Growing Tomatoes? Say Goodbye To Root Rot With One Easy Addition To The Soil

The roots of your tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants need plenty of room to grow, but compacted soil can limit their ability to produce healthy fruit and also promote pathogens. When tomato plants are growing slowly, wilting, or dying, they may have Phytophthora root rot, a fungal soilborne disease. Managing the amount of water the plants get is the best way to say goodbye to root rot.

Adding perlite – a lightweight product made by heating volcanic glass — improves aeration and allows water to move freely through the soil. It is also a common ingredient in the soilless mixes used for growing tomatoes in container gardens. Another disease known as Fusarium crown and root rot also causes stunting, wilting, and death, but it can't be controlled through water management.

Perlite is inexpensive, reusable, and has a neutral pH, so it won't change the acidity or alkalinity of your garden's soil. As a rule, you should measure the pH of your soil to make sure it's in the 6.0 to 6.5 range that tomatoes require. Perlite's small, white granules have tiny pores that hold water for the plant's roots while also retaining oxygen in the soil. In addition to garden and container use, perlite is an excellent medium for propagation. Bags of the product are readily available at nurseries or big box store

Tomato plants require steady drainage without fluctuations in moisture. The soil shouldn't stay soggy or allow water to pool on the surface. Constantly damp soil surfaces can also lead to buckeye rot, a disease that occurs when the fruit touches the soil. Since consistency in the amount of water tomato plants get is critical in controlling root rot, consider installing a soaker hose.

Tomatoes need one to two inches of water a week, either from rainfall or irrigation, and they benefit more from a couple of daily soakings than from single light watering. To measure your water delivery, place a container under whatever irrigation system you're using and see how long it takes for the container to accumulate two inches of water.

Perlite is almost indispensable for maintaining proper soil moisture when working with dense, compact dirt. Before you plant tomatoes, loosen the garden soil to a depth of six to twelve inches either by hand or with a tiller. Mix equal parts peat moss or compost with perlite and work it into the tilled soil. If a soil test shows your garden is lacking in nutrients, consider that peat moss helps with water retention while compost adds nutrients. The amount you need depends on your garden's size, but generally, rake the perlite mixture into the top few inches of soil.