Your tomatoes look GREAT!

Looking really great!

I wouldn't worry about top watering - they look fine to me.

I would go to Home Depot or Lowes right away and get some Daconil. Due to the wet and cool weather, we've really been hit hard this Season with fungal disease. Daconil will help protect the leaves from the spores and other nasty mildews, etc. It is a preventative - - not a cure, so if you wait to spray it until you see leaf problems - - it is too late!

I wish I had started a spray routine once per week back in May. But I will know better next year.

Great job with your 'Tainers!!! Remember, I get 10% of your pickings as a Royalty for the design*******

Raybo

Also, Put a 1 inch layer of bark fines over the black plastic, as this will shield it from direct sunshine. If the faces of the 'Tainers are getting a lot of direct sun, a section of cheap bamboo shade curtain can be placed in front of them, or you can wrap it around the 3 exposed sides.

What fertilizer did you use?

Raybo

Thanks Ray, that means a lot, especially coming from you!

When you have a minute, would you look at my post over on pests forum and let me know if you have any ideas?

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tompests/msg0712502716923.html

OK, re the spraying - call me slow (and paranoid).. to clarify - should I be using Daconil instead of or in addition to the Serenade? I just sprayed that again this morning (3rd or 4th time since your last prescription :) If yes, and when should I apply now? Next ? on that - just behind the 'tainers is a fence covered in passion flowers where the bees and butterflies live. Is it safe for them (and my future pollination?)

I also have some flying pests - not sure if they're a "problem" yet so haven't been keen to spray the neem (lol).. I was considering doing late today when it cools off. How many things can I spray together or within what timeframe?

Re fert - I used Dr. Earth in some and FoxFarms Peace of Mind in others. I'm kicking myself because I catalogued what I did with each tub and LOST THE DARN FILE! so now it's up to my memory - which is useless nowadays - as to what is where to note for next year, oh well.

I do have the mulch on top of plastic (as of last week) and noticed that the tops of the soil is pretty crunchy so top watered a couple of times but I won't anymore. The roots are CRAZY just under there! makes me question whether the 16gal tubs are big enough for next year.

I have a portion of the future harvest set aside for you - although I'll be embarrassed to send as, my guess is, they'll pale in comparison to yours!

I was up in Campbell a few weeks ago and couldn't believe how HOT it is up there! I'm so sorry about your losses - wearing black for you in mourning :(
You must be canning up a storm though with the amazing crops so far though!

Thank you again, you're the bee's knees!!!

Thank you Rhizo! I appreciate and eat up the kudos (as I'm not enjoying any toms yet!!!)

newly,

I would alternate spraying with Serenade one Saturday, then Daconil the next Saturday. Late in the day is best. These are Fungicides so they will do little harm to the bees. But another reason I spray late in the day when most of the bees have gone back into their hives.

Keep an eye out for insects - small ones in particular. We've been hit up here with something called Psyllids, which are very tough to get rid of. Just hope you don't get them down there in San Diego.

To test water moisture in the top range of the Potting Mix, stick your finger about 3 inches deep, and see if the Mix is moist. If not, then occasional top watering for a brief instant is recommended.

Keep up the good work!! Your's look better than mine today.

Raybo

Thanks again Ray for being by tomato sponsor :)

Spent the afternoon yesterday doing research on the psyllid.. evil little beast! thanks for the heads up. Thankfully, as of yet, I don't see any or evidence but will add that to my daily inspection list.

It's too early to tell, but I could be having the beginnings of the unidentified problem from the BW on a couple other plants (which is not surprising). I'm wondering if I have a deficiency of some sort. I'll keep digging for answers on that.

Have a great day and a good soak in the hot tub for me!

Cheers,

Stephanie

newly,

You may want to post your disease pictures on this Forum, as there doesn't seem to be many visitors to the Forum where you posted them originally. I have seen similar symptoms to what you show in my tomatoes this Season, so hopefully, someone knowledgeable will answer.

BTW, kind of cool up here with temps in the mid-70s. Hot Tubbing will have to wait as I am pulling out my first corn crop remnants and a getting the 'Tainers fertilized for the second corn crop for October harvesting. Never ends.....

Raybo

newly,

Sorry - I meant post your tomato disease photos on the Growing Tomatoes Forum - not the Container Forum.

Raybo

Raybo,

Do you repeat spraying in the case of rain? I don't mean an all day rain but my part of the world is commonly pelted with a 20-30 minute t-shower once or twice a day in the afternoon or evening.

Alberta, Canada is typically a very dry climate but this year has been all about humidity and I'm having some issues with EB and/or septoria for the first time.

Cheers

wulfe,

I am not the expert here as Carolyn is, but from what I recall of her posts on Daconil, I believe she said that rain washes off Daconil, and it needs to be reapplied weekly.

Raybo

Thanks Raybo.. hopefully Carolyn chimes in. I'm going to be pretty grumpy if I have to respray these things everytime it spits for 20 mins. :)

Newly, I bought the cheapest bamboo shades at Lowes or HD, can't remember which. Folded in 1/2 or doubled them over, however you want to think about it, making it twice as thick. Then stood in front of the tainers, just wrapping abit aroud the ends. As my tainers faced due south, this knocked of 90% of direct sunlight. BER took an about face and the plants did a lot better, so I highly recommend some sort of root/tainer shading device. Good luck. Your plants look asoundingly great. I've started over for fall around here. Some leaf curl is vexing me, but, more on that if it continues.

Thank you all for your input... sorry for my lag in posting, I've been pretty bummed out with the whole thing.. but I haven't given up! I did the reed "fence" to shade (that was another exercise in patience as it nearly impossible to drive a stake into my rock hard soil, but it's up finally).

Reluctantly sprayed with Daconil this weekend so we'll see. I'm not sure how quickly the kidz will respond - positively or negatively - to the "snack" of gypsum I started adding to the reservoir 1/wk but another plant's leaves are now all yellow and have lost a few more fruit to BER.

I was SO stinking exclted because I got my first blush of a CP last week. Left it on the vine one more day to find it on the ground in the morning with a huge worm-a-pillar happily residing inside :( I wonder how many more have taken up residence via the stem... time will tell! So far the only maters I've enjoyed are the handful of Sun Golds in my Topsy Turvy (I know, y'all are shuddering at the thought but I did one for drill)... good news that they are SO yummy, just wish I had a better yield.

Am wondering if I should give the ET plants a blast of liquid fert to help the limpers along? or should I just let them alone for now?

Raybo - I'll post the pics on the tom board in a bit. You're right, not ONE response over thar in the P&D forum. I was afraid to cause a stir by posting anywhere else but will because it may help others...

How are the psyllids? have you gotten them under control?