Now that it seems the monsoons are here , we need to protect our tomato plant from fungous disease . Here in the southwest we do n’t get the awful Late Blight that the Northeast has experience ( not yet at least ) because we are teetotal than most parts of the US . We do n’t seem to get as many fungous diseases but we do get some .
The one I see the most in everyone ’s garden is former Blight on tomatoes . It start anytime but especially under these conditions : when you irrigate your Lycopersicon esculentum from the top , the humidity is high , and the pelting comes .
other Blight lives in the soil and istransmitted by water splashing soil up on the lower leaf . It start on the lower branches and leaves where they start to turn blotchy yellow and start dying from the bottom up and will continue up your works and finally kill it .
To help prevent and control this disease , I do these thing :
1 . I water with a drip system , thereby keep the ground from sprinkle up on the lower leave .
2 . I put straw all around the bottom of the industrial plant to help keep the dirt splashing up on the works when it rain .
3 . I trim any branch throughout the time of year that is live on to touch the ground . In fact , I prune all the way up to the first peak or fruit set .
4 . I trim ANY leg that shows sign of Early Blight no matter how high it is on the plant .
5 . I sink my scissor hold or shears in rubbing alcohol or a 10 % bleaching agent solvent between trim back plant to avoid distribute diseases . bleaching agent breaks down speedily ( in a day or two ) , so do n’t reuse it - make a newfangled sight .
4 . I spray ‘ Serenade ’ , an organic fungicide which provides protection from a broad spectrum of common fungal and bacterial diseases . other blight is one of the diseases it can moderate . Spray it on when the leaves are dry . It israinproofand isnon - toxic for beesand other beneficial insects . Respray every 7 days . Spray all parts of the plant - both on top and underneath .
Serenade is also good to spray on other veg . Spray for powdery mildew on squash , cucumbers and melon and folio rust on beans . I use it for all my vegetable . Now that the showery season is here , do n’t wait till you get the disease — it works best as a preventative .
you may get Serenade from Agua Fria Nursery ( call for availability ) here in Santa Fe or at Amazon.com . I bribe the dressed ore , not the little feeding bottle of pre - made spray — hold out a lot longer .
Here is a pdf of some of the common diseases and organic controls for tomatoes growing in the Southwest : TOMATO disease
