Tomato Plant issues

I know you aren't really thinking about growing plants in December. However....during the off season is when I have more time to blog and explain gardening tips & issues. I will not be teaching gardening classes this coming spring, possibly again in 2013, so listen up ! =0 Both photos here are of late blight on tomato fruit & foliage. There are many different diseases-blights-mildews that garden plants are susceptible to, but the steps for cure & prevention are basically the same.

How do problems spread? They all have their own mode of travel. Some spores like that of late blight travel on wind, some live in the soil and travel by water after it rains, some issues like 'potato scab' are soil borne diseases which can be initiated by horse manure. Once you have it, it NEVER goes away.

How can we prevent some of these problems?

-start with healthy plants

-choose resistant varieties

-allow correct spacing for air flow, 3-4 sq. ft. per tomato plant

-place straw mulch around the bottom to prevent moisture loss, and reduce splash back on

plants from rain & hand watering

-always water at the base of the plant, keeping foliage dry when possible

-water in the morning if you have a choice, this allows the plant to dry off better, vs. staying

wet through the cooler nights

-never use sprinklers, they waste water and are perfect disease spreaders

-water only 2 times weekly, applying 1-2" total per week, minus rain

-do not water daily!

-soon after planting (within days) start a regular spray program w/a fungicide. REGULAR &

TIMELY applications will likely prevent most of your plant issues. Fungicides are only a

preventitive....once you have problems it's too late. You can find fungicides at the garden

centers.

-crop rotation is not that effective for home gardeners. Unless you garden is 1/4 acre, you are

still dealing with a basic monoculture

-remove diseased fruits & leaves as you notice them, careful not touch good leaves with your

hands until washing or you will be spreading it around. When 30% or more of the plant is

affected, pull up and get in the trash.

-NEVER till until your garden debris or compost veggie plants. The average compost heap is a brew pot of disease & insect eggs just waiting to re-infect your garden in the spring. Burn or disppose in the trash. Tilling under just helps to 'winter' it over until you till it up again in the spring, and the cycle begins.... You will often at this blog, read about NOT composting. I find it is the hardest point to hammer home to gardeners, because that is what grandma did, and they have done for years! It is the single biggest correction you can likely make to help improve your bottom line in the garden, and it's easy to correct. I am not against 'correctly' running a compost heap that will heat up in 2 weeks and break down. The problem is the correct layering & percentages of green & brown materials, the regular turning & watering. It is really simple, but seldom happens correctly and instead becomes a toxic heap. If all this sounds like too much work, just stop the farm or market next year and get our tomatoes!