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leaf spot fungus on tomatoes

10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago

My plants have exactly what Ray talks about at the 3:07 mark of this Ok Gardening YouTube vid

Leaf spot fungus at 3:07

I get this every year and after watching this Ok Gard show last year, I mulched with cottonseed hulls this year. Results are spotty, I think I did not mulch a large enough area around the plant.

Last year, my wife and I cut out all the diseased leaves and stems, but we're not up to that this year, me being one armed and all.

Anything else I can do ?

Comments (2)

  • 10 years ago

    You can spray the plants with a fungicide. There are many available, including Chlorothalonil (synthetic in origin and found in Daconil, Ortho Disease Control, etc.), Copper (organic in origin and the one I see most often is the Bonide brand), Serenade (also organic, but not as widely available), neem oil and a whole host of newer organic fungicides that may include clove oil and other ingredients.

    None of these fungicides will kill the existing fungal infection on the leaves. What they do is coat the leaves which prevents fungal spores from attaching to the leaves. If you miss a spot on a leaf, the fungal spore can attach on the spot you missed. Regular spraying would need to be done on the schedule recommended on the label of whatever product you use, and it is recommended to alternate two different fungicides in order to prevent the fungal infection from building up a tolerance to whichever single fungicide you would use. Once the weather is as hot as it is now, spraying should be done in the evening hours as some of these sprays, when applied at temperatures of 90 degrees or higher, can damage the tomato foliage.

    If it is at all possible, I'd get someone to remove all those diseased leaves from the plants if you intend to try to keep those plants alive all summer. As long as the fungal infection is present on the leaves, it will shed spores that will travel to other leaves and you'll just have to watch helplessly as the fungus climbs right up to the top of your plant, leaf by leaf. Spraying a fungicide is more effective if the diseased leaves are removed first so that the source of the infection is not present at that point. Maybe you could pay a neighborhood child to remove the leaves (under your watchful supervision). On the other hand, if you are going to replace these plants with fresh fall tomato plants in early to mid-July, I wouldn't put too much time or effort into them because they won't be around too much longer anyway.

    Even with mulching all over my garden, including all the pathways, I tend to see these types of fungal infections too, especially if May and/or June is rainy. I don't see them nearly as much in hot, drought years that are low in moisture. Mulching helps, but it doesn't totally prevent these diseases because the fungal spores aren't just in the soil---they are in the air and can float right in from plants outside the garden, for example.

    I know it is frustrating to be one-armed this year, so just do the best you can and don't let it get to you. Your arm will heal and you'll be back to your usual routine before you know it. The worst thing you can do is overuse your arm before it has healed, so please take good care of yourself. My husband is the world's worst about using an injured arm or leg instead of letting it heal, and then he ends up in physical therapy because he made the injury worse. Don't be like him! It took about 3 months of physical therapy to fix the injury to his shoulder that he had made worse by pretending his shoulder was fine and using it before it healed.

  • 10 years ago

    Sounds like your husband and I have that in common. This is just killin me. I've got projects around the house just lined up , waiting for me to get healthy. And of course, everything breaks after I have surgery and I do most everything myself here, within reason. But for sure, I don't wanna have to go through this again, I heard it was a tough rehab, and its all that.

    I was at physical therapy yesterday, and they tell me that the most progress is made between week 4 and week 6 . I'm starting week 5 .... so maybe I'm not far away from using this other arm.

    I have some Daconil and some stuff I bought for powdery mildew, so I'll start spraying and trimming , try to knock it back some. Thanks.


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