16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

Tortoise beetles. Their preferred food is morning glory, including the wild bindweed. If they were feeding on your tomaotes you would see holes, so likely they are passing through on their way to find a real food source. AJs, bugs are usually pretty specific about what they eat, so I would look real close to see if any of the bettels are actually chewing the plants. They do make holes about the size of themselves in morning glory leaves.

Bind weed I've got! Strange thing is, I had been seeing these occasionally on the potted tomatoes as I was hardening them off near the house (still have some bindweed I pull out of the garden, I don't know where it comes from since I haven't noticed it in the lawn - that's a combo of knotweed, crabgrass, and clover LOL). I'll look for larger holes, but mostly my hybrids (some OP varieties) have FB damage with brown tissue around the shotgun holes. I've never noticed brown dead tissue around holes in brassicas, but I read that it's a different species of FB that attacks nightshade family.

Overall a very buggy year - lots of spiders too, I don't mind them outside but don't like them in the house or the cars.

I would start with the fungicide sprays asap.

This post was edited by sjetski on Sun, Jun 16, 13 at 20:22

I think the yellow spots on the tomatoes might just be from where they were touching each other, or touching the plant, while being watered. Unless the tomato spots 'progress' in some way, I don't think they are important.

So sorry you're feeling bad Stella. Trust me, I've been there. Before you pull anything up, remember that the odds are in your favor on this! There are no reports of LB on your area, and it is a pretty carefully tracked disease from what I gather.

There are other things you could do before giving up...bring a sample to your county extension, post a couple more photos here so we might give more informed opinions, use chlorothalonil and see if the disease slows (LB would have laid your tomato flat by now, right?) I'd just hate for you to feel defeated if it does turn out to be something your plants could grow through!

Whatever you decide, you have plenty of sympathetic hearts here!

Why pull anything? If it is an infection, it is already omnipresent in the local environment. Plants will either get it, or they won't. By pulling a plant you MIGHT prevent it from spreading, but very doubtful.

Instead, I'd just try to treat your tomatoes well and give them time. Admittedly, I live in a DRY, desert state, not in a humid, subtropical area, like you, but in my experience (in my own local area), most tomato diseases, if they even occur, tend to be nuisances rather than disasters. MOST of them affect how the plant looks, and might possibly decrease production, but they don't generally kill the plants.

If you are concerned about a fungal borne infection, and that is what your pictures most resemble to me, then you might consider trying a copper based fungicide, and leave it at that, to see what happens.

Good luck.

Not to mention that it could be neither one. Given the tag situation
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I like this one. There is a lot of suspense and drama and at the end you'll get some kind of tomatoes anyway. Anticipation is the spice of life.

Well, I suppose it's a real mystery then! I'll probably post a picture once it starts getting some color to its' tomatoes. :) Thank you guys!

Hello Chris,

Question #1. The key word there is resistant, it doesn't say bullet proof. A resistant plant can still get the disease they were bred to be resist.

As for Question #2. Looking at your photos, I am not sure that you have early blight, as they don't show the "typical" symptoms that the Texas A & M site lists:

"Leaf symptoms of early blight are large irregular patches of black, necrotic tissue surrounded by larger yellow areas. The leaf spots have a characteristic concentric banding appearance (oyster-shell or bullâÂÂs eye)."

Cornell's photos of Early Blight on Tomato Leaves

The spots on the fruit, do they show the symptoms listed here: Cottony Leak? Is the center of those spots watery? (Which can be caused by several fungi, as noted on that page.)

To me, what you have, looks like it might actually be a case of fertilizer burn. Check out number 12 on this page. Also if you do a Google image search for"fertilizer burn on tomatoes" you will see several picture that look a lot like some of yours. Many new gardeners are guilty of "over loving" their tomatoes.

To be able to suggest what might be wrong with your plant, it would be helpful to know more about the environment it is in. So, here are the "usual" questions:

Is the plant in the ground or in a container?

If in a container, what growing medium are you using? How large is the container? Is it self-watering or do you manually water it? Is the container in full sun, part sun or shade?

For both container plants and inground plants, it would be helpful to know these things as well: How often do you water? Have you checked the moisture of the growing medium or soil 3-5" below the surface? Is it dry, just right, or soggy? Are you feeding the plant? How often? What are the NPK values of any fertilizers you are using to feed it? What has the weather been like in your area?

If the plant is in the ground: Have you used any amendments? Do you mulch? If so, with what and how much (how deep)? Are there any other plants near the problem plant that are showing similar issues?

The more information you can give us, the better the chances that someone can give you an accurate diagnosis.

