Question
I live in LasVegas Nevada its getting chilly now I bought a Tomato plant about a month or two ago and aboute 2-3 weeks ago the plants health began to decreace  I wrote another person inbetween those 1-3 they suggested i change the fertilizer and break of the lower leaves to cause it to grow. So I did and it start getting better then as it got chilly this week the leefs began to dry up little bumps at the very bottom tward the soil,the plant are growin i even saw a tiny tomato begining to grow yesterday but the every thing else still begin to dry up. what do i do.

Thank you

Answer
Anytime you buy a tomato plant (or any other plant) check to see if it is already rootbound.  Most tomatoes grown for sale have roots tightly bound in their little pots.  Tomatoes do not like not having, room to expand their roots, and once bound up they will not recover even when transplanted.  

When buying a plant look for a small one and carefully turn it upside down so the rootball will come out of the pot.  If it is all wound up tightly, look for one that just barely has roots showing through the dirt.  Hard to do.  That is why we start all our own seeds and transplant them into larger pots as soon as the roots begin to come through the sides of the soil. We transplant them three or four times until they are in five gallon pots if we are going to grow them in containers.  

The other thing tomatoes do not like is any temperature below 55 degrees.  They also prefer a very good, rich potting soil, like organic black gold.  They also need lots of nitrogen (we use fish fertilizer) until they begin to flower, and then you need to feed them once a month with an organic fertilizer.

They also prefer to be watered from the bottom.  Watering must be consistent, never too wet, never too dry.  You need to create a perfect growing medium for the plant.  It just takes a little practice.

This year we had our tomatoes in containers on our porch, and they only got sun until about noon.  They did better not being out in the intensity of the hot afternoon sun, and preferred the indirect light and the cooler afternoons of the covered porch.

For more information on gardening, please go to our website www.avant-gardening.com