Natural remedies for tomato blight/leaf rot?

[AGeese]

I'm a hard pruner so I'd go with trimming advice and try not to over water. Never spray the leaves if you're watering, let it soak into the ground.

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

Not sure what happened, but I haven't seen any of the more recent responses to this thread. Never got a notification even though I set it to "watch".

Anyway, thank you all for your responses!!! I decided to get the copper fungicide. I did the first application last week and I can tell it has kept the blight from spreading and those infected leaves are drying up and falling off. There is also some new green growth, so that's great! I can reapply in a few days so I plan to. I am also gonna go through and clear out low-hanging foliage as one of you suggested. The blight has already killed a lot of low foliage, but I will knock out the rest so the blight doesn't continue.

Thanks for helping me save my tomato garden guys!! Next year I can prevent it from getting this bad by using these tricks.

 

[Captain13]

I know I’m late to this thread, but one thing that helps kill the fungus in the soil is during the fall/winter when the bed is not in use, we will spread]d heavy mil black plastic over-r the bed. Put in some blocks or anything to elevate the plastic above the soil a few inches. The sun will heat the soil under the plastic and kill the fungus.

 

[WthrLady]

Nothing wrong with Bordeaux mixture. Been used since edwardian period.lime, copper sulfate and water

 

[Sally PB]

How did I miss this thread!?!

This is the first year I pruned the bottom leaves off. I think it helped, and I'll do it again next year. I bought some copper dust stuff, and I think I might use it next year too, to see if that helps.

I'll also try the pruning suggestion on peppers. I have never gotten a lot of bell peppers. Sometimes the habanero and jalapenos will bear crazy amounts, but not this year.

I hope it never comes to "don't plant tomatoes in that area for the next 3-4 years." Where they are is the best spot for them.

 

[CNJ]

You should look for blight resistant hybrid tomatoes.........that would be the best solution.

 

[LaylaJane]

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.

I know this is an older thread, but.... Mom used to plant up to 50 tomatoe plants, 20 green pepper and way too many green bean (like WAY too many, I know, I had to weed them all) anyway, she always sprayed 1:2 3%Hydrogen peroxide/water before tilling, then again after hoeing out the furrow for each. (this also works really well for adding oxygen to the roots of recreational plants) I never understood it till I put in my own garden lol and found the internet. The H2O2 not only kills most of the bacteria, it also adds air to the soil and makes it unattractive to gnats, aphids and grubs. I have used it for almost 20 years, just be sure to not over do it! It really only takes a fine mist, then leave it alone for a day or so before planting, but should never be sprayed directly on the plant. (This works for tiny soil gnats in houseplants as well, I just take them out of the soil, wrap them in a moist paper towel, treat the soil, then after a day, put them back....)

 

[HenriettaPizzaNolan]

I know this is an older thread, but.... Mom used to plant up to 50 tomatoe plants, 20 green pepper and way too many green bean (like WAY too many, I know, I had to weed them all) anyway, she always sprayed 1:2 3%Hydrogen peroxide/water before tilling, then again after hoeing out the furrow for each. (this also works really well for adding oxygen to the roots of recreational plants) I never understood it till I put in my own garden lol and found the internet. The H2O2 not only kills most of the bacteria, it also adds air to the soil and makes it unattractive to gnats, aphids and grubs. I have used it for almost 20 years, just be sure to not over do it! It really only takes a fine mist, then leave it alone for a day or so before planting, but should never be sprayed directly on the plant. (This works for tiny soil gnats in houseplants as well, I just take them out of the soil, wrap them in a moist paper towel, treat the soil, then after a day, put them back....)

Interesting! I've never heard of this. I wonder if it is safe around the beneficial bacteria and microbes as well. Meaning, I hope it doesn't kill the "good stuff" too.

 

[LaylaJane]

Interesting! I've never heard of this. I wonder if it is safe around the beneficial bacteria and microbes as well. Meaning, I hope it doesn't kill the "good stuff" too.

After some internet research, ma's garden history aside, it seems that it does kill off the good and the bad. However, from seeing it in action personally, I will always use it in my soil. I think maybe that she and I both have always used compost after treating, may be a key benefit to helping keep the plants healthy too. Again, I guess it's a personal choice.

 

[Chris2018]

Tomato Blite needs three things to survive and infect tomatoes, poor air circulation, humidity and hot weather. You won't be able to control the humidity or the hot weather, but you can increase the air circulation by planting tomatoes further apart. A couple of other things I would also recommend is pruning lower leaves up to about 18 inches from the ground this will lower the chances of the tomato blite spores splashing from the soil onto leave during watering and or rain, mulch heavy (I use a living mulch of Dutch White Clover) mulch not only keeps the soil cooler but will reduce the chances of the tomato blite spores from infecting your plants, increase beneficial microorganisms in the soil by adding lots of humic matter, mulching, using cover crops and green manures, you can also add beneficial bacteria by using products like EM-1 (Lactic Acid Bacteria) and Recharge (mostly Mycorrhizae, Trichoderma), start using organic dry amendments they not only "feed" the plant but also feeds the microorganisms in the soil (I use Down to Earth), finally if your tomatoes are infected with tomato blite, prune infected leaves and either burn them or put the in the trash (do not compost them) then spray your tomatoes with something like EM-1.