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Organic Gardening

Septoria leaf spot which way to handle it...

9 years ago

Ok I pretty much ruled out that I have early blight and know I have septoria leaf spot. My plan of action is to clear out all branches and throw in trash, disinfect tool, make sure mulch is covering every spot and any weed is removed. My organic community garden seems to only allow Organic Gardening Bi-Carb Old Fashioned Fungicide (potassium bicarbonate) for this issue. I was going to buy a foliar sprayer, add some of the above to water and spray remaining good leaves onto plants at dusk. Someone suggested milk, water and baking soda instead. Not sure the garden will go for milk. Anyone use either methods and did it work? The strange thing is, is that my plants are in great shape. Really green, robust and thick. Only a few of the bottom branches have it. Thanks in advance!

This post was edited by gardengal13 on Wed, Jul 17, 13 at 20:52

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Comments (7)

Marshallkey
9 years ago
Same problem here . I wish I could help you but I'm looking for the same answer. I'll be watching for a reply. Good Luck !
springtogarden
Original Author
9 years ago
Is it just a bad year for this? I have never had this problem with my tomatoes ever. Hoping to nip it in the bud. Wishing you luck too :)!
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Your plants have Bacterial Speck IMO but the treatment for all the leaf diseases is the same - strip off affected foliage ASAP, cease any overhead watering/sprinkling, and spray with fungicides on a regular basis to slow the progression of the disease till you can get a harvest. There is no "cure". And yes there are a number of ORMI approved fungicides available although their benefits are questionable when compared to chemical controls. As already mentioned you can learn much more about all this over on the forum for growing tomatoes here. Dave
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Here's a good overview of the disease & its management: http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/pests-and-problems/diseases/fungal-spots/septoria-leaf-spot-of-tomato.aspx Here is a link that might be useful: septoria on tomatoes
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I honestly try very hard NOT to be overparanoid about things like this. I do not ever use anything in my garden except for homemade compost. I don't even add things to my soil as most gardeners do. I am also the person who uses steam to clean her house instead of chemicals when at all possible. I also figure though that for the times I do need to buy things in the stores, like right now when my garden is being moved and my canned goods are running out, I have little control over what they have done to the plants they grew my food on and they probably did WAY worse than a little copper fungicide. I don't have pets, but I do have a now 3 and 4 year old. Last year when they were 2 and 3 I didn't let them in the garden for the day I sprayed , but after that I let them back in. BUT, my kids also don't munch on leaves (well not of the tomato plants anyway) so I am not sure how I would feel about that. I am not sure what your plan for next year is, but I did my research before deciding to move my garden for other reasons. I was going to do solar sterilization. You will obviously need to do something otherwise you will have the same issue next year that you have this year. I will add a link below to solar sterilization. I haven't tried it, but with my tomatoes dying off early I figured I had enough time to cut my losses cover the garden up and bake the soil if I needed to get it ready for this year. I would be curious if anyone on GW has tried it. Here is a link that might be useful: Soil solarization
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I don't compost any of my tomato plants, healthy or diseased, I pull them all after first frost and dump them in the pasture for the horses to eat. And I rotate the tomatoes from one end of the garden to the other every year- and since I added a new corn patch this year it will be a three year rotation. Between that and pruning the lower foliage to prevent soil contact and using drip irrigation (and living in an area with almost no rain in the summer) I haven't lost a plant yet this year and all 40 tomato plants look very healthy.
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Kimmsr
9 years ago
The fungus spores that cause Septoria Leaf Spot live on the various nightshade plants so due diligence in cleanup of plant debris is essential.
Perhaps the link below can be of some help.

Here is a link that might be useful: Septoria leaf spot
springtogarden
Original Author
9 years ago
I have removed all icky branches and tonight at dusk will began spraying the potassium. Thanks for the link! Someone was saying that it might be bacterial speck. It started only on the bottom though so would that make it more likely to be septoria? Lots of yellowing and spots. Didn't take a picture before I threw them out. I will grab a leaf if I find one I missed and take it to a local shop who has offered to ID what it is. Never had this happen to me with tomatoes. Thanks again!
myluck
9 years ago
I took preventive mesasures this year. Trimmed all the leaves off to about a foot off the ground so air could circulate under the plant and keep it dry. And I am spraying the whole plant with 20% milk and water once a week. so far so good. Its been a wet year too.
springtogarden
Original Author
9 years ago
I am definitely doing that next year. Preventative from day one. Never had a problem at my place. First time gardening in a community and in a raised-bed.
lshx71
9 years ago
I posted in MN site, but reposting here:

I've been a veggie gardener for years(with some on & offs due to moving), but this is my second year in my new beds - about 40 of them. Last year I got off to a late start due to the time it took to builds the beds and fence & ended up with powdery mildew that killed my cukes and this year, I'm pretty sure my tomatoes have septoria leaf spot. In all my years of gardening, this has never happened!

I want to stay organic and I am deciding if I should pull my plants and start solarizing or just wait it out. I am wondering if rather than solarizing, has anyone ever tried using a blow torch to heat soil? I'm just worried if I don't solarize with plastic now, there won't be enough high heat to attempt it later and the blow torch could come in handy?

My other idea is to replace my soil - was it bad compost/manure? As I said, this is my second year in my new large garden, I always had a city lot before with about a 10x20 space. Maybe I'm just more susceptible due to the open air and spores traveling? I have drip irrigation and I prune my suckers so air flow was good. I don't mulch, perhaps that would have prevented it?

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