How often do you spray?

[b54red]

Originally Posted by brownrexx

I get tomatoes starting at the END of June so it's really not that early.

This year I grew:

Big Beef
Jersey Boy (a new favorite and it gave me the first ripe toms)
Sun Sugar
Brandywine (produces late like August)
Rutgers 250 (not impressed with this one)
Ramapo (not impressed with this one either)


I always grow Big Beef because it is very reliable and disease resistant. That plant is still putting on new growth right now and I am still harvesting.

Jersey Boy is also a Burpee hybrid and a wonderful producer. It is a cross between an unnamed beefsteak and Brandywine. It gave me my earliest tomatoes this year and everyone loves the taste. I will definitely grow this one again.

I have grown lots of heirlooms in the past but this year I only grew the Brandywine which is a favorite.

For early production you might want to try Pruden's Purple. It is the earliest of all the pink beefsteaks I have tried over the years and it can put on a lot of fruit fast.
Some others that produce early are Indian Stripe PL or reg, Spudakee, and JD's Special C Tex. Limbaugh's Legacy and Cowlick's Brandywine both seem to beat Sudduth's by a week or two and the flavor is nearly the same.

Bill

[brownrexx]

Thanks, I will check into Pruden's Purple for sure.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by brownrexx

Thanks, I will check into Pruden's Purple for sure.

I have found that sometimes, and especially in the spring you might even need to cull some with Pruden's Purple if you want some larger fruits because of the number of fruit it will set. The same can be true of other varieties but I have found after years that Pruden's is one of the most prolific fruit setters despite the weather conditions.

Bill

[rick9748]

Can you break down the use , frequency and dosage of these products?Would appreciate knowing how you use them.Am down just below Columbia SC, hot and humid all season.Constant fight with foliar disease.I do a weekly rotation of Daconil and copper at present.Am including a mixture of Actionvate and Seranade as preventive.
I just keep looking for more weapons to battle the disease in my climate.

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by rick9748

Can you break down the use , frequency and dosage of these products?Would appreciate knowing how you use them.Am down just below Columbia SC, hot and humid all season.Constant fight with foliar disease.I do a weekly rotation of Daconil and copper at present.Am including a mixture of Actionvate and Seranade as preventive.
I just keep looking for more weapons to battle the disease in my climate.

Daconil
Cooper
Actinovate
Serenade

Sounds like a very inclusive arsenal. If the fungi are still breaking through despite all of those one has to give em a firm handshake and much respect, those are serious survival skills/fitness.

Cold pressed Neem can be another weapon.

[SueCT]

I only use Daconil, and I use it a few times a season, not as often as I should, unless I start to see signs of early disease. Then I try to spray more on time, like the recommended 7-10 day intervals, as well as removing any diseaed foliage. I can harvest fruit for an extra 4-6 weeks at the end of the season if I spray to prevent fungal diseases which can end my season much earlier. So I should spray more regularly, but work, weather, the high heat of summer and lazyness often get in the way, lol.

[Gardeneer]

I spray, every 10 to 15 days. I alternate between :
Daconile
Neem
Copper.
I use Neem for its miticide and insexticide effect, not so much as fungicide..
If you experience a lot of rain and high humidity, try lightening up some of the foliage, especially lower leaf branches. This should help with better air movement through the plants.

[TigrikT]

My regimen.
Start spraying when desease pressure is high. Usually 2-3 weeks after transplanting.
Before rain. Daconil.
After rain. If needed
- Spinosad (high insects pressure )
- BT (average insects pressure)
- Excel LG (for downy mildew etc)
- copper (for peppers mostly if any signs of bacterial desease, seldom)
For Powdry Mildew on Cucurbits - do nothing as it hits at the end of the season.
For Cucumber Beetles - plant resistant cultivars
Usualy, I stop spraying at the end of August.

My observations:
- Neem oil tends to burn plants even if used in the evening
- Actinovate, Serenade are weak and need to reapply often, every few days. Quickly becomes too much work and cost.


I often consult NEWA model (newa.cornell.edu) as a guidance.
I use a back pack sprayer, much easier

[Gardeneer]

I forgot tp mention bleach spray.
I remember now that after days of rain and high humidity some of my plants show sign of grey mold..
So as soon as the rain stops I will do a round of bleach spray.
I used to get Grey Mold often up in PNW and I found bleach spray effective.

[rick9748]

Would you mind sharing your product mixes and schedule.
I live in South Carolina; July & August = 45+'s days 95 & up, with max humidity.
No spraying no tomatoes after first fruit set.

[rick9748]

Could you give details of your mixes and strength of products used.
If used in combination would you give details of mix & strengths used.
I live in South Carolina: July & August = 45+'s days 95 * or better with max humidity.
Spray or Die.
Looking for that magic formula.
Thanks
Rick P

[Shrinkrap]

"Start spraying when desease pressure is high. Usually 2-3 weeks after transplanting.
Before rain. Daconil.
After rain. If needed
- Spinosad (high insects pressure )
- BT (average insects pressure)
- Excel LG (for downy mildew etc)
- copper (for peppers mostly if any signs of bacterial desease, seldom)
For Powdry Mildew on Cucurbits - do nothing as it hits at the end of the season.
For Cucumber Beetles - plant resistant cultivars
Usualy, I stop spraying at the end of August. "

I like this. It helps make sense of my experience. Especially Spinosad, but otherwise, except for the parts after "After rain".

After May, this (rain thing ) does not compute.

My hand pump sprayer holds about 2 quarts, I believe. Last year I sprayed neem once or twice a week depending on how the rainstorms came, at a concentration of about a teaspoon of neem oil plus a little liquid soap as an emulsifier. This made a small dent in the aphids and foliar diseases but didn’t eradicate.
Starting in January I hung dozens of Seabright Labs yellow sticky traps and they have worked fantastically against aphids and whiteflies.

This spring has been delightfully dry but that’s about to end. I plan to begin a bleach spray alternating with peroxide, applied near the end of the day, once or twice a week. I’ll have to see how much the leaves can stand by starting with a weak dilution and moving up.

I thin all suckers below the first flower truss, and if it’s a thickly foliaged tomato I thin more. It’s a balancing act - air circulation vs. sun-scald. I’ve already started removing the very bottom set of leaves; anything close to the soil line is coming off.

The other big change was converting all tomatoes and peppers over to a soilless 5-1-1 mix. So far so good!

[meagain]

I don't suppose one could mix neem with copper?

[JosephineRose]

We have tomato russet mite here. I have to spray weekly. I haven't done this year, and I am paying the price. I wish I didn't have to.

Last week I started 2/3 c DE/2 T Dawn/1 oz Azomax

This week I may dial it up a notch and swap Azomax with Pyganic.

The dawn and azomax numbers are rough. I try to balance them out so I don't get clumps of oil. I want an emulsion to stick to the plants.