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Organic Gardening

Septoria leaf spot which way to handle it...

10 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
10 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
10 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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Dan- I didn't find anything on Carl's blog regarding Septoria Leaf Spot. He recommended leaving the plants alone in addition to continued mulching and ground watering. I will admit I pulled out 4 plants that looked pretty infected. The tomatoes haven't even come close to producing much of anything yet. Although they are starting to flower more so I hope they recover and I get some tomatoes. This is exactly why I go overkill when it comes to planting...Between the hail, heat, wind, cold, locusts,and diseases I barely get enough to put up for the winter. Looks like I may have a problem with my quinoa also....guess I will go look into that. ProvoGirl
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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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Re: the nutrient issue-- there are folks who post here who grow hydro who may see your post, but I would also ask the hydroponics forum in the meantime. The pale leaves with still-green veins looks like an early nitrogen and/or mag deficiency, but hydroponics is a whole different deal than growing in soil, As for the lesions... It doesn't look like spray damage to me, and it doesn't look much like Septoria. It might be the start of the concentric/target pattern in other diseases like EB or target spot, and botrytis is also a possibility, especially considering the paleness of the lesions. I did spray with a fungacide to kill aphids. Is it possible the fungacide spray caused this? Aphids are not fungus. I guess some fungicides may be somewhat toxic to aphids, and the simple physical action of liquid being sprayed and running off is good at knocking back aphids because it washes them off. A lot of people use just plain water and squirt off the aphids with a vigorous spray. That approach tends to work best outdoors, though, where there are beneficial predators to clean up many of the straggler aphids. If you continue to have aphid problems, you'll need to get something like insecticidal soap to more directly and efficiently address the aphids. Fungicide is an inefficient way to kill insects if it is effective at all. EDIT: if you're using neem, it can work on aphids AND fungus. That said, you apparently needed a fungicide anyway, so it worked out for the best. Are the spots limited to just the leaves in the photo or has it spread to other places on the plant? If only on the leaves in the photo or just a few leaves here and there, I would document well with photos in case you need to refer to them later, prune off the affected foliage, and repeat fungicide application in a week or so. What fungicide are you using?
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Hi, i would like to know if my cherry tomato plants have some sort of fungal disease or if its something else. Heres a pic of two cherry tomato plants with some gray sploches on the leaves. I noticed there is a dot in the middle of the circles which is specific to septoria. Anyone have any advice on how to treat this. Id appreciate the info.
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Kimmsr
10 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
10 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
10 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
10 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
10 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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