16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
I don't think it is the soil. Drought stress could have been a factor in the other plant since it was root-bound. This one has been given a huge pot that doesn't dry out easily. The soil seems to be ok. The 90 degree temps stopped about 3 weeks ago. It was fine then-no wilting at all.
This morning more notch-shaped lesions appeared. From pictures they look like Verticillium Wilt pics, although to my eye a lot of tomato diseases seem like they can look identical to each other. One of the tomatoes seems to be ripening a little prematurely- it is blushing when there is still dark green on top.
BTW, my basil has been infected with downy mildew. I don't know if tomato plants can be infected with that.
Maybe Dave or Carolyn could take a look?
I think I might have found a clue. There are a lot of trees/woods in my area of the apt complex. The trees around my apartment have been looking sickly in the last month or so, and it seems to be progressing. Lots of yellow leaves with various sized brown lesions. And not normal autumn color change- sick looking. Didn't think much of it at first, but just now I looked out my window and saw three birch (?) leaves each with a large v-shaped lesion. Now I'm thinking my tomato plants might have the same thing the trees have, so maybe it is VW or some other vascular disease. The cherry tomato that died first was closer to the trees than the celebrity. With all the rain and storms we've had, maybe the spores spread to my balcony with the wind/rain? Or maybe I brought it inside and spread it to the plants?
Actually there are quite a few strains of bacillus subtillus and the Bayer product uses QST 713 strain of dried bacillus subtilis which is the same as used in Serenade. Though it is used for fungacide it is not for the fungus associated with damping off.
The Pro-Mix BX or Pro-Mix PGX versions with biofungacide contain the bacillus subtillus strain MB1600 which does control damping off. (Subtilex I believe is the brand name of mb1600)
You need to know which organism you are after and then which of the biofungacides target it. There are also some that target or have some effectiveness against fusarium but I have not really looked into it that much. I think Actinivate is one that targets fusarium ... Right Ted??
Dennis
REAL GOOD AERATED COMPOST TEA PROBABLY HAS BACILLUS SUBTILLUS IN IT....I KNOW APPLIED SPRAYING EITHER SLOWS DOWN EARLY BLIGHT OR KNOCKS IT OUT...I WOULD ALSO APPLY AS DRENCH...GOING TO TRY ALSO BURYING A FEW VEGETABLES CLOSE TO ROOTS AS ROTTING VEGETABLES ALSO PRODUCE BACILLUS SUBTILLUS....MAY EVEN PULL SOME GRASS, ROOTS AND ALL AND BURY TOO....BACILLUS SUBTILLUS IS KNOW AS HAY OR GRASS BACILLUS...WE'LL SEE....THE INDIAN
seysonn,
Not sure where I was disagreeing with anything to get shouted at that they are fine heirlooms already, but if you want to why not let's rumble:
"The tomatoes that I have ARE GENUINE FINE heirlooms already. (1) Green Zebra "
The first one is a fake heirloom (a.k.a. created heirloom), which was created by Tom Wagner on the West Coast, , less than 35 years ago who says anthing he names is an heirloom.
"But back to yours, PC. You don't even show the face of your girli. How should we id it ?"
Don't knock yourself out, here they are by popular demand, my artistical tomato(es)! Provisionally name, the "What Knockers" variety with deference to Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein movie:
I had to wash all the mud off that side and take off a blemish or two to make good tomato art.
PC, well, usually PC
Seysonn: "You don't even show the face of your girli. How should we id it ?"
Lets be honest with ourselves, here. "Gentlemen" such as myself weren't looking at her face anyways, especially not in her most recent photo ;).
This post was edited by ZachS on Sat, Sep 20, 14 at 19:27
Hi Deeby - this is a favorite topic - although I have a strong opinion about the great taste of a refrigerated tomato on a hot summer day - I wouldn't think of trying to force my opinion on Jennie - haha! I agree with Lucille - Jennie needs to put one in the fridge and one on the counter and taste them both - the answer lies within! If she likes the one on the counter - there may still yet be hope for her - haha
This post was edited by Hudson...WY on Fri, Sep 19, 14 at 4:18
You can have all the calcium in the World, but if your growing medium is or gets acidic, as peat does, your plants will be unable to utilize it.
I do agree with seyson that some tomatoes are prone to BER. Specifically those include paste types.
