og, Serenade and Plant Guardian are the same, made by Agraquest.
I started using Serenade and Spinosad (mixed together) for the first time this year. So far I have nothing on my tomatoes but TYLCV :-(

Epson just makes my tomatoes taste better as far as I can tell.

Corrie

I have never had a major problem with blight but this year I am going to grow 30 opalka plants and they are more succeptible to blight. I will be growing the plants on a trelis with a 2.5 x 3' spacing.
My uncle was told to put a tablespoon of epson salts in the hole when he plants to control blight. I also read that epson salts disolved in water make a good spray. Would this help and what ratio should be used?

*****
Blight is a general word tghat many folks use to describe a sick plant, but one needs to know what specific bad bug is doing the destruction. Are you referring to diseases of the foliage or are you referring to systemic diseases such as Verticillium? Fusarium is a major one but you wouldn't have that one in Ohio.

Or by blight do you mean a black area at the blossom end of the fruits that's called Blossom End Rot ( BER), if this, then Epsom salts is not going to help and nor will it help with any foliage diseases either.

(I have read that Serenade is a good product for blight.)

I think that would depend on what you're calling blight.

(I am also considering a product called Plant Guardian from gardensalive.com It is said to protect against spot, mildew, rust, gray mold, leaf blight, scab It suppresses downy mildew, fire blight, early and late blight, black rot, greasy spot Has anyone used plant guardian before)

I would question the claims made by that product, I really would. And again, I think you need to knhow what you mean by blight, meaning, a foliage disease or a systemic disease or BER.

Hope that helps. ( smile)

Carolyn

Here are some previous discussions on EARLY blight you might want to browse through.

I'm not sure why you feel that Opalka is more prone to EB than any other variety. It isn't a problem that has been noted or commented on before here - that I know of. And since Carolyn is the one who introduced the variety I think she would note if that was the case. I have never found it to be true with my plants.

The use of epsom salts is not related to blight control. While I am an advocate of using it, its benefits are not generally "blight" prevention related but directed to overall plant health and micronutrients.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Early blight discussions

I am definitely refering to Early and Late Blight, sorry for the confusion. I thought it was Carolyn that mentioned last year that Opalka was more succeptible to Early Blight than other tomatoes.

I read a response that says spraying with an anti fungal from day one will eliminate any possible problem so I will do that.

if you space the rows farther apart, it will create better air flow and help reduce wet foliage. Both pathogens must have moisture to thrive. So avoid wetting foliage when watering. Also mulch heavily to reduce the inoculumn from early blight from splashing up unto the plant during rains.

I am definitely refering to Early and Late Blight, sorry for the confusion. I thought it was Carolyn that mentioned last year that Opalka was more succeptible to Early Blight than other tomatoes.
I read a response that says spraying with an anti fungal from day one will eliminate any possible problem so I will do that.

*****

Early Blight ( A. solani) is different from Late Blight ( P. infestans) and they have very different symptoms and the prognosis for the latter is very serious, even with a good anti-fungal such as Daconil.

Early Blight and late Blight can both appear either early or late in the season. But as I said above, are due to different pathogens, have different symptoms and different prognoses.

I have said in the past that many paste varieties are more susceptible to BER than others, but I haven't said that Opalka was special in that regard. ( smile)

Carolyn