Discussion Board

My tomatoes are doing really well except for the past week, the lowest branches on each plant have spots on the leaves and are now turning yellow. I took off the spotted branches but now others have it too.

Might this be a deficiency of some sort, or is this a virus or fungus? I have fed these Gardens Alive tomato fertilizer and used fish emulsion once just for fun. These are plants in planters, not ones that got too much rain in the past.

I wonder what thoughts others will have on this. I'm kind of biased toward thinking it's a virus/fungus, because that's a problem I've run into quite a bit in the past myself. Removing the lower branches was exactly the right thing to do, but it sounds like it's moving up into the other branches anyway.

I have a "biofungicide" from Gardens Alive that seem to work on some kinds of problems like this--it worked very well on some sick pumpkin plants last year, for example. It's called Plant Guardian, and I think it's a microbial that establishes itself in the plant to fight & prevent fungus. It smells kind of yeasty. I haven't used it on tomatoes, though, myself. It's possible that once the disease takes hold it can't really be stopped but you might be able to stall it long enough to allow the plants to put out new, healthy growth. (Kind of like the toenail process in humans!) That is one reason I started planting 'indeterminate' tomatoes, which keep putting out new growth all season--in order that they could outgrow the virus or wilt diseases afflicting the lower leaves!

My Rodale's organic gardening encyclopedia lists garlic spray, compost tea and baking soda as possible anti-fungals, but I can't vouch for these myself. Sulfur and lime are what our ancestors used but these have drawbacks, like being somewhat toxic both to people and plants. Personally I think that good healthy compost at planting time does tend to give you healthier plants from the outset, but even so you can still get these diseases. They tend to be regional and seasonal. For example, one year when I lost most of my tomatoes to some sort of virus, everybody else that I talked to around here had lost theirs too. The following year, all was well again.

It sounds like a fungus to me. Lots of tomatoes get this, often a product of wet springs, cool nights. Here are some tips:
Always water at base of plant...avoid sprinkling leaves. Best to water in early am so any leaf water 'burns' off.
Remove any diseased leaves and destroy..do not compost.
Apply a fungicide thoroughly to tops and bottoms of leaves. OR, you can try tsp baking soda/1 quart water/2 drops dishwashing detergent. Drench the soil as well. You may have to do this week/10 days for a while.
If you do not address this problem it will take over the plant.
Hope this helps.

Thanks for the input on my tomatoes. They are looking better. I applied fungicide after removing all the spotty leaves. I took off whole branches, and the suckers are coming from the joint in their place so I'm leaving those alone. I usually pull them off as they appear.

I've got lots of green tomatoes and these plants are looking better than ever. They are chest high on me, I need to get bigger supports for them. This is almost the biggest tomatoes we've had before, one other year they got as tall as me but that was later in the season. These look like they will surpass those plants.

The tomatoes out back where it got way too much water are not doing nearly as well. Still no fruit, just a few blossoms. I did find a small muskmelon this morning, though! Hopefully we will get it before the critters do!

I think this must be "the year of the rollercoaster" in the Doodlepunk garden! We're down--no, we're up!--now we're down, 2, 3, 4...--wait! we're up again! LOL. I really hope you are keeping a garden journal, as 2008 is going to be a lot of fun to go back and read about in future years!

My husband and I used to keep regular garden notes and these were WONDERFUL to go back and read over. First robin, first snow, first tomato, etc, etc, plus all the events, terrible and otherwise. We got out of the habit of doing this so I don't have any notes from the last couple of years. Would be nice to start again, but it's a whole mindset you have to get into.

I don't know about a rollercoaster, but the garden in back has resembled a water park!

I started a journal years ago but never kept up with it. It sure is fun to read it now.