currently gazing at my pitiful garden, tearful and forlorn

[unless]

i hereby nominate south texas as the worst, most disease and pest-prone area for cultivating tomatoes.

i see all these pretty pictures out of california and places up north. meanwhile, it's swelteringly hot here and unbearably humid and the heavy air is seemingly saturated with fungus. my container garden is but a row of oversized petri dishes.

the whole gang is in: blight and stink bugs and root knot nematodes and a swarm of peckish mockingbirds. the list goes on.

actinovate and beneficial nematodes and neem and netting and decoy tomatoes (for the birds) apparently weren't enough to stop the scourge. i'm doing what i thought was the appropriate organic protocol, but there is little that hasn't gone tragically awry.

it's only my first season, but i'm already losing hope. this whole endeavor has quickly spiraled downward from rewarding hobby to unrelenting frustration.

WELL, any other nominees for the most tomato-inhospitable locale? south florida perhaps?

[Redbaron]

That sounds terrible Unless. I wish I could help, but I never grew tomatoes in south Texas. The people in South Florida grow in winter because they pretty much can't grow in summer either.

[Rockporter]

I am in south tx as well on the coastal bend and I know how you feel. Just do the best you can by removing diseased leafs off the plants and pick what you can. I often get a little depressed when I see such beautiful gardens in other areas as well but I do my best and get what I can. I also garden in the fall through winter and the results are far better than spring/summer time.

[unless]

thanks y'all for the condolences.

i suppose it's not all bad. i do harvest some (pound or two a day) and just cut off the hole-y or pecked-at bits. so the plants are fruiting. they just aren't winning any beauty contests!!!

if i can keep the plants until august before they peter out, then i will be happy just cutting my losses and moving on. i'll probably sow the fall/winter stuff in late october anyway. march through august would make a six-month run. HOW people can keep tomato plants for a full nine-month season, i just don't know. don't they all just get kinda ratty after a while?

oh, forgot to mention the vacuum cleaner. that's another organic pest control measure i've implemented (besides the aforementioned netting and such). passersby stop and stare at the crazed guy in his backyard covered in sweat and maniacally wielding a vacuum cleaner!!! i do actually enjoy this attention, i must admit. i feel like a nerdy garden superhero when i take out a family of baby squash bugs.

[Rockporter]

Have you heard of the Bugzooka?
http://www.bugzooka.com/

Might be easier than a vacumm cleaner but I sure understand the need to get the bugs out. I have some leaf footed's that keep getting away from me when I try to kill them so I am thinking I want a Bugzooka.

In south tx to get a garden through the end of July is about all you will be able, it is just too hot and humid out here, so the only thing you might be able to keep growing would be some watermelons or cantaloupe. Sorry for the bad news but get ready for fall planting because you will do much better then.

You will actually be planting in September for fall crops here.

[unless]

bugzooka is certainly more convenient than my current behemoth-of-a-vacuum-with-world's-longest-extention-cord.

also, good thing i planted watermelon and cantaloupe! now i have something to look forward to for the dog days!

do you mean fall crops as in a second sowing of tomatoes and corn, or fall/winter crops like brassicas and peas? i'm thinking of waiting and just doing the frost-hardy stuff.

[Rockporter]

Yes, tomatoes, peppers and winter crops all do well with the September planting. I am not sure if corn would do well or not since I have yet to plant any.

[b54red]

Our two climates are very similar with all the bugs and fungus of South Texas. We have the additional treat of terrible fusarium wilt and yearly bouts with TSWV. The problem with going totally organic in these conditions is that so few of the organic solutions can overcome the relentless attacks by our critters and diseases. So far this year I have had aphids, worms, fusarium (far less than usual due to grafting), Gray Mold, Early Blight, TSWV, Powdery Mildew, and some kind of speck or spot disease. I continue setting out new plants every week or two because there is no use trying to keep plants alive all summer; but sometimes a few actually do live that long. It is far easier and more productive to keep putting in new ones and hope they can survive the summer heat. I tried all organic for a few years with results that sound just like you are having right now. The major benefit of organic gardening down here is in soil amendments and the help it gives the plants in surviving the elements here.

