wall of water and mold/fungus

dirt dauber · March 28, 2013

Hope to get some feedback from anyone who has ever experienced mold on tomato plants when using wall of water. It has been so cold that I have not been able to open the tops of plant protectors to allow air to circulate. I now have a few patches of white fungus or mold on lower leaves and leaves that touched the sides of the wall of water. Do you think It will now be a systemic disease or will allowing air to plants resolve the problem? Otherwise the plants look good to have come through our unseasonable March weather.

Stvrob · March 28, 2013

My guess is that once you can remove it they will shake it off and be OK. Hopefully that wont be too long for you!

TightenUp · March 28, 2013

i have no clue about your issue however am wondering how you like to wall of for getting earlier tomatoes?

Cole_Robbie · March 28, 2013

A diluted hydrogen peroxide mixture will kill any mold or mildew if it looks like it needs treatment. Drugstore peroxide is 3%. Dilute it down to about 1-2% as a spray.

matilda'skid · March 29, 2013

My experience with them in the past - slimy leaves that touched the sides or the crowded bottom leaves that were stressed when the thing was taken off all were fine. I haven't put my tomatoes out in them yet. I use them after the night temperatures are in the 50's and they are my insurance for cold spells which I can get until mid May.

dirt dauber · March 29, 2013

I have only used them once in the past. I harvested about 2 to 3 weeks earlier than without using them. The weather has been so variable that I hoped to get them in early before our extreme heat sets in. I have only lost one plant thus far when using them. The plant that got burned by the cold had reached the top of the enclosure. They seem to do better when you set out smaller plants . I set out plants March 5th that were approx. 4 inches tall. I also set out plants that were twice that size. The larger plants seemed to have suffered more while the smaller plants have sailed through . All plants have doubled in size. I know of one local gardener that has set out plants in mid Feb. but I've never pushed the season that far yet. On a normal year it might be possible but I don't remember a March quite this cold.

RobinB · March 29, 2013

I have had problems with mold in WOWs in the past, too. I usually find myself thinning the foliage inside a bit for more air circulation, but we usually have enough sunny days that I can open them during the day. It's so dry here in the desert that as soon as I am able to remove them it works out just fine. My WOW tomatoes won't go out for another 3 weeks or so (which is about 7-8 weeks earlier than I can put them out without protection), you're lucky to be able to start so early! I hope it clears up for you, I'll bet it will be fine.

lakelady · March 30, 2013

I used some last year and got some early tomatoes. I put them in at about 8" tall and left the top slightly open. Of course I think it was mid-April when I set them out, and it was an awfully warm Spring in 2012. I did not notice any fungus issues, but I didn't close them up tight at the top. I think I covered them a few times with cloth when the temps were really going to drop just in case of frost, but they were pretty toasty in there. The downside was once the WOW came off, the plants flopped right over and the stems took a while to get sturdy enough to stand on their own. I'm going to try a few again this year, but just to push the envelope a couple of weeks and maybe with one or two earlier varieties like 4th of July.

swash · April 7, 2013

I'm in South Carolina as well. I used wall o waters for the first time this year. I did not want to close the top of the cylinders up so I filled the water all the way to the top of each tube. I then covered the tops of the cylinders with a floating row cover. I was amazed at how well this worked. We had several nights that reached the mid 20's with no damage to the plants. I removed them yesterday because the plants had grown out of the tops of the wall o waters. I know that I did not address the mold/fungus issue, but I wanted to share my experience. (My first post!)

March 28, 2013	#1
dirt dauber Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: south carolina Posts: 28	wall of water and mold/fungus Hope to get some feedback from anyone who has ever experienced mold on tomato plants when using wall of water. It has been so cold that I have not been able to open the tops of plant protectors to allow air to circulate. I now have a few patches of white fungus or mold on lower leaves and leaves that touched the sides of the wall of water. Do you think It will now be a systemic disease or will allowing air to plants resolve the problem? Otherwise the plants look good to have come through our unseasonable March weather.

March 28, 2013	#3
TightenUp Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Jersey Posts: 1,183	i have no clue about your issue however am wondering how you like to wall of for getting earlier tomatoes? __________________

March 30, 2013	#8
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	I used some last year and got some early tomatoes. I put them in at about 8" tall and left the top slightly open. Of course I think it was mid-April when I set them out, and it was an awfully warm Spring in 2012. I did not notice any fungus issues, but I didn't close them up tight at the top. I think I covered them a few times with cloth when the temps were really going to drop just in case of frost, but they were pretty toasty in there. The downside was once the WOW came off, the plants flopped right over and the stems took a while to get sturdy enough to stand on their own. I'm going to try a few again this year, but just to push the envelope a couple of weeks and maybe with one or two earlier varieties like 4th of July. __________________ Antoniette

March 28, 2013	#2
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	My guess is that once you can remove it they will shake it off and be OK. Hopefully that wont be too long for you!

March 28, 2013	#4
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	A diluted hydrogen peroxide mixture will kill any mold or mildew if it looks like it needs treatment. Drugstore peroxide is 3%. Dilute it down to about 1-2% as a spray.

March 29, 2013	#5
matilda'skid Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Missouri Posts: 309	My experience with them in the past - slimy leaves that touched the sides or the crowded bottom leaves that were stressed when the thing was taken off all were fine. I haven't put my tomatoes out in them yet. I use them after the night temperatures are in the 50's and they are my insurance for cold spells which I can get until mid May.

March 29, 2013	#7
RobinB Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Near Reno, NV Posts: 1,621	I have had problems with mold in WOWs in the past, too. I usually find myself thinning the foliage inside a bit for more air circulation, but we usually have enough sunny days that I can open them during the day. It's so dry here in the desert that as soon as I am able to remove them it works out just fine. My WOW tomatoes won't go out for another 3 weeks or so (which is about 7-8 weeks earlier than I can put them out without protection), you're lucky to be able to start so early! I hope it clears up for you, I'll bet it will be fine.

April 7, 2013	#9
swash Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: South carolina Posts: 1	I'm in South Carolina as well. I used wall o waters for the first time this year. I did not want to close the top of the cylinders up so I filled the water all the way to the top of each tube. I then covered the tops of the cylinders with a floating row cover. I was amazed at how well this worked. We had several nights that reached the mid 20's with no damage to the plants. I removed them yesterday because the plants had grown out of the tops of the wall o waters. I know that I did not address the mold/fungus issue, but I wanted to share my experience. (My first post!)