Tomato bed is bad - will it affect other plants?

elpis · July 13, 2011

I started all of my plants from seed. The ones in my primary garden are doing great - the one in the raised bed in front of my house are clearly done for. I had grown toms there last year, and thought the problem was from where I got the plants. Clearly it is in the soil.

So, now, no tomatoes in this bed for a while, if ever. Are there other things that I shouldn't grow here?

Stepheninky · July 14, 2011

Quote:

Originally Posted by elpis

I started all of my plants from seed. The ones in my primary garden are doing great - the one in the raised bed in front of my house are clearly done for. I had grown toms there last year, and thought the problem was from where I got the plants. Clearly it is in the soil.

So, now, no tomatoes in this bed for a while, if ever. Are there other things that I shouldn't grow here?

It depends what was in the bed before disease wise, but for the most part I would say do not grow tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, or eggplant as they are all in the same family and give the space some time like a couple of years then you should be able to grow them in it. That does suck though. I know one of the national seedling sellers had issues a couple of years ago with spreading late blight from plants from a few of there regional greenhouses.

bcday · July 14, 2011

Without knowing what disease affected your tomatoes it's hard to say what else you can grow there. Not all tomato diseases stay in the soil, and some soil or pest/disease problems will affect almost any plant you put in there. And there are even pests or diseases that will affect one variety of tomato more than another one.

So it would be helpful to know a few details --

* Do you know which pest or disease affected your plants?

* Is this a new raised bed and was last year the first time you grew anything in it? Where did the soil to fill it come from and what amendments were added to it?

* Where or how far away is your primary garden, and is that also in raised beds or in the ground?

* What did the plants look like when you first noticed something was wrong? For example, did some of the leaves wilt while they were still green, or did some of the leaves get spots on them or turn yellow first, or what?

It would help if you could post a good clear closeup photo of a sick (not dead) leaf and one of a whole plant or maybe the whole raised bed.

Sorry for all the questions, but it gives us a better idea of what else you could grow there.

If you are pulling the tomato plants out for this year (but please post pics first if you can), there is still time this season to plant a fall crop of short-season veggies such as bush beans in that bed and see how they do.

feldon30 · July 15, 2011

Before I would throw in the towel on a garden bed, I would want to diagnose the problem. See bcday's post above.

July 13, 2011	#1
elpis Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Illinois Posts: 1	Tomato bed is bad - will it affect other plants? I started all of my plants from seed. The ones in my primary garden are doing great - the one in the raised bed in front of my house are clearly done for. I had grown toms there last year, and thought the problem was from where I got the plants. Clearly it is in the soil. So, now, no tomatoes in this bed for a while, if ever. Are there other things that I shouldn't grow here?

July 15, 2011	#4
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Before I would throw in the towel on a garden bed, I would want to diagnose the problem. See bcday's post above. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

July 14, 2011	#3
bcday Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: NY z5 Posts: 1,205	Without knowing what disease affected your tomatoes it's hard to say what else you can grow there. Not all tomato diseases stay in the soil, and some soil or pest/disease problems will affect almost any plant you put in there. And there are even pests or diseases that will affect one variety of tomato more than another one. So it would be helpful to know a few details -- * Do you know which pest or disease affected your plants? * Is this a new raised bed and was last year the first time you grew anything in it? Where did the soil to fill it come from and what amendments were added to it? * Where or how far away is your primary garden, and is that also in raised beds or in the ground? * What did the plants look like when you first noticed something was wrong? For example, did some of the leaves wilt while they were still green, or did some of the leaves get spots on them or turn yellow first, or what? It would help if you could post a good clear closeup photo of a sick (not dead) leaf and one of a whole plant or maybe the whole raised bed. Sorry for all the questions, but it gives us a better idea of what else you could grow there. If you are pulling the tomato plants out for this year (but please post pics first if you can), there is still time this season to plant a fall crop of short-season veggies such as bush beans in that bed and see how they do.