Need help with my tomatoes

I never thought tomatoes are that hard to care for but maybe I'm doing too much...

Few months ago I decided to garden, starting with herbs. Sadly I already killed my peppermint plant by over watering it and now it looks like I'm killing the tomatoes. Help!

I bought the little plant and put it in a large pot right away because I thought they are growing fast. Then the first tiny little green tomato started to form and I ran outside every morning to check on it,

watching it grow. I read I need to water them well and I did almost every evening. Then I noticed the smell. I drilled more drainage holes in the pot and stopped watering for a while to let it dry. Once the soil didn't feel wet anymore I started watering again every other day. Now the leaves are yellow and I don't know if it's because i over watered or if the plant isn't getting enough water...help!

Should I re pot into a smaller pot? What am I doing wrong? My plants are doing great but the herbs are a different story. I'm in Southern California and the plant gets more than 8 hours of full sun.

you did right by putting it in a big pot, you also did right by easing up on the water, as they like to dry out just a bit before they get more (sticking your finger into the soil and if it feels dry on down by several inches then you can water. The yellowing leaves may be the damage still being revealed from when you were over watering, but now that you are adjusting your watering schedule you should see improvement in the new growth, unfortunately the already existing growth will not revert back to a normal appearance. That smell may very well be some crown rot that started to happen.

This message was edited Jul 6, 2016 5:58 PM

Thank you! Never thought a tomato plant would get me to worry...

im actually having watering problems myself with mine, but its been against my own will, lol. For us we have gotten so much rain it is absolutely insane, im surprised my area has not flooded. looks like i may lose a second plant soon (out of 5) to these boggy conditions

well, it's the exact opposite here in California...

Hi clara33, have you ever tried using E Buckets ? I used to have problems growing tomatoes but since I began using them I have good success.Here are some pictures of them , the yellow ones are Kitty litter pails that my friends saved for me, and the white one are Mayonnaise pails that I got from a Deli owner.

I tried to see if this picture is clearer.

Hi cytf, I have not but that's a good idea. I'm pretty much just starting the gardening fun and have a lot to learn. Thanks for the tip. I keep running out of pots so this will be a good option :)