Procrastinating...

[kath]

I'm waiting for the sun to go down and have/had the intention to spray Daconil for the second time as it's been over a week, we haven't had rain, yet I'm still seeing additional leaves with evidence of EB and Septoria since I sprayed before.

My dilemna is that it's humid and supposed to be very humid and foggy tonight into tomorrow morning. (There has been water pooled in some of the leaves of the PLs that has been there since ~ 1 pm when we got a few drops of rain.) Then the sun is supposed to shine all day and the temps might reach the mid to upper 90's. The concern is that the Daconil will never really dry before the sun is out and it's hot. Looking for some quick opinions as to whether it's better to spray now because it's "time" and I'm seeing disease, or to wait until after the 3-4 day heat wave and just be vigilant about inspecting and picking off the spotty leaves until the weather breaks.

Thanks!

kath

[jhp]

My opinion, I would go ahead and spray.

Jen

[kath]

Originally Posted by jhp

My opinion, I would go ahead and spray.

Jen

Thanks, Jen- that was QUICK!

kath

[babice]

I vote you go ahead and do it now, since you're seeing disease. Not despite but especially because it's humid and will continue to be.

[kath]

Originally Posted by babice

I vote you go ahead and do it now, since you're seeing disease. Not despite but especially because it's humid and will continue to be.

Whoa- 2 votes for "spray" in 2 minutes! Thanks, babice!

kath

[jhp]

Right place, right time. Now that reminds ME that I need to do some daconil spraying.

Jen

[meatburner]

Me to Jen. Just went out and sprayed.

[kath]

So I sprayed last night right after posting, and finished at 8:45 by the light of the lightning bugs! The plants are growing fast- it took 7 gallons of spray this time! Unfortunately, this morning it was foggy as predicted and the Fung-onil is still puddled on the leaves, so I shook cages, stakes and cattle panels to get off as much as possible before the sun burns the leaves.I'm hoping for the best.

[babice]

Originally Posted by kath

- it took 7 gallons of spray this time! I'm hoping for the best.

Geesh oh man! How many plants you got? I've got my fingers crossed for you ... let us know!

[b54red]

7 gallons of spray is an awful lot of spray. How many plants do you have? I would procrastinate too if I had to spray that much.

[Tapout]

Hmm and there lays the dilemma. Application rates of foliar sprays per plant can vary significantly from one sprayer to the next and from one persons opinion of "did I spray enough". One person may think they have to soak the leaves till they see it dripping while another person may just be satisfied with damp leaves. One type of sprayer may atomize the liquid more then the next which would help in a more even coverage of the leaves while another sprayer may have a course spray which would cause large droplets of liquid to form on the leaves and roll off essentially soaking the leaf and wasting spray.

Foliar spraying is based on a personal visual opinion not a exact measurement. The more the liquid is atomized "the finer the mist" the better in my opinion just making the leaves damp not dripping with liquid is adequate coverage and will save you money by using less.

[kath]

There are about 170 plants out there- well, 170 "spaces" actually. In some of the spaces, there are 2 plants growing as one, and some are over 5' tall now, and although I aim to keep them to a single vine, most of them have forked and split and all the ones in cages have been allowed to fill it up...and so it goes. I always try for the finest mist and got a new sprayer this year that holds 3 gallons and has wheels. Before I was using a 2 gal. one that I had to lug around and when the plants were all big last year I had to fill that thing 5 times to get through all the tomatoes.

The Fung-onil says the leaves need to be coated to dripping so that's what I did. I'd love to save money but I definitely don't want to go through all this and mess it up by being stingy. There isn't a job in the garden that I dislike more than spraying and spraying something on my tomatoes that makes me squeamish to eat them is just about killing me.

My goal is to get my tomatoes down to a very small number next year so that I have the time and energy to spray potatoes, peppers, squash and other things that pretty much fend for themselves. I also think it's time to ask for one that has wheels AND doesn't require me to pump- for Christmas, maybe- suggestions for a brand/model, welcome.

Thanks for the crossed fingers and the sympathy. Today I'm in their midst, thinking good thoughts and removing spotty leaves/lower branches as many of them are down to the ground again. Guess I should have done that BEFORE I sprayed!

By the way, how long before any damage becomes visible? There's not a cloud in the sky and it's in the mid 90's.

Back to work- lunch break is over-

kath

[SmokyOkie]

I would spray now. the longer you let it go, the more fungal spores will be generated, and the more recurrent the disease will be.

I use a hose end sprayer on my 3 dozen plants and it takes all of 5 minutes to spray them. I also find that it is easier to coat the bottomsof the leaves with it than with a compressed air sprayer.

[kath]

Originally Posted by SmokyOkie

I would spray now. the longer you let it go, the more fungal spores will be generated, and the more recurrent the disease will be.

I use a hose end sprayer on my 3 dozen plants and it takes all of 5 minutes to spray them. I also find that it is easier to coat the bottomsof the leaves with it than with a compressed air sprayer.

SmokyOkie- I sprayed last evening. Appreciate you chiming in, though, and the hose end sprayer is very intriguing. Does it spray a fine mist? Why would it be easier to get under the leaves? The ones I've seen in the store don't seem to have a nozzle that you can aim at all.

kath

[b54red]

I use a S&P Systems backpack sprayer that pumps up to around 150 psi. It has cut the amount of spray material I have to use by at least half because of the high pressure it doesn't take long to thoroughly coat all the surfaces on a plant. It was fairly pricey but if it tore up now I would order it again because it has cut down the physical labor required so much that it was well worth the cost.

The only reason I can guess for the instructions to spray til it is dripping off the leaves is to get you to buy more of their product. If you have a good sprayer once the leaves are wet all over that should be the optimum amount to apply. Having large amounts of pooling liquid just increases the chance of leaf burn.