Tomato plants have a reputation for being garden favorites, but they can be surprisingly dramatic behind the scenes. One day they look lush and green, and the next they start dropping leaves or refusing to set fruit. The tricky part is that the real problems often hide in plain sight, blending into normal garden routines. Small mistakes in watering, spacing, or even weather timing can quietly pile up stress on these plants.
Once stress builds, tomatoes stop focusing on fruit and start focusing on survival, which is never good news for harvest season. The great news here is that most of these stressors are easy to spot once they are pointed out.