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bedrichards86

Newbie with possible blight??

bedrichards86
12 years ago

I've been using GardenWeb's forums to guide our gardening practices and I am at my wit's end trying to determine what's going on in our organic vegetable garden this year. Does anyone have any guidance based on the these photos? Whatever it is, it's spread not only to our tomatoes, but to our marigolds, as well. Help!

Beau

Here is a link that might be useful: Our tomatoes

Comments (10)

  • dickiefickle
    12 years ago

    I would say blight, check for yourself at this link

    Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato Disease chart

  • missingtheobvious
    12 years ago

    The first tomato photos look like a very bad mite infestation. I've never seen what mites do to marigolds, but I'll guess they have mites also.

    The last two tomato pictures could be Late Blight. That would be very bad news. Check out this map for the counties that have reported Late Blight so far this year:
    http://usablight.org/
    Is your county indicated on that map?

    I'm hoping some of the experts will stop by this thread and give their opinions on the photos.

    More info and photos on Late Blight:
    http://www.longislandhort.cornell.edu/vegpath/photos/lateblight_tomato.htm

  • terrybull
    12 years ago

    this is late blight.

  • carolyn137
    12 years ago

    Where, in a geographic sense do you garden b'c when I click on your page all I see is that you joined yesterday and that you're in the US.

    Many tomato diseases and pests are regionalized so it really would help if could indicate where you garden so I wouldn't say Tomato Spotted Wilt virus as one picture suggests, when I know that TSWV has no insect vectors in that area or Fusarium, when I know it's seldom found in another area, etc.

    Thanks,

    Carolyn

  • behlgarden
    12 years ago

    bedrichards86, I got hit with similar issue on my eggplant and I was devastated to say the least to see my healthy plant full of blooms and fruit get hit like that. I went full force and mixed BT (2 tbs/gallon) with Organocide (2 oz/gallon) in hot water, both portions were per manufacturer recommentations. I waited for sun to go down and then I sprayed the hell out of the sprayer, I also sprayed on my 22 tomato plants as pre-emptive.

    I can tell you that the plant has lost about 90% of infection. I sprayed again last weekend to make sure all is clear.

    I have read a lot of horror stories about organocide but I have not been hit with their complaints. key is to not overdose and spray only when weather is cool in evening.

    If nothing else works, may be yoy try this out.

  • garf_gw
    12 years ago

    My marigolds were destroyed by spider mites. They are tough, hard to kill.

  • yumtomatoes
    12 years ago

    That pictures of the marigolds looks like what marigolds look like when you spray them with Round-up. Do your neighbors use herbicides on their yards? Do you live in a condo or HOA that employs a lawn service that uses herbicides to kill weeds? If so, could be herbicide drift.

    I have to grow my tomatoes in a walled off courtyard for that reason. The lawn service guys employed by my HOA come around and spray for weeds and would have no regards for my tomatoes if they were sitting out.

  • missingtheobvious
    12 years ago

    Sorry, behlgarden, but the Bt you sprayed didn't do diddly-squat against the "similar issue" you had with your eggplant and tomatoes. Maybe your already know that, but we don't want the OP chasing around in search of Bt as a sure cure for his mites and/or possible Late Blight.

    There are different types of Bt (bacillus thuringiensis). Each type kills certain particular insects.

    Bt kurstaki kills true caterpillars, like the hornworms that feast on our tomatoes (your spray may have killed some on your tomatoes, if there were any). I can't use Btk against the little yellow-with-green-spots guys that showed up again over the weekend to denude my mugo pines because though they resemble caterpillars -- you'd swear they were caterpillars -- they're actually the larvae of the pine sawfly. They'd just ignore Bt kurstaki. (But luckily isopropyl alcohol and water with a dash of dishwashing liquid gets them every time.)

    Bt israelensis works on mosquito larvae, also fly larvae (I don't know if it would kill the little guys on the mugo pines or if it only works on the larvae of certain flies).

    Bt san diego and Bt tenebrionis (sometimes tenebreonis) are effective against some beetle larvae -- including the Colorado potato beetle, which likes to munch on tomatoes (stomped one today).

    The list at the end of this article tells what each strain of Bt is effective against:
    http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05556.html

  • carolyn137
    12 years ago

    I still would appreciate knowing from the original poster where in the US the tomato plants are being grown so perhaps it might make it easier to make a possible ID, knowing that tomato diseases are quite regionalized throughout the country.

    Carolyn

  • jean001a
    12 years ago

    When plants are hit during the growing season with Roundup, the newest growth becomes bright yellow.

    I believe the marigolds have a serious case of leafhopper damage.