Even more convinced about the benefits of organic!

Tracydr · July 1, 2015

I've felt really bad for the last week or so because my tomatoes looked a little sad. We've had some really hot,humid weather with very little rain over the past few weeks. Temps around 100 with high heat indexes every day for well over 15 days. I also don't have running water.
I sprayed with kelp,neem,BT and serenade for the first time this weekend as I was noticing some sort of leaf disease and also a bunch of hornworm damage.
Today they look quite a bit better and I removed some dead leaves. We did have a little rain Saturday and a decent rain last night.
Went down the street to the produce stand today and saw the owner's tomato patch. All hybrids. He doesn't have irrigation,either. They are mostly dead and he's pulking everything this week.
Mine, I may lose a few, which I'll replace with some Christmas Limas and cucumbers. But,Oversll, my 75 plants look darn healthy,considering the stress they've had.
They've been fertilized with kelp,fish emulsion,bone meal,lime and a bit of tomato tone, plus a few alfalfa cubes. Sprayed once this weekend and hand picked what stink bugs and worms I can find.
I'm hoping next year, with irrigation, that I can have far more production. Plus, a year of organic inputs should really help,since I'm starting with a sandy pasture.
This summer is young and I hope to have plenty of tomatoes this year too, unless we continue to have abnormally hot/dry weather.

July 1, 2015	#1
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Even more convinced about the benefits of organic! I've felt really bad for the last week or so because my tomatoes looked a little sad. We've had some really hot,humid weather with very little rain over the past few weeks. Temps around 100 with high heat indexes every day for well over 15 days. I also don't have running water. I sprayed with kelp,neem,BT and serenade for the first time this weekend as I was noticing some sort of leaf disease and also a bunch of hornworm damage. Today they look quite a bit better and I removed some dead leaves. We did have a little rain Saturday and a decent rain last night. Went down the street to the produce stand today and saw the owner's tomato patch. All hybrids. He doesn't have irrigation,either. They are mostly dead and he's pulking everything this week. Mine, I may lose a few, which I'll replace with some Christmas Limas and cucumbers. But,Oversll, my 75 plants look darn healthy,considering the stress they've had. They've been fertilized with kelp,fish emulsion,bone meal,lime and a bit of tomato tone, plus a few alfalfa cubes. Sprayed once this weekend and hand picked what stink bugs and worms I can find. I'm hoping next year, with irrigation, that I can have far more production. Plus, a year of organic inputs should really help,since I'm starting with a sandy pasture. This summer is young and I hope to have plenty of tomatoes this year too, unless we continue to have abnormally hot/dry weather.