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Tue, Jan 7, 14 at 9:59
| My son is just getting serious about growing tomatoes in the Rock Hill, South Carolina area. Last year he had a general crop failure, suffering first with early blight and then with BER. He suspects that in addition to disease problems he needs guidance on variety selection for that specific area of the country. I've got a pretty fair handle on early blight control techniques but am a bit bewildered with the BER situation. His soil testsl on the alkaline side. Normally I would suggest adding lime to his soil but that would only compound the alkaline situation. We would very much appreciate some suggestions on BER control, alkalinity correction, and specific tomato varieties that are known to do well in that area. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by farmerdill 8a GA (My Page) on Wed, Jan 8, 14 at 9:02
| BER is much more prevalent in some varieties versus others. Paste tomatoes like Roma seem very susceptible. Rock Hill is not very far from Clemson, so I would check thier recommendations. http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/plant_pests/veg_fruit/hgic2217.html |
Here is a link that might be useful: Clemson
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| Be sure to check the FAQ here on BER and all the other discussions about it. Assuming he isn't just growing paste tomatoes then the problem is far more likely to be his soil and his watering regime than the tomato plants themselves. Lack of consistent soil moisture is the primary factor in BER. Dave |
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- Posted by tomatomike z7NC (My Page) on Wed, Jan 8, 14 at 18:05
| We had a very wet period that decimated a lot of tomatoes last spring--including 40% of mine--because the wet conditions allowed rampant disease and poor root development. The Clemson link is a good idea, and a lot of us down here hope for a far better year in 2014! |
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| One of the ways to deal effectively with too much rain and wet weather is to construct raised bed, in addition to amending the soil. I garden here at PNW, where we get a lot of rain. Sometimes it rains for days in the spring time. That is why I made raised beds. Raised bed, being higher than its surrounding will have a good drainage, if slightly amended. If your soil in Rock hill anything like GA red clay and you are gardening in a flat plot, then that might be the problem. JMO |
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| Thank you all for your suggestions. By the way, the information from Clemson was absolutely comprehensive! |
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