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Tomato Blight; By: HotWire
Topic Started: Mar 19 2018, 08:26 AM (23 Views)
Cerwin
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The plague of Tomato growers is Septoria Leaf Spot Disease & Blight. If you are an organic gardener, then there's very few options available. This is a technique that I've found to be rather effective if you are dilligent in maintaining it. If you have yellow stems and leaves with little black spots on them, then you also have a problem. If you had Blighted Tomato Plants last year, then the chances are it will return this year. I finally have mine under control, but keeping it that way is a huge task. The photo is of Septoria Leaf Spot Disease. The Leaves turn yellow and spots appear, then the stem turns yellow and swells up, and finally it just falls off. The disease only manifests symptoms after fruit start to set.

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Sounds Familiar? There is no cure, only treatment. If you are an Organic gardener, don't despair, because there is a treatment that is recognized as organic.

STEP 1: Pruning

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The infected leaves start at the very bottom of the plant and gradually spread higher up the plant. The disease is spread by wind and water splattering onto the leaves off of infected leaves and the ground. The first step is to prune all the lower leaves, so that the lowest leaves are about 5" above the ground.

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Make sure that all the plant debris is removed from the garden, and NOT placed in your compost pile. If the disease has progressed to the point that the branches are falling off, then you may want to consider disposing of the entire plant.

STEP 2: Mix up the Fungicide

I add 50 cents in pennies to a gallon of milk and let it sit overnight in the refrigerator. I mix 1 cup of corn meal, 20 cloves of garlic, and one quart of milk in a blender. Make sure you completely liquify the solution. I mix it with one gallon of milk & pennies, and pour it in a 2-gallon sprayer. Cornmeal and Garlic are both natural fungicides, as is milk. The pennies will outgas copper molecules into the milk, and copper is a necessary micronutrient for resistance to fungal diseases. There are "Organic-approved" fungicides like Bonide's Fung-Onil which also will work well.

STEP 3:Treatment

After you have pruned all the lower and infected leaves and branches, spray your tomato plants with a good organic fungicide.

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I prefer the milk mixture in a pressure sprayer. BE SURE to spray the bottom of the leaves thoroughly, as well as the top of the plant. Don't be concerned about getting the spray on the fruit, because it is relatively harmless. Also be sure to Spray the open wounds where the branches were removed. Another source of infection is at the roots of the plant. Tomato Plants tend to have shallow roots that will be exposed. If you can see exposed roots, add a little topsoil to cover them up.

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Keeping your Tomato Plants healthy is a big job, but with diligence it will be worth the extra work. Remember that the fungicide spray is surface treatment and will wash off with a rainstorm, so the process needs to be repeated after every rainstorm.

And you did see right, I have individual umbrellas over each of my tomato plants, since splattering rain is the biggest cause of spreading fungal disease.

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Well... Back to Pruning
Edited by Cerwin, Mar 19 2018, 08:28 AM.
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