What to do now. Tomatoes in rough shape

[bzzbee2]

I was away for a couple weeks. When I came back, this is what I saw. Is there any way to save these, looks like powdery mold and possibly something else. I am not sure if I should just rip up and start over.. Tomatoes are Nebraska wedding, speckled roman, green zebra, and Blondkopfchen.




Thanks for the advice
( I can only attach one photo from iPad.... I have a bunch more)

[Cole_Robbie]

It's hard to tell from just that pic.

I would probably spray them with peroxide to kill the mildew, a bleach solution would likely work too, and then assess the damage from there.

[peebee]

If the mold is only on a few leaves I would first of all remove those.

[bzzbee2]

I added a few more photos. Its on on pretty much everything.

[zipcode]

Does look like powdery mildew, and the last some insect damage probably.
You need to spray with something. Just peroxide will not probably be enough, but it's a start. And make sure you have the best ventilation possible. Prune aggressively to improve aeration.

[KarenO]

That's a mess alright but you can salvage something
1 pick everything even starting to blush the slightest wash and dry the fruit and let them finish ripening indoors watching for mold
Spray, prune . Spray again wait a few days and fertilize.
See what happens
Hope you get some tomatoes
KarenO

[bzzbee2]

What should I spray with. I have read about baking soda mixed and 1tbsp per gallon of water, and a similar mixture of potassium bicarbonate (I have both of these) Would bleach be better? What would the ratio be for that? Thanks for your help.

[VC Scott]

I would probably go with bleach. Here is a link to a thread with discussion of the formula:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=15113

I would also consider pruning to increase air flow.

It is rather odd to see this type of mold in Southern California. Do you live near the coast? Are the tomatoes planted in full sun?

In SoCal we have had some odd weather this year. May was very grey and the last week or two we have had high heat and humidity. I think we are getting a taste of what it is like to garden in Alabama.

[ricman]

I would go with a bleach solution. I use 8oz per gallon of water along with a couple drops of soap. Spray in the evening. Good luck

Rick

[bzzbee2]

Originally Posted by VC Scott

I would probably go with bleach. Here is a link to a thread with discussion of the formula:

http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=15113

I would also consider pruning to increase air flow.

It is rather odd to see this type of mold in Southern California. Do you live near the coast? Are the tomatoes planted in full sun?

In SoCal we have had some odd weather this year. May was very grey and the last week or two we have had high heat and humidity. I think we are getting a taste of what it is like to garden in Alabama.

I live about 2 miles from the beach. close enough to get the cooler weather (temps rarely get into the 90's during the day and are 60's at night), and far enough to avoid the heat of inland California. Tomatoes are getting about 7 hours of full sun. They did grow and get pretty thick. Ventilation was probably not the greatest due to my lack of pruning early on. I will prune the affected leaves tonight and hit it with the bleach spray. thanks for the link.

[b54red]

Check for the type of bleach you have and then make your spray accordingly or just go out and buy some Clorox Ultra with 8.25% sodium hypochloride and add 5 to 5.5 oz to a full gallon of water and spray very early or very late hitting all surfaces of the leaves. You are going to lose a lot of leaves because of the extensive mildew and mold present. 24 to 36 hours after you spray with the bleach remove the dying and shriveling leaves and stems then spray again. Then the next day follow up with a copper spray or you can use Daconil. The below thread discusses in depth using the bleach spray.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...t=bleach+spray

Bill

[VC Scott]

Originally Posted by bzzbee2

I live about 2 miles from the beach. close enough to get the cooler weather (temps rarely get into the 90's during the day and are 60's at night), and far enough to avoid the heat of inland California. Tomatoes are getting about 7 hours of full sun. They did grow and get pretty thick. Ventilation was probably not the greatest due to my lack of pruning early on. I will prune the affected leaves tonight and hit it with the bleach spray. thanks for the link.

I am inland, so I almost never see any mold or mildew, except this year when we had that crazy May gray. Now I know what gray mold looks like. Luckily, it wan't too severe.

I thought you must be near the beach, because what you have would be very unusual if you lived inland.

[bzzbee2]

So is using bleach like this still in the realm of organic gardening? I have done some googling but cannot find definitive evidence...

[b54red]

Originally Posted by bzzbee2

So is using bleach like this still in the realm of organic gardening? I have done some googling but cannot find definitive evidence...

I wouldn't think so; but so what I'm not in it for a method but for the produce. I cannot believe that the totally organic proponents would consider it anything but non organic. All I know is it works most of the time and keeps my plants healthy and happy. So I'm happy.

Bill

[Cole_Robbie]

Interesting question. A lot of organic fans don't like bleach.

Chlorox has a page where they give their side of the argument:
https://www.clorox.com/our-story/the...-about-bleach/

I did find that bleach is organic-approved for post harvest use:
http://www.extension.org/pages/18355...s#.VZhdvVLlTQQ

Chlorine is a very common disinfectant that can be added to transport flumes or to produce cooling or wash water. Liquid sodium hypochlorite is typically used, with the pH of the water maintained between 6.5 and 7.5 to optimize effectiveness (Suslow, undated). The NOP approves chlorine’s use (calcium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide, and sodium hypochlorite) in postharvest management as an algicide, disinfectant, and sanitizer. These regulations restrict the residual chlorine levels in the water at the discharge or effluent point to the maximum residual disinfectant limit under the Safe Drinking Water Act, currently established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 4 mg/L (ppm) for chlorine. However, the levels of chlorine used to prepare water to be used for sanitation of tools, equipment, product, or food contact surfaces may be higher than 4 mg/L and should be in high enough concentration to control microbial contaminants. Thus, the concentration of chlorine at the beginning of a disinfection treatment is generally greater than 4 mg/L; however, care must be taken to ensure that the effluent water does not exceed this limit.

http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getf...TELPRDC5090760

The above link says it's ok for organic growers to use as a spray, as long as it does not exceed the maximum residual disinfectant limit under the SDWA.