Morning all,

After reading the Tomato Problem Solver 2, I am now more confused than ever.

I have 2 Early Girl Tomato plants in a raised bed that were purchased in the same flat from one of those big box stores. One was showing signs of wilting for the past 3 days. As of last nite, some of the leaves were developing tan areas (too big to call spots). I also noticed some raised white bumps along the stem close to the soil that ran up for about 4 inches. So, being a newbie, I hacked the thing down, and removed the roots.

About 2 inches above the soil line, I noticed one of the main stems was completly hollow. The second stem had turned brown in the centre. The 3 tiny fruits it managed to produce had the same white spots just under the skin. The roots appeared normal. Now, the other Early Girl planted beside it is not showing any signs of disease at all, and is double in size.

Do these symptoms indicate F. Wilt or Bacterial Canker? Or am I way off on this one? I'm assuming that my zuke, melons, cukes and other tomatoes (Beefsteak and BetterBoy) are at risk.

Should I look forward to losing everything in my raised bed?

If so, I do have tomatoes, beans and herbs in containers, so I guess all is not lost.

I would have posted pictures, but don't own a digital camera.

I feel really bad about this as I had given the other 2 plants to my neighbour and would hate to know that I've contaminated her garden. Her garden has been established for the last 6 years.

As always, I appreciate your thoughts.

h.