tomato blight

[lavender]

Just heard from a friend that she had to destroy all of her tomatoes for the second year in a row due to the blight. She took all of the proper steps last year so it must be in the area again. My tomatoes are beautiful and I hope they stay that way. Didn't have it last year because I raise my own plants and live way off the road. Hope my luck holds.

[Petee]

No matter what you do, if your neighbor lets any volunteer plants grow then it can reintroduce the blight, and then that blight can blow to your garden from remarkable distances.  Late Blight is here every year but you don't notice it because the plants freeze before they succumb to the disease.  

 

Our gardens were inoculated by artificial means last year.  Unless something happens like that again you will probably never see such a wide spread and early occurrance of Late Blight.  Early Blight is another thing and that happens about every year with yellowing of the lower leaves.

 

Very healthy plants with lots of air flow can resist it better.  Sprays with Chlorothalanine (hope I spelled that right) can help prevent it as can good garden cleanup and planting practices.  It takes an actual blight spore plus a warm humid location to make it grow.  Break any part of that chain and it can't take over.

 

I have never heard anything that said it can live on dead organic matter.  For this far north it has to be in an old potato or tomato seed left underground or someplace warm enough that it didn't freeze well.  Cleaning your reused tomato stakes and equiptment is a good idea though.

[Eastman]

I have 2 plants like always. My neighbor gave them to me from ones he planted from seed...same as last year, but they got the dreaded disease last year and I didn't get one good tomatoe. I've had some yellowed leaves and stems on the lower part of the plant which then died, but no black spots yet.

 

I picked the first red one tonight...after 2 BLT's, it's gone!  

 

DELICIOUS!!!...I hope there is more.

[goo]

 

I haven't heard this. There is, however, a strain the can overwinter in the soil that is moving up from Mexico. It evidently reproduces sexually rather than asexually and produces a hard shelled spore that is freeze proof. Haven't heard that it has reached our area yet.

 

Probably illegal alien tomato blight!

[Seuly]

I was told that the blight is most often spread by wind/air.

 

The best thing anyone can do, should the blight hit their plants, is to bag the plant and dirt and let the trash man take it away.

Kip is totally right:

 

Late blight is most often spread by wind.

 

Pull the plants and have them taken away! This will decrease Late Blight from continuing to spread.

 

I was told that some people in DuBois already have it. Their tomato plants are totally dead. Yet, they have not removed them yet.  

[Seuly]

Just heard from a friend that she had to destroy all of her tomatoes for the second year in a row due to the blight. She took all of the proper steps last year so it must be in the area again. My tomatoes are beautiful and I hope they stay that way. Didn't have it last year because I raise my own plants and live way off the road. Hope my luck holds.

Last year, my tomato plants were also home raised and I live a few miles outside of DuBois with no close neighbors. But, Late Blight hit me also.

 

The wind can carry the spores for miles! You were lucky, Lavendar!

[Seuly]

Here is a great link with tons of info:

 

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/Facilities/lihrec/vegpath/lbfaq.pdf

[lavender]

Still just the one confirmed case of late blight that I've heard of. My tomatoes are beautiful this year and it looks like a bumper crop. I've seen more  cases of blossom end rot this year though. We usually do get it when we get erratic rain patterns.

Worse things that have happened this year are the flea beetles making the eggplant leaves look like lace and husband pulling up several things the weren't weeds. Lots of nice peppers, cucumbers and squash. Broccoli and cauliflower could have been nicer. Got too hot too early.

[steelnut]

We have some blossom end rot too this year, but so far, so good with the blight.

I didn't plant a lot of tomatoes this year because I was so afraid of getting the blight again. Now I wish I had planted more!

I need to make spaghetti sauce this year.

[sunflake]

Only 2 tomatoes ripened on my plants.  Rest stayed green.  Now bottom has yellowed and is turning black.  Is this the blight?  Should I pick the green tomatoes or will they eventually ripen?

[lavender]

Only 2 tomatoes ripened on my plants.  Rest stayed green.  Now bottom has yellowed and is turning black.  Is this the blight?  Should I pick the green tomatoes or will they eventually ripen?

That is blossom end rot. It is caused by a lack of calcium as fruits develop and is associated with lack of water at crucial times. There is not much that can be done about it although some claim that spaying with a calcium chloride solution helps  There is some doubt that this does much good. If things haven't gone too far the change in weather might alleviate the situation but the tomatoes that are affected are not going to come right. The bottoms will get black although the tops might be usable in some cases.

 

 

[Seuly]

Now bottom has yellowed and is turning black.  

Do you mean the leaves or the tomatoes?

[sunflake]

 

Do you mean the leaves or the tomatoes?

Leaves.  Exactly 2 tomatoes ripened on each plant.  Rest remain green.

[Seuly]

I think that Lavender thought you meant black on the end of the tomato. That would be blossom end rot.

[Seuly]

It may be early blight. Check it out here: http://pmo.umext.maine.edu/factsht/earlytom.htm

[Seuly]

Here is a great article on Late Blight: http://blog.gardeners.com/2010/01/late-blight.html

[Seuly]

Here are pics of early and late blight: http://www.datcp.state.wi.us/arm/environment/insects/late-blight/pdf/LateBlight.pdf

[lavender]

Or it might just be the bottom leaves on the plants drying out due to normal attrition. If they go all brown and crinkly that is what it is. Mine do that every year especially when it gets dry.

Yes, I did think that you meant the tomatoes, sorry.

[mosha]

Tomato plants are doing great this year...some problems with early blight (usual) and septoria leaf spot (unusual) but sprayed twice with Fung-Onil (chlorothalanolil) and that helped a lot.  Plants are 3 to 4' high and loaded with fruit.  No blossom end rot this year.

Last year I bought some "Italian" tomatoes from Sherwoods in Sabula which they grew routinely and mentioned parentage from folks living in the Valley. Fruits are a large roma-type paste tomato but big enough to slice for sandwich use.  They also resemble the description of the Polish Louisa tomato in the seed catalogs.  Checked with Sherwoods this year and they said the blight wiped out their supply and none available.  Fortunately I had saved seeds from last year's larger fruit and those plants are now nearly 4' high but none ripe yet.  Garden is in Erie area which was spared much of the blight problem from last year. Celebritys are loaded!

[Petee]

Anyone who desperately wants tomatoes should get the planting bed they are going to use tested well before planting time.  Stop in at Agway or DuBois Feeds and get one now to use whenever you need it.  If there is a calcium shortage or other mineral shortage in your soil Penn State will find it and tell you exactly how much of what to add.

[Seuly]

I agree with Petee about getting a soil test kit and doing it. I have done it and it is really cool! They tell you what your soil is deficient in and how much of what to put on it to make it right for whatever you want to grow there.

 

 

[Seuly]

I just found this great article about Late Blight: http://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2427e/

 

[lavender]

Still haven't heard of much blight this year; one case confirmed and one woman who alleges her neighbor has it but won't pull up the plants. (How to win the neighbor of the year award!)

Did talk to a lot of people who have been spraying fungicides most of the summer. It apparently works if you start early. Tomatoes are beautiful this year. If there is anything better than Celebrity for around here I have yet to find it.

[Buster99]

I have HUGE tomato plants and tons of green tomatos.  They are a great size and shape.....just won't turn red.  Any ideas why??

[Seuly]

I have HUGE tomato plants and tons of green tomatos.  They are a great size and shape.....just won't turn red.  Any ideas why??

It just takes time...I know, it is hard waiting for that first BLT!