Natural remedies for tomato blight/leaf rot?

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Hello fellow gardeners,

I have 26 tomato plants in one of my large garden beds this year. All has been going SO well (once I secured this bed from the groundhogs... still working on this for the bed containing my green beans...) except now I am having a major issue with what I believe to be tomato blight. The leaves are getting all dark, and some branches just dry out and die. It started with just two plants at the front of the bed, but now has spread to nearly every plant. I'm still getting lots of tomatoes, but I wonder how long this will last, as some of the plants are starting to look pretty shabby.

Does anyone know any natural/organic remedies for this? I've tried making a spray with baking soda in it because I read online that can help. No such luck so far.

Is my tomato garden doomed this year or is there hope? Please share any remedies you might know of!

Edit: I just wanted to add that I know not to water the whole plant, just the ground under it. However, sometimes water does get on the leaves when I water. Also, can't help it from getting on the leaves when it rains.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Baking soda works by adjusting the Ph of your water - depending on what you are starting with, water wise, that may or may not have an impact. My well water is somewhat basic, unlike my soil, so adding baking soda only made it more basic, had no effect.

I had better luck, seemingly, with Neem Oil. and then it either misted or dizzled pretty much every day for two weeks - prime conditions for all sorts of molds, mildews, and blights. Lost most of my tomato plants.

Best of luck in your effors.

 

[TooCheep]

This won't fix your current problems, but for future reference: You can greatly reduce the chance of tomato blight by two tactics.

• Tomato blight is a fungal infection that lives in the soil. Overhead watering will tend to splash some of the particles onto the lower leaves where they start the infection. Drip irrigation or watering under the tomato will significantly reduce the chance of infection.
• While the plant is young and vigorously growing, pinch off lower branches. This makes it harder to have the leaves be splashed by the fungus. I try to clear the lower 1' of leaves when the plant is large enough to support it.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Baking soda works by adjusting the Ph of your water - depending on what you are starting with, water wise, that may or may not have an impact. My well water is somewhat basic, unlike my soil, so adding baking soda only made it more basic, had no effect.

I had better luck, seemingly, with Neem Oil. and then it either misted or dizzled pretty much every day for two weeks - prime conditions for all sorts of molds, mildews, and blights. Lost most of my tomato plants.

Best of luck in your effors.

Thank you. I will look into neem oil.

 

[Chris-09]

If it is Blight (early of late) try spraying a copper fungicide on the leaves.
Just keep in mind, try to not get in on/in your soil as it will kill some beneficial microbes in your soil.

Neem oil work ok but you will need to spray in at night to keep from killing pollinators.

 

[NanaK]

As TooCheep mentions I prune the bottom foot or so of my tomato plants and also add some straw or chopped leaves as mulch to help with the splashing of soil onto the stem and leaves. I grow indeterminates so if I can keep them alive sometimes they take back off growing as the weather cools a bit. The bottoms will look bad but new growth on top often produces another flush of fruit.
Good luck with your garden!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I love (ok, too strong a word) you both @TooCheep @NanaK for sharing the trick of removing the bottom leaves.

I usually plant, then once the plant has some height, I rebury it "sideways" to give it more root and produce a heartier plant. The idea of then removing leaves as it grows to reduce the chance of blight had never occured to me, nor appeared in my readings...

 

[TooCheep]

I love (ok, too strong a word) you both @TooCheep @NanaK for sharing the trick of removing the bottom leaves.

I usually plant, then once the plant has some height, I rebury it "sideways" to give it more root and produce a heartier plant. The idea of then removing leaves as it grows to reduce the chance of blight had never occured to me, nor appeared in my readings...

Thanks. Tomatoes are a unique type of plant with some of the tricks you can use. There is a variation on your technique for a stronger plant with deeper roots. It will only work with potted tomato starts. Pinch off the lower branches. Then bury the roots deeper than you normally would. Some of the hairs on the main stalk will become additional roots. Most plants can't really handle burying too deep like this.

Here is a similar trick to make most peppers stronger and produce more fruit. Start it normally. When it gets to a foot or so tall, pinch off the top just above a pair of leaves. This sets it back before it first produces, but the stalk becomes thicker and stronger. It also forces the plant to fork at those top leaves (Y-pattern). Let the plant grow normally from that point. It will end up with more branches, more flowers and a stronger structure than if it was allow to grow up naturally. I've tried pinching a second time, but that seems to set it back too much to be really productive.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Thanks. Tomatoes are a unique type of plant with some of the tricks you can use. There is a variation on your technique for a stronger plant with deeper roots. It will only work with potted tomato starts. Pinch off the lower branches. Then bury the roots deeper than you normally would. Some of the hairs on the main stalk will become additional roots. Most plants can't really handle burying too deep like this.

Here is a similar trick to make most peppers stronger and produce more fruit. Start it normally. When it gets to a foot or so tall, pinch off the top just above a pair of leaves. This sets it back before it first produces, but the stalk becomes thicker and stronger. It also forces the plant to fork at those top leaves (Y-pattern). Let the plant grow normally from that point. It will end up with more branches, more flowers and a stronger structure than if it was allow to grow up naturally. I've tried pinching a second time, but that seems to set it back too much to be really productive.

I've done the second trick with basil, works really well. Wait two leaves on the newly created Y, then pinch again. 4 strong stalks instead of a single, and spaced far enough apart they don't crowd one another.

 

[NanaK]

I love (ok, too strong a word) you both @TooCheep @NanaK for sharing the trick of removing the bottom leaves.

I usually plant, then once the plant has some height, I rebury it "sideways" to give it more root and produce a heartier plant. The idea of then removing leaves as it grows to reduce the chance of blight had never occured to me, nor appeared in my readings...

Thank you for sharing so much info in your posts. Glad to be able to help you for a change.

I'm a bit picky about tomato varieties so I always start with seed I've saved. Sometimes I get stir crazy in winter and start a few very early inside under lights. I end up with plants in 1 gal pots by planting time. I will use post hole diggers to plant them really deep. Years I do this I get tomatoes very early. They do love deep roots. By having lots of roots very deep into the soil they get more even moisture so less cracked tomatoes as well.

I didn't do that this year and regretted. Still have plenty but missed out on the early crop before the heat set in.