Although i havent tried it yet myself, a product called "Serenade" is suppposed to help with all types of conditions,including Early and Late Blight, I have seen it for sale at ( Forgive me) Wal Mart, iam not sure where else it would be available. it is a pre mixed spray, that is supposed to be safe to use right up to harvest. It is available mail order from several on line retailer as well. here is the link to the "Serenade" site. www.agraquest.com

The first step is avoidance, protect your plants from the spores that cause Early Blight. Since those spores do come from the soil good mulches are necessary. Promoting rapid leaf drying and not getting the leaves of the plants wet can also help. To the best of my knowledge the only effective control for an organic gardener is copper fungicides, which if applied properly should not have that much adverse affect on the earthworm poopulation. I do not see that Serenade is listed as a control for Early Blight. Milk, a 50/50 mixture, is effective for controlling Powdery Mildew, Black Spot, and a few other fungal diseases as is baking soda. I find nothing about either as a control for Early Blight, however.

Your problem could be something as simple as over-watering rather than early blight as the symptoms can be somewhat similar. So without knowing what the real cause of the problem is it's difficult to know what to do. I could rule out Early Blight here in my garden simply because it is far too early for it to develop here but that is not be the case in your zone. Either way you have done what you can to slow it down if it is Early Blight (although spraying fungicides until dripping isn't rally recommended). Is it common for plants to recover from EB? No, although if fungicides are used regularly it can be slowed enough that they can continue to grow and produce some fruit. But plants can recover from over-watering so if it isn't EB then you need to evaluate the other possible causes and address them. You could try slightly increasing the duration of your watering but reducing the frequency by half for a week and see what happens. Meanwhile there is no need to rip out the plants. Dave

Iris, I asked about your general location for a reason, wondering if you live in fire ant territory. Your reaction and the pimple-like pustule are symptoms of fire ant stings. Fire ant stings are painful, from the initial stabbing for several hours after. The itching can be awful. I don't react like that anymore, but vividly recall my first experiences, when my leg swelled up like crazy, the sting site became red and hot. I developed a slight fever for a day, as I recall. Shortly after that first encounter, I was told about the meat tenderizer treatment and have never been troubled since. I use it for mosquito bites, too.