TO FUNGICIDE ...OR NOT...?

[Gardeneer]

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN A POUND OF CURE.

Today I started my routine, officially.
I posted a sheet of paper on the wall, in the garage to keep track. I cannot trust my memory.
here it goes :

April 1st >>> Daconil >>> applied half strength.

I have also Neem oil at hand to alternate. Thinking about getting Copper fungicide too. I have bleach in the house as well.
I will do it ~~ once a week, depending on the rain. I will repeat after rain no matter when I sprayed before that. Then rain can also delay my schedule. For example if it has been 7 days since the last spray but it is going to rain for the next 4 day then I will will do it on the 12th.
What is your view on Fungiciding ?

I like to alternate with Neem oil as it is also insecticide and miticide. Or that is what is claimed. I know it works on aphids and white flies.
I also spray milk/water (50/50) on squash family to ward off powdery mildew.

[seaeagle]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN A POUND OF CURE.

Today I started my routine, officially.
I posted a sheet of paper on the wall, in the garage to keep track. I cannot trust my memory.
here it goes :

April 1st >>> Daconil >>> applied half strength.

I have also Neem oil at hand to alternate. Thinking about getting Copper fungicide too. I have bleach in the house as well.
I will do it ~~ once a week, depending on the rain. I will repeat after rain no matter when I sprayed before that. Then rain can also delay my schedule. For example if it has been 7 days since the last spray but it is going to rain for the next 4 day then I will will do it on the 12th.
What is your view on Fungiciding ?

I like to alternate with Neem oil as it is also insecticide and miticide. Or that is what is claimed. I know it works on aphids and white flies.
I also spray milk/water (50/50) on squash family to ward off powdery mildew.

Knowing you have a new garden area, I was just wondering why you would start applying fungicides before you know if you really need them or not.I know it works and all but sometimes doing no spraying works too.But I understand I think.Big problem in the area ?
Been growing tomatoes for 15 years every year and sporadically before that and I have never sprayed anything and never had a problem.

There is some evidence that once you start just like Ruffles, you can't stop

In organic tomato production, many of our hybrids are used due to their unique ability to produce well without the use of fungicides. This is a natural result of breeding without using fungicides in our plots.


http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/ccc/srch/nvg...mpltPrfl&app=1

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by seaeagle

Knowing you have a new garden area, I was just wondering why you would start applying fungicides before you know if you really need them or not.I know it works and all but sometimes doing no spraying works too.But I understand I think.Big problem in the area ?
Been growing tomatoes for 15 years every year and sporadically before that and I have never sprayed anything and never had a problem.

There is some evidence that once you start just like Ruffles, you can't stop

In organic tomato production, many of our hybrids are used due to their unique ability to produce well without the use of fungicides. This is a natural result of breeding without using fungicides in our plots.


http://www.ic.gc.ca/app/ccc/srch/nvg...mpltPrfl&app=1

I think you are right about insectiside a pesticiden That you need to know what is there before you spray.
However, it is a different issue with fungicide. In this case to wait until you get the fungal disease and then spray, it will be a lost battle. Fungiciding is just for airborne foliage diseases that are transported via air/rain/winds. And so you don't know what to expect. It is more like home or car insurance policy. At the surface if you are not involved in an accident or your home is not caught on fire YOU ARE WASTING YOUR MONEY.

[b54red]

I would not cut the recommended dosage. I have been remiss about starting my fungicide use and already have removed multiple small lower stems with EB even though they have only been in the ground a little over a week. I will be spraying them tomorrow.

Bill

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by b54red

I would not cut the recommended dosage. I have been remiss about starting my fungicide use and already have removed multiple small lower stems with EB even though they have only been in the ground a little over a week. I will be spraying them tomorrow.

Bill

Thanks Bill. I think you are right. At first I was thinking to make half a gallon mix. Then I pour one gallon in the sprayer. Then after spraying I realized what I did.I have still some left in the sprayer. Tomorrow I will sprayer eggplants and peppers with it. The next time I will do it at full strength.
BTW: Do you use copper fungicide ? If yes then what brand ?

[seaeagle]

I was curious so I looked at the tomato disease charts and this is what I found.

