Tomato Dirt Newsletter
Issue #12, July 2011

Tis the Season for Tomato Fungus and Tomato Wilt

How can you figure out what ails your tomato – and then know what to do about it?

Try this:

1. Look at the leaves
2. Look at the overall plant

Leaves can give you tips about tomato fungus.

• Dark, concentric spots on leaves and tell-tale rings can indicate early blight.
• Blue-gray spots on leaves that turn brown can mean late blight.
• Round, yellow spots on leaves with tiny dark dots in the center can indicate Septoria leaf spot.
• Dark spots with a gray center and yellow halo can mean your plant has gray leaf spot.

To treat fungi, have a good biofungicide or fungicide on hand. Follow label directions. Re-apply every 7-10 days or after rain.

The overall plant can show you if it’s got tomato wilt.

• If leaves turn yellow, brown, wilt, and fall off mainly on one side of the plant, it may have fusarium wilt.
• If plant wilts during the day, recovers at night, and has yellow and browning on leaves in a V-pattern, it may have verticillium wilt.
• If the whole plant wilts but remains green, it may have bacterial wilt.
• If leaves turn yellow, brown, wilt, and fall off, growth is stunted, and walnut trees are nearby, the plant may have walnut wilt.

To date, there is no chemical treatment available to treat tomato wilts. Prevention is the best control. Rotate crops and plant resistant varieties!

Tomato of the Month: Celebrity Tomatoes

Photo: Reimer Seeds

This month, check out Celebrity Tomatoes. This 1984 All-America Award winner set a new bar in multiple-disease resistance.

That means Celebrity was specifically bred to withstand a “Who’s Who” list of tomato diseases. Find out which ones …

Tomato of the Month: Celebrity Tomatoes.

July's Tomato Tip: Bumps on Tomato Stems

Root initials are the result of stress. They’re not harmful to plants. But they’re a tip off that your plant is struggling in some way – perhaps from under-watering, over-watering, an internal injury, humidity, or root damage.

If root initials are near the soil line, simply pile up an extra bit of topsoil around the base of your plant. Initials will develop into roots and strengthen your plant.

Learn more about root initials, what causes them, and what to do about them. That’s it for now. See you next month!

Until then, happy gardening!

Kathy with Tomato Dirt
www.tomatodirt.com
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P.S. You know a tomato is ready to pick when it’s turned color evenly on the vine and is a tiny bit soft to the touch. Check out other tomato harvest tips. Enjoy your crop!

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