Please note spinosad though it approved for organic farming doesn’t mean it can’t be harmful. For example sulfur is approved for fungal issues but you don’t want to eat or drink it or get it on your skin, body, eyes. etc. You have detergents, things like floor cleaners, alcohols, bug sprays for indoors, etc but they will make you sick or kill you if ingested. Doesn’t mean because it’s approved for home use that it’s safe if used off label directions. People buy stuff all the time and never think to read the label or check the website for complete instructions. SPINOSAD is highly toxic to bees and I worry about it around any pollinators or even my hummers — anything around the flowers or pollen. I would never use when bees etc are active. So I use it before sun comes up and after sunset when most bees etc have gone to nests or settled for the night. Keep in mind besides the bees which you need to pollinate your veggies and fruits or even to get seed pods for self seeding plants or for seed to harvest and re- plant — if you are a butterfly lover — spinosad will kill them. So don’t use it around butterfly plants where they will lay eggs. Know the butterflies you want to keep, what plant they lay eggs on that then feed on the same plants as they become bigger caterpillars that then grow up to be beautiful butterflies. Check the National Pesticide Cemter for this synthetic man made chemical. Note — Spinosad topical suspension is a novel neurotoxin indicated for the treatment of head lice in children 6 months and older. I’m sure it’s effective but we need to keep in mind this is a relative new product (2003 I believe) and we haven’t had the time to see what it might cause 50 years down the road. I would use it in some cases but just know the way it works - some of the bugs still have to chew on your plant to get it in their system. Others like bees can be effective by just contact spray at that moment. Others have to eat the leaf etc and it stops their digestion and they die from starvation. It’s registered in Canada for example and as in other countries more careful with their citizens who can’t use even a fraction of the chemicals we are allowed — but in Canada it can’t be used for organic gardens or farm operations. S. spinosa was isolated from soil collected inside a nonoperational sugar mill rum still in the Virgin Islands. There are 20 natural forms and over 200 synthetic forms. We are all smart enough to know we are no longer getting the natural forms at this point. It’s all commercially produced synthetically produced. I don’t know how they get away with saying it’s natural whether it’s organic or not. It’s used all over the world for many issues.

Dave, while searching for a solution to my vegetable plant problem, I came across your answer. What has stumped me is your statement about not drenching the leaves with insecticide. I was under the belief that I had to do so in order to control the disease. My cucumber plant leaves were showing some powdery mildew and yellow spots. Then, the problem suddenly accelerated and the vines have stopped producing. The eggplants and tomatoes developed a different problem. In the last 2 or 3 three days, many of their leaves suddenly started to curl up and turned black. I am thinking of using Ortho vegetable and desease control. May be you can give me some tip on this, too. I have also been noticing giant size geen beetles on my tomatoes. Are they spreading the disease? They do eat away tomatoes,though.

Spray thoroughly once and the wait 7 to 10 days before spraying again. Be sure to spray the whole plant, including top and underside of leaves and stems. Pay attention to the weather (don't spray right before rain or when leaves are wet; dont spray when it's windy) and time of day (any pesticide will burn plants in full sun; spray at end of the day). Read and follow the directions exactly (don't use more or less than is called for; don't add anything to the solution that isn't called for on the lable). Wash any produce from sprayed plants before eating it. Wear gloves and a mask (a kerchief will do.)

I have reached the same conclusion as you and this year I am trying the fungicide early &often approach here in southern New Hampshire. In theory you can do it without spraying just by spacing plants so they dry out, avoiding contact between the soil and tomato leaves, avoiding splashback from watering, etc. But as we know, theory does not take New England weather into account, or the short growing season. I have decided to apply all those good techniques and spray on top of it. An rainy spring like we had last year in New England and all that theory and high hopes goes out the window. Then it becomes either spray the tomato plants or start losing plants to the fungus. I sprayed last year when mold started to hit but too late, so this year I am being proactive like you.