Of all the tomato diseases only Late Blight can be spread by the wind.All the other tomato diseases could be prevented with a mulching program and good sanitary practices, bottom water etc.Late blight can also occur any time of the year.(I got tired of reading so accuracy not guaranteed)

Prevention & Treatment: The following guidelines should be followed to minimize late blight problems:

• Keep foliage dry. Locate your garden where it will receive morning sun.
• Allow extra room between the plants, and avoid overhead watering, especially late in the day.
• Purchase certified disease-free seeds and plants.
• Destroy volunteer tomato and potato plants and nightshade family weeds, which may harbor the fungus.
• Do not compost rotten, store-bought potatoes.
• Pull out and destroy diseased plants.
• If disease is severe enough to warrant chemical control, select one of the following fungicides: chlorothalonil (very good); copper fungicide, or mancozeb (good). See Table 1 for examples of fungicide products for home garden use. Follow the directions on the label.
• Plant resistant cultivars. See Table 3 for tomato cultivars with resistance to late blight.

http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgi.../hgic2217.html

I think mulching is the key to preventing most tomato disease and even better mulch the whole garden if possible using the no till method where no soil is ever exposed.Works for me and the fact that I don't think there are any gardens within a couple miles of me.Not sure how far the wind can carry Light Blight.

But I understand also some have to use fungicides.

EDIT-Reading it again Leaf Mold can be spread by the wind too

[b54red]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

Thanks Bill. I think you are right. At first I was thinking to make half a gallon mix. Then I pour one gallon in the sprayer. Then after spraying I realized what I did.I have still some left in the sprayer. Tomorrow I will sprayer eggplants and peppers with it. The next time I will do it at full strength.
BTW: Do you use copper fungicide ? If yes then what brand ?

I use the Southern Ag brand and use the lowest recommended amount most of the time. I alternate between that and Daconil unless one specific disease is causing more problems then I will go with the one that is more effective for a few weeks. For serious problem diseases like Gray mold or Late Blight and sometimes Septoria I will go quickly to a bleach spray and then a day later go with a followup fungicide.

Bill

[bigpinks]

Neighbor and I use daconil but its a waste of time as both of us have let the soil get inundated with the EB fungus. Because it never fails to cut our season short whether we spray or not. Some yrs its worse(earlier) or better(later). I will have 75 plants this yr and he will have 350. He always harvests enough to tailgate daily for two to three weeks blight be danged. He sells German Johnson and Hillbilly but mostly the round 10-12 oz Goliath.

[Worth1]

I have a small critter on my grape vines I think they are baby leaf hoppers.
I dont have anything here at home to run them off.
Then there are the other fungi and so on that will get them later in the year.
I really need to get on top of this.
Not for sure what to use or get.
I dont care if it is organic or not.
Worth

[Gardeneer]

Well, whether the fungus is transported via air or comes from the ground and lands on the foliage
spraying is a preventing measure to keep the spores from multiplying and spreading. That is the main purpose of FUNGAL SPRAYING, in my view. At certain instances , certain fungicides might also keep the spreading at the bay or slow it down. But it is better to prevent it or destroy the fungus as soon as it lands on the foliage. Makes sense to me.
This procedure costs me few dollars and some time and effort, which I have already dedicated to gardening activity.
I must add that one has power to rule in his own garden, to fungicide or not fungicide. Those who don't they have pretty good reasons of their own. This is very much like health, eating and food diet.

[brownrexx]

I am with you seaeagle. I do not spray either. I have my entire garden mulched with a layer of straw and I do almost all of the things that you have listed. I have almost no trouble with any tomato plant diseases except for Late Blight so I start to spray preventatively in July with Actinovate which is a biologic control.

I will say that I think that it is a different story to grow tomatoes in the south or if you are trying to grow hundreds of plants. I only grow about 15. They have more foliage disease in the south than I do here in PA. I do see a small amount of Early Blight but with only 15 plants I can easily prune it off. If I had hundreds of plants I would not be able to do that.

[mikemansker]

I used this https://smile.amazon.com/Garden-Safe-Fungicide3-Concentrate-HG-10411X/dp/B000JETF1M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491160572&sr=8-1&keywords=garden+safe+fungicide+3
last year for the first time, once a week and I had a great year with plants in better shape for longer than I had before.

[Worth1]

Not gonna happen here in the south it is like a hot steaming Congo jungle sometimes.
Like today.
Last year was horrible.
Aunt Ruby's German Green went through it like a real trooper and put out a ton of fruit.
The darn thing survived the sweltering Congo summer the rains the deer wild monkeys, ravenous cannibals, head hunters, and everything with no spray and came back to put fruit on in the fall.
The deer got most but that isn't the plants fault.
It is my green of choice and about the third time I have grown it with the same results.
I cannot speak highly enough for this variety in my area, no need to look farther for me.
Great flavor too.

Worth