For the past few years I have had 9 month seasons and sometimes longer; but it requires quick responses to problems and adapting to the climate with things that work. I amend my soil with as much compost as I can make and large doses of cottonseed meal and alfalfa meal that feed the plants as well as the worm population. I mulch heavily with cypress mulch which retains moisture very well and keeps the soil underneath cooler than any other mulch I have tried. I start planting out in early march and don't usually stop til early September with both tomatoes and bell peppers. I put up some shade when possible usually in June or early July to help with the 100 degree days and relentless sunshine.

It is freaky to walk outside among the tomato plants in the morning and see them dripping wet like they were just rained on when there has been no rain. There are some things that will help with the humidity and the inability of plants to dry quickly in that high humidity. I keep my plants sprayed weekly with Daconil and now I am alternating with a copper spray to see if it will do a better job combating Gray Mold which is like having slow acting Late Blight. Never use overhead watering and try not to use foliar feeding except in an emergency to correct an iron deficiency. I keep my plants pruned to allow air flow and sunlight into them and limit the number of stems; but the number one thing that has kept me producing tomatoes when most others are through is the use of a mild bleach solution to stop foliage diseases before they get bad. I use the spray at the first sign of disease and I use it often. It has prolonged the life of my tomato plants more than anything else I have done. I have high hopes that the grafting will help with my fusarium problem and so far this year it has. There is nothing I can do that will prevent the random attacks by TSWV and sometimes Late Blight hits but thankfully that doesn't happen every year.

Another thing that helps a lot is devoting a large portion of the tomatoes I set out after May to varieties that have proven that they can set fruit and survive the hottest weather like Big Beef, Indian Stripe, Cherokee Purple, Spudakee, Andrew Rahart's Jumbo Red, and quite a few others that I have found through years of trial and error. I no longer devote much time and effort into saving a plant that is not thriving. Instead I just pull it up and replace it. I have learned the hard way that there is little benefit in babying a sickly plant in this climate. I try to keep a steady supply of seedlings to replace plants that are dying and have found that having a lot of plants in different stages of growth in the garden to be a huge benefit if I want to have fresh tomatoes over a long extended season. I lose on average half the plants I set out after mid May within the first two weeks of transplanting them to the garden but by continually replacing them I find that some will thrive despite the harsh conditions and those are the plants I want.

I don't like to spray my plants because it is a job; but if I don't then I won't have plants for long. As my health problems and age have made it more and more difficult to apply the needed sprays I found that going ahead and buying a high quality backpack sprayer was a life saver. I bought an SP Systems backpack sprayer that is approved for use with dilute bleach sprays and that pumps up to around 150 psi. It has saved me so much time and effort because it sprays such a fine powerful mist and is so easy to pump up. What used to take an hour or two only takes a few minutes now. It is only mid week and I have already sprayed my garden twice and will probably have to do it again before the week is out.

Despite doing all these things it is still hit or miss whether the plants will produce more than a minimal amount from July til late September when it usually starts cooling down. The twin plagues of whiteflies and spider mites can devastate my tomatoes sometimes in mid or late summer. I have found using an insect growth regulator to be helpful. The absolutely most important thing I can never do during summer is neglect the plants for more than a few days or all my efforts have been wasted. It is absolutely amazing how fast and how devastating some of the diseases are in this petri dish of a climate and sometimes the insect pests are just as bad. After 40 years of growing tomatoes here I still find it hard to believe just how fast things can deteriorate from just one day to the next.

So if you are not a total tomato nut like many posting on this forum then you would be much better off to just have some tomatoes early and set out a few in the fall and just forget the summer. I used to be normal like that and then found all these wonderful heirlooms and lost my mind. It is not too late for you yet. You may not have developed a full blown tomato addiction yet but if you continue the obsession will only get worse.


Bill

[feldon30]

As far as the mockingbirds, are you picking the tomatoes as soon as they show a blush?

