Half of my plants got wiped out this year

Elliot · October 5, 2009

I live on the EAst Coast and in June we had 23 out of 24 days of rain. The late blight hit us early and even using soap based antifungals, most of my plants were shot. The only ones that yielded any edible fruit were cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes and another variety called Julian. My miracle sweet and other larger varieties either did not yield anything or the fruit rotted before turning red.

What I am concerned with is next season. Do I have to get new soil? Is there anything I can do over the winter to minimize the problem for next year?

Elliot
LI, New York

cottonpicker · October 5, 2009

Spores of Late Blight won't survive the winter without living tissue (tomato or potato) to live on. You are safe next year UNLESS you have the same wet conditions which fosters growth of the organism.
Ldd

Elliot · October 5, 2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by cottonpicker

Spores of Late Blight won't survive the winter without living tissue (tomato or potato) to live on. You are safe next year UNLESS you have the same wet conditions which fosters growth of the organism.
Ldd

All of my tomato plants are in large buckets. Its expensive to change all of the soil since i use miracle grow. Can I get away with digging out the roots and getting rid of the stems?

Elliot

LI,New York

**mdvpc** · October 5, 2009

Elliot:

I cant answer your last question, but as far as container mix, I am trying this winter greenhouse season a mix of 1/3 metro mix, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 peat moss. Not very expensive at all. The metromix is the most expensive by far-perlite and peat moss is cheap.

Reusing the same mix from year to year is controversial. If you do a search, you will see posts pro and con here.

Elliot · October 12, 2009

What is metromix?

**mdvpc** · October 12, 2009

Metro Mix is a potting soil. I am using 360 for germination, and 702 in the containers.

Here is a link:

http://www.sungro.com/products_displ...hp?brand_id=17

bcday · October 12, 2009

Elliot, you don't need to change the Miracle-Gro mix in your buckets just because of Late Blight. You might want to remove the tomato roots and add amendments to the mix next year for other reasons -- to loosen compacted mix, add organic matter such as compost, and replace depleted nutrients. But once the tops of your tomatoes have been properly disposed of or been killed by freezing weather, and provided no infected potato tubers survive the winter nearby, the Late Blight is gone too.

Late Blight does not live by itself in the soil. It does not live on plant roots. It can't come back next year from the Miracle-Gro mix in your buckets or from the tomato roots.

Late Blight will survive on living potato tubers, which are actually not roots. But it doesn't live on dead plant tissue, such as potato tubers which have been killed by being frozen solid.

You might find questions #18 and #19 helpful in this FAQ about Late Blight from Cornell: http://www.hort.cornell.edu/departme...path/lbfaq.pdf

October 5, 2009	#4
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	Elliot: I cant answer your last question, but as far as container mix, I am trying this winter greenhouse season a mix of 1/3 metro mix, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 peat moss. Not very expensive at all. The metromix is the most expensive by far-perlite and peat moss is cheap. Reusing the same mix from year to year is controversial. If you do a search, you will see posts pro and con here. __________________ Michael

October 12, 2009	#6
mdvpc Tomatoville® Moderator Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 4,386	Metro Mix is a potting soil. I am using 360 for germination, and 702 in the containers. Here is a link: http://www.sungro.com/products_displ...hp?brand_id=17 __________________ Michael

October 5, 2009	#1
Elliot Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Hicksville, New York Posts: 503	Half of my plants got wiped out this year I live on the EAst Coast and in June we had 23 out of 24 days of rain. The late blight hit us early and even using soap based antifungals, most of my plants were shot. The only ones that yielded any edible fruit were cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes and another variety called Julian. My miracle sweet and other larger varieties either did not yield anything or the fruit rotted before turning red. What I am concerned with is next season. Do I have to get new soil? Is there anything I can do over the winter to minimize the problem for next year? Elliot LI, New York

October 5, 2009	#2
cottonpicker Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: SE PA..near Valley Forge Posts: 839	Spores of Late Blight won't survive the winter without living tissue (tomato or potato) to live on. You are safe next year UNLESS you have the same wet conditions which fosters growth of the organism. Ldd

October 12, 2009	#7
bcday Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NY z5 Posts: 1,205	Elliot, you don't need to change the Miracle-Gro mix in your buckets just because of Late Blight. You might want to remove the tomato roots and add amendments to the mix next year for other reasons -- to loosen compacted mix, add organic matter such as compost, and replace depleted nutrients. But once the tops of your tomatoes have been properly disposed of or been killed by freezing weather, and provided no infected potato tubers survive the winter nearby, the Late Blight is gone too. Late Blight does not live by itself in the soil. It does not live on plant roots. It can't come back next year from the Miracle-Gro mix in your buckets or from the tomato roots. Late Blight will survive on living potato tubers, which are actually not roots. But it doesn't live on dead plant tissue, such as potato tubers which have been killed by being frozen solid. You might find questions #18 and #19 helpful in this FAQ about Late Blight from Cornell: http://www.hort.cornell.edu/departme...path/lbfaq.pdf