I made a typo in the heading - should have been "Are they past all help?" The posting did not receive any replys. It might have been becuase of the typo. I really need some help.

Take a good look at the leaves on your plants and see if they have black, brown, or yellow spots before they turn yellow. A pic or a good detailed description of spots on diseased leaves is helpful.

Also look at the post below entitled, "HELP!!! Tomato Problem Solver 2". It has pics of many common foliage problems and you can see if any of them look like yours. Maybe your yellowing foliage problem isn't one that Serenade is intended for. Please don't post in that thread, just look at the pics and come back to this thread for more comments or questions.

There are numerous threads here that ask about yellowing leaves. Like yours, the title of the thread doesn't include the words yellow leaves, so you have to click on a bunch of these threads in your search. But one of them may already have the answer to your question, or at least some helpful info.

For powdery mildew, at least for next year, try setting the plants farther apart and pruning them a little. Powdery mildew grows best where there is high humidity and poor air circulation. For this year, try keeping plants staked and pruned so there is better air circulation. Plants that are related to tomatoes, such as eggplants, potatoes, nightshade, Chinese lantern, and nicotiana, get the same kind of mildew and can pass it to your tomatoes. So use your judgment as to whether you want to grow those plants.

The article below suggests some controls you can try for mildew. I don't know if any of them are organic.

-- BC --

Here is a link that might be useful: Powdery mildew of tomatoes

I looked at all the pictures and can't say that any are exactly like mine. There are some small light yellow spots on the leaves before they turn brown and crisp with more yellow. Wish I could do the picture thing! The stems don't seem to have any problems. I do have some tomatoes ripening on the almost dead vines, though they are small in size. Seeing I can't plant in any other location next year, is there anything I can add to the soil this fall that will help next years crop? Should I use Daconil as a preventative? Is there any variety that is more disease resistant than others?

I'll let BC continue with you, but wanted to ask one question and make two comments.

Roughly where are you in NYS b/c both BC and I are also zone 4/5 NYS growers.

Neither Messenger or Serenade have a track record yet as to what they can do other than supposedly increase general tolerance to some diseases, but I've not seen any data yet to indicate how useful they might be on tomatoes.

And now, for BC to continue, unless she wants me to chime in here but all is well so far as I see it.

Aiaral, perhaps my fault for not answering sooner but I've been doing almost all the disease threads here the past two years and also this year and I've been leaving some threads with the hopes that others would pitch in and help and I'm so glad BC has.

Carolyn

First off, I seriously doubt Serenade or Messenger contributed to the problem.

"I looked at all the pictures and can't say that any are exactly like mine."

Frankly, they rarely do look 'exactly' like anyone's problem -- keep in mind those pictures are snapshots of one point in time.

"There are some small light yellow spots on the leaves before they turn brown and crisp with more yellow"

That just sounds like it could be another symptom of your PM problem to me. The top of the leaf will have the yellow spot, while the mildew can be on the bottom. See link and read entire description.

Here is a link that might be useful: tomato problem solver - powdery mildew

I've been leaving some threads with the hopes that others would pitch in and help and I'm so glad BC has.

And you as well Suze b/c you've also been helping out.

Carolyn, off to finish a 467 page book which has to be read by Tuesday.

Sorry to say, at the moment BC is fresh out of ideas, but if I come up with anything new I'll for sure come back and post it here.

In the meantime, maybe you can cruise around Google, especially Google Images, with some strategic keywords such as "powdery mildew", tomato, and maybe the names of some of the diseases that come closest in appearance to your yellow leaves.

If you think your soil is infested with some disease, maybe you can "rotate" next year by growing your toms in containers with bagged potting soil from a garden center. Quite a few folks, myself included, use a few 5-gallon buckets or 15-20 gallon Rubbermaid containers to extend our growing space.

-- BC --

Carolyn, I live in Wappingers Falls, just out side of Poughkeepsie. I've lived here for almost 40 years and have been growing tomatoes in the same spot for as many years. No other choice unless I use pots, but that would limit me to the number of plants that I can have. The problem is not new but it has never been as severe as it is this year. I've always had more than enough for my needs and to share. In the past, the plants made it through the season - not so this year. Thanks all for the posts. I will do the google search and see what else I can find. My bigest concern now is next year. Love this forum!

ariel;

you just identified the basis of your problem with your tomatoes...growing them in the same spot year after year.

You must find a way to grow them somewhere else...how about in a container?...or you will be plagued with problems regardless of the care you give them. You should avoid growing other solanaceous crops (peppers, eggplant, potato) in the same space too for at least 3 years. You need to try and break up the disease cycle present in your tomoto plot.

Hope this helps.