I'm in SNJ, and while I wouldn't say its a bad year, its definitely been frustrating. The frequent sprinkling has left me with lots of leaf spot, but, its also kept my watering to a minimum and even, and I haven't gotten any BER.

The humidity has just killed me however. I've lost so many blossoms its insane. It seems like just one or two hot humid days with a warm night just ruins so many blossoms.

I thought it was a very slow start this year too, especially since I had my plants in the ground april 15, but that might've been because I winter sowed too. My 'early' varieties are only just coming in full force in the last 2-3 weeks. On the bright side however, my late tomatoes are coming in a bit earlier, so hopefully, a late start means a longer season.

I am getting a very slow pick though. Which, in hindsight is good as I'm almost drowning in tomatoes now, but when I look out and see 50 plants with only a handful of tomatoes on each one, its a little sad.

This is my first year planting only heirlooms, and my first year from seed, so, its been a learning experience all around.

Thanks for your input Buck 1173. I think that you have had less rain than us up here but sounds like you are having the same problems. I am just starting to pick my early varieties now. I have only had the cherry and grape tomatoes so far. Now my plums and other early varieties are starting. I am frustrated because I read that this leaf spot overwinters so I feel doomed for next year.

I agree with you though, it is not all bad because like you said I have not had to get out there and water very much.

hmm, re leaf spot over wintering, I noticed something this year:

Last year, I had only one tomato bed and a couple of containers. My entire bed last year became infected with a wave of septoria, a little early blight here and there, and then finished strong with bacterial spec or spot. The bacterial spot was so thoroughly maddening, I pulled my plants about 4 weeks early just so I didn't have to look at them any more.

Then I heavily sowed the bed with winter rye for the fall & winter. It grew huge (the rye). One freakishly warm day in February, I turned the entire bed under, just turned the rye in and let it set. One freakishly warm weekend in March, I decided to expand the bed to 60' long and add an entire new bed in a new location, a 14x20 (I'd sown so many seeds after all : )

This year, leaf spotting is reserved - with mild exception - to only the newly planted areas. The entire original tomato bed (the only location that had the winter rye treatment) is 95% free of any leaf spotting of any kind.

Now, because of my exasperation last year, this year I a) winter sowed for hardier plants, and b) did the cornmeal tea thing to my seedlings. Whether that helped? I dunno... I strongly suspect winter sowing my plants made them hardy. But, its been very interesting to note the lack of fungal/bacterial disease in the area treated with winter rye. Especially since I'm dealing only with heirlooms this year which I'm assuming are more easily susceptible to fungal/disease nasties.

I'll be sowing winter rye in EVERY garden this year (I'm utterly convinced it helped). And, digging 3 more gardens come September for next year and winter rying them as well. The only bed not getting winter rye is my garlic bed, which is getting beans & peas right now, which I'm hoping will also be a 'green manure'.

I'll have arms like Popeye I expect as turning the just the one bed over this year was an awful lot of work.

Hope this helps.

Well, this is the first year I didn't plant in the ground, but opted to line my deck with spackle buckets. I'm having a great year; no diseases, no problems, knock wood. I've been harvesting cherry & grape tomatoes since late June, and my first Roma's just recently. No bigger tomatoes yet, but plenty of healthy green fruits. Now, my cucumbers, even my bell peppers, also in pots, look horrible (low yield), and my hot banana peppers look fantastic. I'm in Bergen County.

Can you explain the cornmeal tea thing?
I'm also wondering about the heirlooms being less resistent to disease. I know that should be true, but are plant diseases adapting to hybrids and maybe adapting away from heirlooms then? I guess I'm asking, since so many growers grow hybrids only, is there a chance the home gardener will be more apt to have disease resistance with a different kind of tomato? I'm sorry, I really don't have enough knowledge to sound less stupid with that question.

if I recall correctly, 3 tablespoons of cornmeal in a gallon of water, let sit a few days (agitate every now and then), then spray the milky water over the plants.... as I understand it, cornmeal is a natural anti-fungal. I also dusted the newly planted seedlings with cornmeal too.

I'd come across that idea while searching for organic fungal remedies, if you search here at GW for cornmeal tea, you'll find the actual instructions.

To my knowledge, its best applied to young plants as a preventative. I did it this year, and no septoria or EB despite planting in a bed that was awash with it last year (though I did remove and destroy the plants).

Yes, bad year here in mid IL. At this minute, it's raining buckets. Again. We're 16 in above normal for rainfall in 2008.
Earlier today, it was hailing so hard that my broccoli seedlings just got crushed to the ground. Luckily, they're still in container. I've brought them in and set them under lights. But, I dunno. On a bright note, I seeded the yard this spring. It's doing great with these mild tempts and abundant rainfall. Good luck to you if your fall gardening. Smile

Delaware zone 7. Early Blight here and maybe the second earliest I've ever seen. Also, ripe tomatoes were a couple weeks later than normal.