Vine-ripened tomatoes are a myth. Tomatoes you pick with just a little bit of color and finish ripening indoors will taste as good as ones left on the vine for the birds to eat, except you get to eat them.

Originally Posted by unless

HOW people can keep tomato plants for a full nine-month season, i just don't know.

In 4 years of gardening in S.E. Texas, I never tried to keep plants alive. It seemed like Maximum Effort, Minimum Result to me. I did used to grow tomatoes for a fall crop, starting seeds the 2nd week of June, planting in August, and nursing them along until first frost. Only cherries, Momotaro, and Black and Brown Boar did well.

In Houston, I plant the first week of March, and the plants are dead by the end of July. Tomatoes in South, Central, and South East Texas are a short season crop.

[Master_Gardener]

This has been a bad year for me also. I live in Indiana. Heat has not been a problem so far this year, but pests can eat a lot. In retrospect, I should feel lucky. This is the first year I have had to treat for slugs. They ate everything... twice. I now have them under control but it set me back weeks.

Our weather may be cooler, but it's only recently got into the 80's. Part of the reason for the cooler temperature was the fact that it rained every day for three weeks. Very little sun. I guess we all have our problems. At least you can find a kind word here from those who really do feel your pain. I almost gave up on my garden this season. I figured that once the slugs ate everything, they would then starve. I decided not to chance it. The frequent rain kept washing off the DE leaving my plants defenseless.

I bought a 3 gal concrete sprayer last year for foliar feeding, etc. which seems to work for me. It is a bit heavy. Steel and brass construction with epoxy coating inside. It has an adjustable spray nozzle so I can also reach the top of my dwarf fruit trees.

Gardening can be serious work. Having good tools helps to make our jobs easier. I like easier. My pride and joy is a Japanese soil knife. Yes, I know that they make them here. I was asked to help a fellow gardener sharpen their 'Made in America' soil knife but it didn't have an edge. I will need to put it on a grinder. What kind of soil knife has no edge?

Russel

[TightenUp]

last season i used actinovate but honestly didnt spray as often as i should. see i'm on an island on NJ coast and like bill i walk into the garden in the morning and my plants are soaking wet. i'm trying to stay ahead of it this season by applying actinovate, exel lg, and molasses at least once a week. if i get rain i spray immediately after.

i bought a 2 gallon pump sprayer as opposed to last season i used a 1 quart hand sprayer. having the proper equipment makes it much more efficient to spray all my plants.

also if or when disease strikes i'm willing to abandon my organic methods. this season i have a bottle of daconil concentrate and will also try bills diluted bleach spray. i know daconil is a preventative but i'd like to stay organic if possible

my opinion is if you're staying organic be as diligent as possible. no room for being lackadaisical for even a day or two.

[tlintx]

I feel a bit jealous when I see the beautiful spring and summer gardens elsewhere (Cali photos especially!), and it can be hard to give up on cherries and peonies. And I'm sorry to see my tomatoes on the way out.

But...

We have 270 growing days!

Can't wait to see what I can grow this year, once it cools off a little. Can't wait to try indoor (and outdoor when it's nice) December tomatoes.

[ScottinAtlanta]

I keep my plants sprayed weekly with Daconil and now I am alternating with a copper spray

I thought Daconil is a copper spray. Is there another kind of copper spray?

[GnomeGrown]

Originally Posted by b54red

. I used to be normal like that and then found all these wonderful heirlooms and lost my mind. It is not too late for you yet. You may not have developed a full blown tomato addiction yet but if you continue the obsession will only get worse.


Bill

--Ain't that the truth.

[linzelu100]

If it is only your first season of growing, I would stay hopefull still. You have a lot of trial and error to go through- just enjoy all the moments. You will learn your environment and will do good if you keep trying at it. It took me 6 years to grow a good tomato. Now I do well and enjoy it more because of that, but am having an AWFUL season this year. Still enjoying it though. As you can tell from these posts and others recently it is a tuff year for weather. Write down everything that is effecting you negatively, then this winter search out solutions to try the next year.

Good luck
Linze