Lots of problems PLEASE HELP!! PIX

[feldon30]

Yes, whatever you do, don't use topsoil in a pot. Potting Mix or Pro-Mix is recommended.

No concern about tomatoes and peppers close to each other.

[bcday]

I second what Feldon just said, don't use topsoil in a pot. If you haven't opened the bag yet, take it back and exchange it for potting mix, not potting soil. Topsoil, or even potting soil, will turn to concrete in a container. It won't do your plants any good. I use Miracle-Gro potting mix and have no problems with it.

[chanceysmama]

ok, Thanks. I will do that. Glad I asked. I have sprayed all of my others with Daconil and trimmed all the yucky branches off, they already look so much better, I just hope they dont sun scald if it gets really hot here. They dont have much protection now. I also purchased an insecticide and am waiting till early morning to spray that, thought I should let the Daconil dry before I spray insecticide. Anyone have any suggestions on that for in the future.

[amideutch]

Thank you. The only thing equivilant between Serenade and Daconil is they are fungicides. Their chemical makeup and how they combat fungus is totally different. One is organic and the other inorganic. Chanceysmama, my point is look before you leap. The people here at Tville have nothing but good intentions. As Feldon has pointed out in his subsequent post there are alternatives to Daconil. This year I am using a product called Actinovate and have had excellent results so far. I'm also going to try a product called CBF-2606 from ecochem. Here are some links to both. Ami
http://www.naturalindustries.com/sp.html
http://www.ecochem.com/t_cbf.html

[chanceysmama]

It has been 6 days since my first application of Daconil and removing bad foilage, and it is still progressing up the plant. How soon should I see results? I am going to reapply but just dont know what to expect.

[hasshoes]

The last photo is septoria leaf spot, which I'm pretty sure just keeps progressing up the plant no matter what/when you spray. Google it. . . I think you may be able to still get some fruit, unlike some of the other diseases out there

[amideutch]

chanceysmama, here is a link that should help. The problem is once your plant is infected you can put all the daconil you want on it but it will not help. Daconil is a "Foliar Protectant". When a plant is already infected you need a "Systemic Fungicide" that will eradicate the disease. Ami
http://www.plantanswers.com/garden_column/april04/4.htm

[chanceysmama]

Ami, so if I use a systemic fungicide will it stop it? Will it get into the flesh of the toms. The thought of it in my forming toms kind of makes me not even want any at all.

[Suze]

Originally Posted by chanceysmama

Ami, so if I use a systemic fungicide will it stop it? Will it get into the flesh of the toms. The thought of it in my forming toms kind of makes me not even want any at all.

I'd recommend you remove affected foliage, then keep spraying with Daconil.

Generally speaking, systemic fungicides for use on vegetable/fruit crops aren't readily available to the home grower. Folks aren't going to be able to just run to the garden center and pick them up or even easily order online. Frequently, a license is required to obtain such products, and they are sold in rather large quantities for the commercial grower. Also, be aware that not just any systemic can be used on food crops. Actually, there are very few that can be.

Topsin M, mentioned in the column that Ami linked to, isn't readily available to the public as far as I know. (If someone has info to the contrary, please post it). I guess I find it a little odd that the author would recommend it, since the column seems to be for home gardeners.

On a side note, one systemic that comes to mind that I've been meaning to read more about is Quadris. But that's another topic.

[Suze]

Originally Posted by Suze

I'd recommend you remove affected foliage, then keep spraying with Daconil.

One more point. Sometimes, "affected foliage" won't always be visible to your eyes. What I mean by this is that some of the seemingly unaffected foliage may already have the fungal spores present on the surface, but no lesions have resulted yet.

So, when you remove visibly affected foliage and spray, you may very well see yet more lesions appear on the plant. This tends to make folks think the Daconil isn't doing its job. But it is. As Ami points out, it is not an anti-fungal per se, but more of a foliar protectant.

Just keep removing visibly affected foliage and spraying should you decide to stick with the Daconil route.

[amideutch]

chanceysmama, I'm not that familiar with systemic fungicides but I came across this product that may meet your needs. Here is a link to where you can buy and another about the product. Maybe suze will chime in as to what she thinks about the product as well. Ami
http://www.merrifieldgardencenter.co...openparent=116
http://nature.berkeley.edu/garbelott...osBrochure.pdf

[GManess]

I'm not sure how Serenade seemed to get a bad rap earlier in the post, perhaps the poster was unfamiliar with the product? This is my first year useing the product but thus far, I have nothing but praise for it. Over the last 5 years in my small urban backyard garden and being unable to rotate my Tomato, Pepper, and Eggplant crops, I have had a plague of soil borne diseases (last year being the worst). This year I planted on black plastic and after researching SERENADE decided to purchase some. After a bad storm laid down many of my tomato plants (many coverered with infected garden soli) I began to apply SERENADE. After applying SERENADE for 3 weeks (once every 7 days as recommended) I only had 1 plant that showed the slightest signs on Blight or Anthracnose.

