Sigh. I have raised beds. New organic soil/compost. Added 8-8-8 fert well before planting. Planted romas, heirloom, and celebrities. Using wood chip mulch. First round - thought was leaf curl disease. Pulled and tossed entire lot. Bought all new and replanted. Sprayed with Neem Oil consistently on new stock. 1 out of 20 plants is thriving. It's starting all over again. Added fertilizer around base of plant - not touching the stem or roots. Bought moisture meter to regulate watering. Letting it completely dry between watering and then soaker hose slowly until completly wet. Full sun. I am at a loss. Nearby bed with bell peppers are also looking limp and weak. not sure what to do. Last year was a bumper crop all around. At a loss. Please, can anyone suggest what I am doing incorrectly? Have pics below - 5 of the plants. Thanks for any help! - Tracy
https://s1097.photobucket.com/albums/g354/gtvaldez/?action=view¤t=IMG_2105.jpg
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rainbowgardener
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 25279
- Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
- Location: TN/GA 7b
Wow... I don't know that you are doing anything wrong, sounds like you are working hard to do everything right.
But unfortunately, it looks like you have some disease(s) going. Picture 3 and especially picture 5, look very clearly like septoria
https://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Tomato_Septoria.htm
the limp, wilty ones, do not look like septoria, which does not cause wilting.
It could be some kind of tomato wilt diseases (e.g. Fusarium, Verticillium) and tomatoes and peppers being both nightshade family plants share diseases.
https://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1992/7-22-1992/tomato.html
The good news is that most of the common diseases of tomatoes are fungal and basically have the same treatments.
The septoria article lists a number of chemical fungicides.
For organic treatments you can try baking soda solution with a little bit of soap added (a table spoon of baking soda in a gallon of water with a few drops of soap).
Or 3% hydrogen peroxide straight from the bottle or Neem oil or compost tea.
Commercially available organic plant fungicides: Remedy (from Bonide) is potassium bicarbonate (the baking soda above is sodium bicarbonate). Or Serenade, which contains a naturally occurring bacterium called Bacillus subtilis, which works against many types of fungi.
Whatever you use, try it on one plant first. Some plants are sensitive to some compounds and can be burned by them. Don't spray anything on your whole garden with out testing it. And be sure you cover the whole leaf, including the underside.
Commercial hybrid tomatoes are usually bred for fusillium and verticillium resistance. Is it the heirloom ones that are wilted? But reistance just lowers the vulnerability, it's not a guarantee, especially once it is present in your garden.
Start by removing and destroying all the septoria spotted leaves.
And do not keep fertilizing diseased plants, it just stresses them more and forces more tender vulnerable new growth.
But unfortunately, it looks like you have some disease(s) going. Picture 3 and especially picture 5, look very clearly like septoria
https://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Tomato_Septoria.htm
the limp, wilty ones, do not look like septoria, which does not cause wilting.
It could be some kind of tomato wilt diseases (e.g. Fusarium, Verticillium) and tomatoes and peppers being both nightshade family plants share diseases.
https://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1992/7-22-1992/tomato.html
The good news is that most of the common diseases of tomatoes are fungal and basically have the same treatments.
The septoria article lists a number of chemical fungicides.
For organic treatments you can try baking soda solution with a little bit of soap added (a table spoon of baking soda in a gallon of water with a few drops of soap).
Or 3% hydrogen peroxide straight from the bottle or Neem oil or compost tea.
Commercially available organic plant fungicides: Remedy (from Bonide) is potassium bicarbonate (the baking soda above is sodium bicarbonate). Or Serenade, which contains a naturally occurring bacterium called Bacillus subtilis, which works against many types of fungi.
Whatever you use, try it on one plant first. Some plants are sensitive to some compounds and can be burned by them. Don't spray anything on your whole garden with out testing it. And be sure you cover the whole leaf, including the underside.
Commercial hybrid tomatoes are usually bred for fusillium and verticillium resistance. Is it the heirloom ones that are wilted? But reistance just lowers the vulnerability, it's not a guarantee, especially once it is present in your garden.
Start by removing and destroying all the septoria spotted leaves.
And do not keep fertilizing diseased plants, it just stresses them more and forces more tender vulnerable new growth.
Where are you purchasing your transplants? Some of the big box stores themselves were responsible for tomato blight season before last, when a "mother" nursery in the Southeast was infected and sent (and kept sending, for quite a while!) transplants all over the place. Gardeners everywhere east of the Mississippi and some west of it as well lost plants and planting space to blight.
Purchase the (next?) plants from a different source, possibly even a different independent nursery, if you purchased the plants from an independent. Do your best to provide these plants with disease-free beds--although as a raised-bed gardener myself, I know it will be hard to do this season.
I would remove the wood-chip mulch in favor of a different mulch, and I would also reduce the exposure to neem oil. It can kill pollinators. There are some other anti-insect measures that are available; many organic gardeners tend to look at neem as "the big gun" and save it for emergencies.
But wow. You're working soooo hard, and the tomatoes are absolutely NOT returning the favor.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Purchase the (next?) plants from a different source, possibly even a different independent nursery, if you purchased the plants from an independent. Do your best to provide these plants with disease-free beds--although as a raised-bed gardener myself, I know it will be hard to do this season.
I would remove the wood-chip mulch in favor of a different mulch, and I would also reduce the exposure to neem oil. It can kill pollinators. There are some other anti-insect measures that are available; many organic gardeners tend to look at neem as "the big gun" and save it for emergencies.
But wow. You're working soooo hard, and the tomatoes are absolutely NOT returning the favor.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Ok. Thanks up front for the help and insight.
I removed all leaves and stems that had big issues. I also removed all the mulch from one bed (so far) and it was really wet underneath with mushrooms growing at the base of some stalks. Yikes! I had seen some the day after I deeply watered, but they dried up in the sunlight and didn't return so I didn't think anything of it. So...did one bed with Hydrogen peroxide and will let that sit and dry. How long before you would see negative/positive effects? Couple days or more like a week? Will do the peroxide to the other beds if I see improvement. Found some tiny baby sprouts on the one healthy plant so that was uplifting. Will nurse these babies back if it kills me (or them!)
I did buy the two different plantings from two different stores. Only because they were being less than cooperative regarding my plight, notsomuch because I was thinking bad batch. I am glad you brought that to my attention. I'll know that for next time. I shelved the Neem Oil - again, thought only of bad bugs - not the beneficial ones. Still learning!
Thanks so so much for the help! So close to throwing in the towel - but I really need a new batch of spaghetti sauce and tomatoes! LOL! Almost out of last year's jars!
I removed all leaves and stems that had big issues. I also removed all the mulch from one bed (so far) and it was really wet underneath with mushrooms growing at the base of some stalks. Yikes! I had seen some the day after I deeply watered, but they dried up in the sunlight and didn't return so I didn't think anything of it. So...did one bed with Hydrogen peroxide and will let that sit and dry. How long before you would see negative/positive effects? Couple days or more like a week? Will do the peroxide to the other beds if I see improvement. Found some tiny baby sprouts on the one healthy plant so that was uplifting. Will nurse these babies back if it kills me (or them!)
I did buy the two different plantings from two different stores. Only because they were being less than cooperative regarding my plight, notsomuch because I was thinking bad batch. I am glad you brought that to my attention. I'll know that for next time. I shelved the Neem Oil - again, thought only of bad bugs - not the beneficial ones. Still learning!
Thanks so so much for the help! So close to throwing in the towel - but I really need a new batch of spaghetti sauce and tomatoes! LOL! Almost out of last year's jars!