yet at the same time remains well drained. How does one do this ?

Well here is how,

1. First make sure each line where you plan on planting out your tomatoes is well dug or worked, you want the plants roots to be able to reach deep into the earth, this will help the plant not to dry out quickly and also to grow up firmly.

2. Tomatos like more sandy types of soil, so if your soil is on the clayey side you should try dig in more sand. Rember you don't want just clay and you don't just want sand you want a nice balance of the two at best.

3. If your soil has to much clay the water won't sink down to the rrootsas it should, and then if it rains the ground will become water logged and this will cause the plants to rot

4. Just sand, and the water will evaporate too quickly causing the plants to dry out in the middle of the day when it gets to hot, when it rains heavily plants may also end up getting washed away or blown over.

5. Another thing one wants to do is add compost to the soil, this will allow water to travel down to the roots, and will help the soil hold moisture longer and provide food for the plants

And thats part 2 of growing tomatoes in Botswana, if you have enjoyed this and found it helpful please follow us here, and share with others, thank you.

Tomato seedlings

Most tomato seeds take about a week to come up. however if the weather is cold it may take much longer. After the tomato seedlings appeared in the seed trays you should let them grow to the height of about 10 cm before you transplant them into the open fields. it is also best to plant them out in the late evening that way they can rest during the night and not have to burn in the sun.