From www.serenadegarden.com
Serenade Garden Disease Control is a broad spectrum, preventative biofungicide recommended for the control or suppression of many important plant diseases (see section below). It may be used on vegetables, fruits and nuts including tomatoes, peppers, melons, carrots, broccoli, lettuce, onions, apples, pears and walnuts in addition to annual and perennial bedding plants and flowers, roses, potted flowers, foliage plants, trees and shrubs located in residential greenhouses and residential and commercial landscapes and interiorscapes. Serenade Garden Disease Control can be applied up to and including the day of harvest.
Diseases Controlled
Following is a list of vegetable, fruit, nut and ornamental diseases controlled or suppressed by Serenade Garden Disease Control RTU:
Anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.)
Bacteria (Erwinia, Pseudomonas, Xanthomonas spp.)
Bacterial Leaf Blight (Xanthomonas campestris)
Bacterial Speck (Pseudomonas syringae pv. Tomato)
Bacterial Spot (Xanthomonas spp.) - suppression
Black Mold (Alternaria alternata)
Black Root Rot / Black Crown Rot (Alternaria spp.)
Black Spot of Rose (Diplocarpon rosea)
Botrytis (Botrytis spp.)
Downy Mildew (Bremia lactucae, Personospora spp.) and (Plasmopara viticola - suppression)
Early Blight (Alternaria solani)
Fire Blight (Erwinia amylovora) - suppression
Gray Mold (Botrytis cinerea)
Late Blight (Phtytophthora infestans)
Leaf Spots and Rusts - (Alternaria, Cercospora, Entomosporium, Helminthsporium, Myrothecium, Septoria, Puccinia, and Phragmidium spp.)
Pin Rot (Alternaria / Xanthomonas complex) - suppression
Powdery Mildew (Uncinula necator, Erysiphe spp., Sphaerotheca spp., Oidiopsis taurica, Leveillula taurica, Podosphaera leucotricha)
Scab (Venturia spp.) - suppression
Walnut Blight (Xanthomonas campestris)

Serenade Garden provides protection against a broad spectrum of the most common fungal and bacterial garden diseases, yet is completely non-toxic to bees and beneficial insects. It is so safe you can confidently harvest and eat fruits and vegetables the very same day they are treated. Unlike sulfur-based disease control products, Serenade Garden is non-irritating to skin and lungs. And, unlike neem oil-based products that can injure plant foliage, there are no weather or timing restrictions limiting its application.
Serenade Garden Disease Control RTU and Concentrate are acceptable for organic production by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through the National Organic Program (NOP) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and are also listed by the Organic Materials Review Institute (OMRI).
Serenade Garden - safety, convenience and effective disease control in a bottle, for the health of your garden, your family and your loved ones.

[amideutch]

GManess, nothing wrong with Serenade. It is a fine product. The problem was chanceysmama's plants were already infected and a preventative fungicide was not going to help. When you start using it from the get go you are all right. After the fact is the problem and thats where systemic fungicides come into play. Ami

[rsg2001]

For preventive action, I have found using Serenade on a weekly basis has really helped cut back on various foliage diseases. I also use Messenger. Since I've been using these two, my garden has done much better - less disease, more tomatoes.
A few years ago I did try Daconil for gray spot on my tomatoes. I found it kept things from getting worse and stopped it from spreading, although truthfully I couldn't stand the smell of it.

[feldon30]

Yes, next year, chanceysmama, I would recommend you start spraying a fungal control from the DAY of transplant every week through the season. Practically dip your plants in the stuff at plant out. And this is in addition to using 4-8" of mulch. It's up to you to decide on Serenade vs Daconil, I say use whatever works.

I've seen enough people try Serenade in the South and Southeast and get insufficient protection and switch to Daconil which resolved their problems that I went straight for the Daconil. I didn't want to "experiment" for 2-3 years. I wanted tomatoes. Call me greedy.

Also, the rainstorms we get in S.E. Texas are quite unlike what most people are familiar with.

In New York, the city was basically shut down because 3 inches of rain fell in a span of 3 hours. In Houston, we get two to three storms per year that dump rain at twice that speed. Almost every year I have lived here, we've had at least one 3-4 day-long "monsoon event" with 12-20 inches falling in just a couple of days.