Early blight on tomatoes... what to do with the soil next?
anchita
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
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John D Zn6a PIT Pa
4 years agoanchita
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Is this early blight on two of my tomato plants?
Comments (5)What should I do? Treat with fungicide? Remove leaves? Pull plants? I have 7 other tomato plants, planted at least 3 feet apart. These are two of the biggest. Other veggies are nearby, including peppers, but they aren't susceptible, are they? And how would tomato plants get this? You'll find much more info about this over on the Tomato Forum here linked at the top of this forums front page so I hope you don't mind if I just hit the highlights. Early Blight or, in this case, Septoria Leaf Spot are the 2 most common tomato diseases and both are caused by fungus found in the soil and in the air. They are both so common that the real issue is how to be one of the lucky few who avoid getting them, not how you got them. :) The only way to avoid getting them is to use a regular program of fungicide spraying from the day you plant them outside. As to what to do now, first you immediately strip off any and all affected leaves and dispose of them outside the garden and you continue to do this as the affected leaves develop but no you don't need to pull the plants. They will still produce. Then you begin a regular weekly fungicide spraying program to slow it. Fungicides won't cure it but they can prevent new leaves from becoming infected. Follow the label instructions on which ever fungicide you choose for mixing and application rates. Dave...See Moretomato blight - ok so what do i do?
Comments (6)If your plants have Late Blight, here is a FAQ from Cornell that should answer some of your questions: http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/Facilities/lihrec/vegpath/lbfaq.pdf The Late Blight that infects tomatoes does not infect cucumbers. Your cukes have something else wrong with them. Unless Late Blight is in the very early stages on a plant, it's not treatable. If there were just a few leaves with very small spots, plus no spots on the stems and a week of hot dry weather ahead, you'd have a chance. If there are more than a few leaves affected, black blotches on multiple stems, and the weather continues to be rainy, you might as well call it a season. All of the treatments that are available for the home gardener to use are preventative. They have to be applied before the foliage becomes infected. Organic sprays are very feeble against a virulent disease like Late Blight, they just aren't very effective. If the plants can't be saved, they should be destroyed immediately to reduce the number of Late Blight spores floating around. Late Blight is an airborne disease -- the spores from your plants can be carried for miles on air currents to infect other peoples' plants and farmers' fields miles away. Double-bag the discarded plants in sealed plastic bags and leave them in the hot sun for a day or two if possible to solarize them, then dispose of them in the trash. Unblemished fruit is safe to eat. You don't need to do anything about the soil except make sure you've cleaned up all the infected tomato and potato plants. The corn meal won't make any difference. Late Blight will infect potato tubers if the spores get washed down through the soil onto the tubers, but it does not travel through a potato or tomato plant to infect the roots from within. It does not live in the soil in zone 6. You can plant tomatoes and potatoes there next year, because the spores cannot survive being frozen and when the soil freezes this winter any spores that are on the soil surface will be killed. Poor drainage may encourage Late Blight by keeping the humidity high around the plants, but rain is a much bigger factor. Late Blight spores germinate and grow on wet foliage and in humid conditions. Keeping the foliage dry will do a lot to keep foliage infections like Late Blight, Early Blight, and Septoria in check....See Moreearly tomato blight
Comments (2)I have the same issue - I am leaving the tomatoes until they get a first blush (just start turning color) and then harvest them. I let them ripen on my window-sill in the sunshine. So far, so good. Getting a much better harvest than I thought I would. I have also had to battle a prolific amount of hornworms this year as well. Not the best year for a summer garden but gotta look at the brought side and be thankful for what we get. Here is on of my window-sills:...See MoreContainer Tomato-Late Blight-What to do with Soil?
Comments (2)Thank you very much, Carolyn. What worries me are all the home growers that never even saw the news about this bout of late blight. All those spores happily spread for goodness only knows how many miles. Now I'm trying to concentrate on what the smaller eastern black nightshade and climbing nightshade look like. We've got woods behind my father's house that are full of Chinese Wisteria that's taken down many trees. I just finished pulling Pigweed from the property only to find it flourishing in the woods and wood margins in entire neighborhood. In third year of trying to control garlic mustard which should take another 5-7 years if my father keeps the house that long. I know I'm fighting losing battle if it's all around one house but I can't stop myself. Guess there's not much I can do for one home lot if spores are in surrounding area and people just don't know it or have dumped their "dead plants" in the woods. I drenched with Daconil after first"late blight" bulletin. I should've reapplied during the season but tomatoes had so many deep top cracks right down to visible "meat" I didn't want it to penetrate the fruits. I wouldn't feed anyone badly cracked tomatoes with Daconil drench. I'll use the container mix to expand gardens as I do with rest from the many flower & herb containers I have. You're a peach...in addition to your tomato expertise! I've got the darn bush in double black plastic bags which isn't going to get much sun this week to heat up and kill spores. Had to double bag after chipmunks chewed through first bag and disgusting ooze from infected fruits ran out all over the driveway. Thanks again....See Morelilyd74 (5b sw MI)
4 years agoPeter (6b SE NY)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agolilyd74 (5b sw MI)
4 years agoJohn D Zn6a PIT Pa
4 years agoRobin Morris
4 years agoyolos - 8a Ga. Brooks
4 years agonanelle_gw (usda 9/Sunset 14)
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoRobin Morris
4 years agoanchita
4 years agogorbelly
4 years agogorbelly
4 years ago
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