We’ve all been there, you’ve spent hours and hours painstakingly growing your tomato plants, only to find that the leaves seem to be taking on a strange purple hue.
This can be a source of horror for many gardeners, as the first thought is that something has gone horribly wrong.
Before you jump to conclusions, we’d recommend making sure that the variety of tomato that you’re growing is meant to have green leaves.
This is because some species of tomato plants will naturally have purple leaves when they grow, and if so, is not a cause for concern.
But, what if your tomato plant had green leaves up until now, but they’ve only recently begun to transform into a strange, purple color?
If this is the case, don’t panic, because there are several different ways that you can solve this problem, depending on the cause.
Below, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the main reasons why your tomato leaves appear to be turning purple.
To find out more, simply keep reading below, as we take a closer look.
1. Your Soil Is Too Cold
One of the main reasons that your tomato leaves may be turning purple, is simply because the soil surrounding them is too cold.
As many of your avid gardeners out there will already know, when growing your own fruits and vegetables, you need to make sure that the soil is warm enough so that the plant is able to absorb all of the nutrients in order to thrive.
If your soil is too cold, it’s not able to adequately absorb the nutrients, and therefore, the leaves may turn purple.
If this is the case, then don’t worry, because as soon as the weather warms up, and warms the soil in the process, your leaves should return to their normal color without any effort on your part.
2. Too Much Sun
Sometimes, your tomato leaves may turn purple simply because they’re getting too much sun. Just like we as human beings burn when we’ve been in the sun for too long, so can your precious plants.
The sun may dye them a different color, and they may turn crispy too. If this is the case, then we’d recommend helping them along with a general fertilizer.
3. Vitamin Deficiency
One of the key things that you should be looking towards is making sure that your tomatoes are getting enough potassium and magnesium in order to thrive.
Both of these help along the process of photosynthesis, and help your plant to absorb the food it’s being given. Without the addition of added vitamins, your plant will not be able to absorb the relevant nutrients.
If it’s not getting enough of this vitamin, the leaves will turn purple or brown, and in some cases, might even curl up and become incredibly dry.
If you think that this might be behind your leaves turning purple, then we’d recommend picking up some organic compost with these vitamins included, and mixing it in with the soil that’s already there.
4. Your Plant Is Infected
Another reason why your plants’ leaves may be turning an unseemly purple, is because they’ve developed some kind of infection. One of the most common infections that occurs in tomato plants is called TSWV.
This will cause spots to form on the surface of your tomato plant leaves. In order to treat this, you’ll need to purchase insecticidal soap. Continue to treat your plant until the spots are gone.
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