Thanks for the cornmeal thingie will definately try that in the future. You said that you planted only heirlooms this year and I love heirlooms but I plant a couple good producing, great tasting hybrids just for insurance. Jet Star, is one that has great flavor and produces nicely plus Carolyn recommends it too for flavor. Good luck. :)

You guys had a bad year, I lost pretty much all of my tomato's to a blight of some kind. They just shriveled up and died. I still got a lot of tomato's but I won't from this point forward. I had something like this last year too but not as bad. I thought I just didn't water them enough but that wasn't the case. I'll have to pick your brains a little with cures and remedies for next year. I'd like to know more about the rye grass and how it helps the garden, that sounds interesting. Who knows, it could help me.

Yea the rye is news to me too. Thanks for the info will have to look into it more. Half of the gardening experience is thinking about next year this year, for me at least. Anyway, "sprinking" again this morning. My plants also have septoria. From what I know this is a foliar disease and I don't know if it is held in the seeds. I do know what is important is to pick up EVERYTHING from the ground asap and not let these infected branches sit there. I also had a new gardening area this year where this has happened and I have a couple of ideas/solutions for me. Don't forget about rotation. I believe that is your biggest ally. I found more frequent fertilizer helps. It seems the new growth helps sustain the plants. My biggest mistake this year was not pulling off the lower branches/leaves early enough. They are the most suseptible. Oh, and Buck 1173, I will be breaking my back and building my arms right there with you.

I am in central Jersey and I am having the worst year. I have had blight and wilt almost from day one. The other problem I am having is almost all my tomatos are mealy. I also had a bad cucumber year the beatles were the earliest I remember. I also have stink bugs but I do not know how they effect the plants. Don't beat yourself up Jenny about pulling the lower branches I pulled mine right away and it did not seem to slow the disease. I now am trying to find out if there is something I can do to the soil to help prevent this next year. Thanks for all the ideas everyone is giving!

Milk is also good a fungicide said to work as well as any off the shelf fungicide. Best results are 10%-30% milk to 70-90% water respectively.

http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s948323.htm

However children should excise caution when drinking milk around gardening adults since they may attempt to use it as a harmless fungicide.

central jersey here.

planted 30 plants towards the end of april. getting 1st bloody butcher by the end of june. early girl was 2-3 weeks after.

since two weeks ago, i am getting 20 tomatos a day (10-15 lbs not counting cherry), mainly from mortgage lifter (4 plants), big beef (3 plants), and goliath (2 plants).

other kinds are doing ok, but not as impressive, including celebrity, better boy, and giant tree. my sungold cherry grows like a huge weed. great flavor and super-productive.

i will keep

sungold
big beef
goliath
mortgage lifeter

for next year and try some more new ones.

elsething is in raised bed. seed started on 3/1.

njrookie

I am central Jersey and I too had a slow start. I grow only heirlooms and OP tomatoes. This year I started the seeds in early April instead of my usual - early March.
I set out the transplants in the ground mid May.
For the last 4 years, I planted my tomatoes in a certain bed and last year I got the worse leaf spot. It was so bad I pulled out most of the plants in August. So this year I planted in a different bed and have very less leaf spot. I do turn the beds every year but not so deeply. So I guess crop rotation worked for me this year.
I also mulch with grass clippings so the soil doesn't get on the leaves. I have read that the spores overwinter in the soil. This year I used a weed block before mulching with grass clippings.

As far as the yields go, I am just now starting to get a good number of ripe ones. In the past , I would be drowing in tomatoes at this time.

Hope this helps.

Hrm. I will have to try milk. Thankfully it's finally dryer here in il.

The raised bed plants have boring watery tasting fruit. The container ones thankfully taste better, but they are all diseased from the constant humidity. They havent recovered yet to make new fruit. cant win either way i guess.

--off to check on the watery black krims being roasted

I am in NJ... I have the HUGEST plants ever. They are 6+ feet tall. So far I have only harvested 12 Sun gold cherries.
My Ramapos just started to produce fruit (I have about 15 across 4 plants.

My Brandywine just started to flower... I am praying to get some tomatoes from it.

My Super Beefsteak has had these micro green tomatoes for weeks. They aren't getting any bigger and it is frustrating.

The Italian Ice cherries have not produced anything either.

I contacted the local Master Gardeners. They told me the really hot temps in June combined with all the rain has really messed up this growing season. I thought I over fertilized, but it seems like it may not be me. It may just be the weather.

I should probably also mention that I am container gardening.

It has been a diffuclt tomato year here too. South Jersey, the heat in early june with a drought thrown in. When it is dry the deer come in and eat my plants. So bought alot of wire fence this year to protect them. First year had a blight on my Anna Russians.

The only plants doing a hoot are the volunteer ones and the orange cherry ones from all places the nursery. The deer are nibbling on any of my German Red strawberries as they get large.

ML