Help with my first garden's post mortem

lowlylowlycook · October 17, 2010

So this was my first year with a garden and things went surprisingly well, but next year I'll have a bunch of heirlooms with only one plant per variety instead of a buch of hybrids that I bought as plants this year so I'd like to learn as much from this year as possible.

As I saw it my biggest tomato problems were

Early Blight (or maybe Septoria)
Stinkbugs -- saw these guys and noticed the typical damage to some tomatoes.
Something that stripped a good number of leaves off of (normally high) branches, leaving the stems.
Something that took bites out of tomatoes that looked like a tiny melon baller was used.

Any leads as to what could cause 3&4? Could the little bits be from birds or perhaps squirrels?

As far as Early Blight goes, to what degree would planting later (got a cold snap not long after planting) and being more on the ball as far as removing diseased branches help? Or is some kind of fungicide the only answer?

Things that I noticed but seemed acceptable:

Some hornworm damage but Dipel seemed to take care of it. I wish the cannister had a smaller screen for dusting though.

I had Japanese Beetles on my plants but I didn't notice any skeletonized leaves, they seemed to be more interested in flowers from a nearby tree, basil leaves and sassafrass trees as far as eating was concerned. We get a lot of these buggers though and I was worried. Should I try to relax a bit next year or should I keep dunking as many as possible into a soapy water grave?

Overall, I didn't use too many products to keep my plants going. Just the BT and a bit of neem oil when I thought the beetles might go for my toms. Any advice?

October 17, 2010	#1
lowlylowlycook Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2010 Location: So. Illinois (6a) Posts: 147	Help with my first garden's post mortem So this was my first year with a garden and things went surprisingly well, but next year I'll have a bunch of heirlooms with only one plant per variety instead of a buch of hybrids that I bought as plants this year so I'd like to learn as much from this year as possible. As I saw it my biggest tomato problems were Early Blight (or maybe Septoria) Stinkbugs -- saw these guys and noticed the typical damage to some tomatoes. Something that stripped a good number of leaves off of (normally high) branches, leaving the stems. Something that took bites out of tomatoes that looked like a tiny melon baller was used. Any leads as to what could cause 3&4? Could the little bits be from birds or perhaps squirrels? As far as Early Blight goes, to what degree would planting later (got a cold snap not long after planting) and being more on the ball as far as removing diseased branches help? Or is some kind of fungicide the only answer? Things that I noticed but seemed acceptable: Some hornworm damage but Dipel seemed to take care of it. I wish the cannister had a smaller screen for dusting though. I had Japanese Beetles on my plants but I didn't notice any skeletonized leaves, they seemed to be more interested in flowers from a nearby tree, basil leaves and sassafrass trees as far as eating was concerned. We get a lot of these buggers though and I was worried. Should I try to relax a bit next year or should I keep dunking as many as possible into a soapy water grave? Overall, I didn't use too many products to keep my plants going. Just the BT and a bit of neem oil when I thought the beetles might go for my toms. Any advice?