Betsy

This post was edited by bets on Sun, Jun 16, 13 at 19:36

Thanks everyone. To answer some questions, it gets full sun, and is in a 1' tall raised bed, filled with a soil mix from a local nursery. I believe the mix contains compost, wood particles, sand, maybe some fertilizer... it seems pretty fast-draining. I've been watering every 2-3 days, using a hose or watering can at ground level (trying to avoid the foliage) and using the wooden chopstick method recommended here to determine when it's needed. I think I was initially overwatering, and now am erring on the side of letting it dry out too much, but I've never seen the plant start to wilt. I sprinkled a small handful of organic fertilizer (3-6-4) a few weeks ago and watered it in, but that's it. I have 3 other plants in the same bed / growing conditions: an Arkansas Traveler that's starting to show some affected foliage, and a Champion 2 and a Purple Calabash that are both fine. I hadn't mulched, but just added 2" of straw this weekend. The weather has averaged highs in the upper 80s and lows in the upper 50s over the past 2 weeks. I have sprinklers on the yard, and some of the mist might be hitting my tomatoes, but not much.
I haven't seen any stinkbugs in the garden, but I'm not sure what time of day they're active. I've been looking at a lot of pictures online, but haven't seen anything that really matches what I'm seeing. The foliage problems usually start with black, dried out edges, and then progressively turns yellow up the leaf and back along the leaf stem to the main stem, at which point the leaf stem dies and is really easy to break off. The foliage that is sickening doesn't seem to be particularly humid or damp. I don't think it could be over-fertilizing or incorrect watering, but I don't know - that's why I'm asking the experts! :-) The disease seemed to start at the bottom of the plant and spread upward. The plant is continuing to produce good foliage at the growing tips, and is sprouting from the base as well. The spots on the tomatoes seem to just be cosmetic - the fruit is solid underneath, not watery, and it tastes good.
Thanks again for all your help! If you need any more specific pictures to make a diagnosis, please let me know. I'm happy to try using a copper spray or something to see if that helps - could it hurt, or can it harm other garden vegetables (like the chard I have next to that tomato plant?)

It will make normal blossoms without you having to do anything...the fused "mega blooms" are more of an aberration, though some varieties are more prone to produce them. It doesn't mean your plant is sick, just some environmental or genetic hiccup at the time the bud formed. I like seeing them from time to time.

The fruit that develops is just as edible and tasty as other fruits, just looks gnarly. So, cut it off if you don't want the fruit, or keep it if you do. The plant won't care either way! :) It's not really an issue unless you need "pretty" fruits for market or something.

So your other flowers on that plant isn't like that? Last year when I grew Black Krims, they all had big flowers like those.

Sue_ct

What I mean is that I must use what's on hand but I can spend a few more dollars to amend what I have. I have very little soil in the mix. About 3 gallons of potting mix that was left over from last year I have posted over in the container forum and I'm about to go check the new posts.

Thanks

If it's true potting mix, then there's probably little soil in it to begin with. Certain bagged cow manures can be heavy and dense, but i've had excellent luck using it in containers in the past, plants were darn huge with loads of fruit, no root rot etc.

Going by the dirt in your first pic, it certainly wouldn't hurt to add another 3 or 4 quarts of perlite, and a percentage of peat (peat bales are cheap) Whatever leftovers you have can be thrown into a plastic bag and saved for next year.

Those big plastic tubs with rope handles are great btw. Big Lots carries them for only $5. Most other places charge between $7~$10 for them.

Here is a link that might be useful: Big Lots Store Locator

You want a sucker about 5-6" tall so you can have a good 2" of bare stem to bury in the potting mix. As soon as one develops to that size on the plant you can remove it for rooting.

Dave

Thanks so much... at the rate the plants are growing I should be able to get something long enough in a couple of weeks. I appreciate the help.

Yeah, that storm was a doozy. I consider us lucky to have just lost a tomato plant. There are plenty of folks around the area with tarps on roofs.

Edie

Thanks both of you, I will keep an eye out.

Something is eating the blossoms off of my tomatoes. They look like they were cut with scissors. No bugs around. My tomatoes are 5 feet tall. Grasshoppers?

Thanks, Carolyn. Glad to see you posting again. My Daconil regimen starts tomorrow. We've had a ton of rain lately and not much sun. No surprise that the tomatoes aren't flourishing. In a month we'll be complaining about heat and drought, ha.

Gary

Hi Gary, I came back to tell you that you may want to look up 'Septoria' too. I have been going over leaf disease photos today b/c of my own issue and the photos of Septoria made me think of your post...

Maybe?

Hi Fusion Power, are you looking at my pictures or of Jadie's picture that is actually a photo of Botrytis a.k.a. gray mold?? My last photo shows a speck of very white mold (even more white in person). My first pic is of a very dark grey blemished leaf. Please let me know if you still think so.
Also, do you have any suggestions on how one can know the difference between Gray Mold and L.B. when evaluating plants? Thanks, Fusion Power!

Hi Jadie, I will keep an eye on my plants (can't even keep myself away from them now) and be back to let you know if I'm able to come to a solid conclusion/or not. I never thought I'd be muttering 'I hope this is Botrytis'...!

It's hard to tell. But I think it would have progressed quickly - by now your plant would be dying if it is really LB. I haven't seen gray mold on tomatoes before, but I've got some on my strawberries and it looks like the fruit/stems are covered with fine gray dust, as soon as you touch them you see the spores floating away. I don't see that in your pictures.

So tell us how are your plants today? Any stem lesions? A picture of the plant(s) and not just individual leaves would help.

I agree with Donna. As long as the soil mix is balanced, it's probably timing. My Cherokee purples have tons of fruit and blooms, but my Green Zebra didn't for a long time. Now, my GZ is all of a sudden starting to show a whole bunch of flowers. Oh, and nitrogen is not good before the first fruit set usually, indeed...

OK, I guess I'll just wait and see, then.
As for the Juliette tomatoes, I probably won't plant them again. The fruit isn't bad, but it isn't that great either.
Thanks.