Varieties prone to foliage problems

[Gardeneer]

Originally Posted by Ricky Shaw

Did your Malachite Box look like this? This may be Cherokee Green in the pic, it had the same thing. The streaky mottling up the stems, some is cage chaff, but also looking higher on the stem it's in evidence.

How come Ricky's picture does not show ?

Anyway, my lone Daniel Burson got the same problem and I pulled it few days ago. CP, BFT, IS next to it are fine.

Gardeneer

[peppero]

Originally Posted by parah

Very helpful info! Thanks b54red

Dester: Just pulled a plant today, foliage problems.

JD's Special C Tex: Yes, the plant is easily overwhelmed by gray mold, even with your bleach spray.

Red Barn: only minor problems with Early Blight. It is a terrific plant, productive with very tasty tomatoes, rich umami flavor. Thanks for recommending it. Red Barn has become one of my top 3 favorites.

Those three have not done well in my garden at all. So far Sun Sugar has shown little disease and has excellent production.

Jon

[carolyn137]

Originally Posted by Gardeneer

How come Ricky's picture does not show ?

Anyway, my lone Daniel Burson got the same problem and I pulled it few days ago. CP, BFT, IS next to it are fine.

Gardeneer

If you mean his post #26, picture shows OK for me.

Carolyn

[NarnianGarden]

Last year I had some diseases that killed several plants quickly - while others looked on and kept on thriving.

Grub's Mystery Green was hit hard, and was dead withing a week or so. Glad I was able to taste some fruits, BUT the seeds I saved probably aren't safe to sow. (I would not send them to anyone else)

Banana Legs, a surprise one, it grew and grew... but was hit pretty soon in July/August.
Poooff, gone.

Mohamed and Red Robin - both micro dwarfs - have both died an early death on my balcony.
This year, RR isn't dead yet but still alive and bearing fruit...

I went ahead and ordered some bio fungicide on-line... While the idea is not my favorite, I prefer to get something to eat, even if it means using chemical warfare.

[b54red]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Last year I had some diseases that killed several plants quickly - while others looked on and kept on thriving.

Grub's Mystery Green was hit hard, and was dead withing a week or so. Glad I was able to taste some fruits, BUT the seeds I saved probably aren't safe to sow. (I would not send them to anyone else)

Banana Legs, a surprise one, it grew and grew... but was hit pretty soon in July/August.
Poooff, gone.

Mohamed and Red Robin - both micro dwarfs - have both died an early death on my balcony.
This year, RR isn't dead yet but still alive and bearing fruit...

I went ahead and ordered some bio fungicide on-line... While the idea is not my favorite, I prefer to get something to eat, even if it means using chemical warfare.

I grew Grubs Mystery Green for years and found it to be my favorite GWR; but it is prone to getting gray mold. When gray mold hits a plant it is best if it is treated immediately with the diluted bleach spray followed by a copper spray the next day. If this is done they can be quite productive.

Bill

[bower]

Interesting... I think we may get some opposite results North vs South.
We have grey mold here and early blight, leaf mold during humid hot weeks of the summer, and we have the mildews L. taurica and the other one as well, depending on conditions.
We don't have the soil borne diseases and don't have Septoria either.

So.... Malachite Box did great for me here. Big healthy plant, produced lots, endured cold and heat. Definitely not the first to get the mold ( yes they will all get it eventually in the fall).

Another one I was afraid about, Pink BTD is often named as a mold magnet, but it really did fine here the year I grew it.

Maybe there are different strains of grey mold in north and south as well.

[b54red]

I have seen very little gray mold on red or pink varieties here except sometimes in late fall when it seems to pop up more often and is even more persistent.

I'll say it again you have to treat gray mold immediately with the bleach spray and it is a good idea to follow with a copper spray the next day. A plant that is too bushy will be almost impossible to control gray mold on because it gets too far along before it is spotted. The first incidence of gray mold for me occurred years ago on a JD's Special C Tex. This was back when I was growing much bushier plants with far more stems. Of course after spraying it numerous times always after letting the gray mold get bad again I eventually lost the plant. I learned from that and the next year started pruning more leaving the plant more open and also easier for me to spot the first symptoms which I treated promptly. I have only lost a few plants to gray mold since then and have fought it on hundreds of them over the years. Since I plant a lot of black tomatoes it is a cost I am willing to take since I really like some of those varieties. They are also some of my most productive tomatoes during the heat of late summer but without taking care of the gray mold early they wouldn't be.

This year almost all my plants are single stem and I have had far less problems with gray mold than usual. I know this is not practical for most growers because of the way they support their tomatoes but for me it has worked out really well using the drop line method with the plants clipped to it every foot or so. I also continuously remove lower foliage as fruit clusters ripen leaving nothing but the main stem below the ripening fruit. This means when I lower the plant and lay it on the mulch as I move it there is usually nothing hitting the ground but the stem.

Bill

[bower]

I haven't personally used the bleach spray, because I don't spray anything on my plants - advantage of greenhouse is keeping the leaves dry. But I can certainly vouch for the worth of bleach against grey mold - the only way to keep pruning cuts from becoming a source of infection or re-infection is to dip the pruners in bleach. This has made a huge difference for me when I wanted to keep a plant going even though a main stem had to be taken out.

[NarnianGarden]

Again: what's the dosage for bleach spray?
one, two teaspoons in a liter? I have no idea..

Spraying only in the evening after sunset I assume?

[b54red]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Again: what's the dosage for bleach spray?
one, two teaspoons in a liter? I have no idea..

Spraying only in the evening after sunset I assume?

Here you go. There is also a sticky on this page of this link.

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.ph...t=bleach+spray

Bill

[Dewayne mater]

Only one I can add is Black Cherry. That sucker is the first to get mold and first to succumb to something every year. Fortunately, I usually get a nice big burst of very tasty tomatoes first, so I keep growing them.

Dewayne Mater

[NarnianGarden]

Thanks Bill, I did read that. Still in the dark regarding the dosage with the bleach available, no idea about the % .. Not going to order Klorex on-line and I don't think that's even allowed.

But I will have some fungicide (supposedly bio-), hopefully that will help against grey mold (already visible on some PL plants) ..

[Gerardo]

Originally Posted by NarnianGarden

Thanks Bill, I did read that. Still in the dark regarding the dosage with the bleach available, no idea about the % .. Not going to order Klorex on-line and I don't think that's even allowed.

But I will have some fungicide (supposedly bio-), hopefully that will help against grey mold (already visible on some PL plants) ..

10 mL per L is a good starting point. I've used that amount with concentrated Clorox and the generic Walmart brand and it worked fine.

[Nematode]

Originally Posted by b54red

Ralph I have found with some of my grafts especially with some rootstock that they will be very late to put on fruit and ripen fruit but those are sometimes the ones that make very healthy large plants.

Bill

Rootstock selection can influence earliness or lateness.
My vintner friend uses this effect to get a two week spread on the same top graft to spread his weather bets so to speak.

[NarnianGarden]

Thanks, Gerardo, will try that. probably w/ a bit lower concentration just to be sure ..

Will it be safe to spray with Epsom salt liquid within a few days?
Some of my plants look like they need both treatments - extra boost from magnesium AND some fungal spray..