Hi Dominick,
I have no need to supplement with calcium. suncitylinda is right, though, in that if you use a lot of peat you will have a soil on the too far acidic side. Use of agricultural calcium nitrate is not addressing the acidity, nor is it a replacement for a pH adjuster like lime, but rather it is used simply as a calcium fertilizer, which in another point she makes, will not necessarily treat BER.
Since I garden in self-watering containers, I do not like to add pH adjusters just for the sake of adjusting pH, as it amounts to fixing something that isn't broken and that usually leads the wrong way ;-)
The reason I do not supplement with calcium is because I get more alkalinity than I need from my tap water, and it tends to build up. No need to pay or do any work with a calcium supplement. That said, if you must add a calcium source pH adjuster, dolomitic lime is the way to go in a container, for chemical reasons, and better than most other non-miracle promising economical calcium products, when used in moderation.
My bottom line is that if the tomatoes grow vigorously and the feed water is alkaline, the tomatoes do just fine with my acidic soil which tends basic as water is run through it.
Controlling pH is like driving. Some people over correct all the time and make a job out of it, while others subject the plant to greater swings. I'm in the latter bunch, and my plants will tell me very obviously when they get sick and and adjustment is needed to get them moving again, which has never happened.
I'm sure there is plenty of good advice to have in the Container Gardening Forum (see link). Keep in mind, many of the people giving advice think everyone has the same soil mix and irrigation water composition they do. This is far from the real situation so you mileage *will* vary.
Happy growing
PC, raining again, still ten days forecast of rain, rain rain. On the bright side, rain tends to drift the pH acidic, which both dilutes and slightly acidifies my pH since my containers get auto-filled in the rain ;-) Yay!
Here is a link that might be useful: Container Gardening Experts
1. Don't get discouraged. Even experienced gardeners have bad years. Like the Montgomery County master gardeners this year.
2. If growing in containers, use big ones. Like really, really big ones. Five gallon buckets with a single plant are a minimum. I used whisky barrels for my first (containerized) attempt this year and my best guess is they were 25+ but it was still a lot of work compared to my usual in ground tomatoes.
3. Compost. Over the long term, you can improve your soil and meet a lot of your fertilizer needs with composting. And the do post bin attracts earthworms.
4. Read and think. That way you learn from others. And day dreaming and thinking about and reading about gardening is part or the fun.
5. Try something new and different. The world of tomatoes is vast and the only way to get a sausage shaped tomato with stripes is to grow it yourself. So why not try some of those instead of or in addition to yet another globe shaped red one?
6. Carolyn137 is a minor deity where tomato growing is concerned. Learn from her. :)
7. Tomatoes look like small plants when they start out and when you see them in the store. But they get enormous really fast, especially the indeterminate varieties. So give them a lot of room.
8. Tomatoes are like depressed people. Some good support is essential.
9. Be prepared for questions and imitation by your neighbors. Since I started gardening again, there has begun to be a tomato jungle in my neighborhood.
Have fun! This is a great hobby, so don't worry about it too much.
Grow some other things too. Nothing compliments a fresh grown tomato like some freshly grown oregano or basil. The only plant more fun to grow than a tomato (in my opinion) is a pepper plant. And if your tomatoes have a bad year and disappoint, then you will still have your other crops. That way no year is ever a total disappointment.
Angie
Plant Disease > Seedlings: Damping off Disease > Several methods to stop your seedlings from rotting and falling over such as: chamomile tea, horsetail or seaweed sprays.
picture.I just weighed 3 largest from my yesterday's pick. Came up with :
2 lbs 7 oz = 39 oz or average 13 oz. I get a lot of 8 oz to 12 oz. from my CP, Ananas Noire, and Pineapple. The rest are mostly under 7oz. But then I get more of them.
I am quite happy.
> And since you and grubby made such a big deal above about where my photos were fromâ¦
I didnâÂÂt make a big deal; I simply explained that your 4 photos were NOT uploaded from your computer, as some were thinking from your confusing first post.
And yes, your post WAS confusing, because out of 6 people who posted here, 4 were confused; they though itâÂÂs possible to upload more than one picture from computer - which is not possible. They though there is aâÂÂtrick.âÂÂ
Michael wrote: > I'll have to try your preview trick Dave, thanks for that!
seysonn wrote: > I have tried doing that trick. But won't work.
grubby_me wrote: > Yep, the preview and add trick is totally fake.
And I wrote: > There is NO trick⦠[ I knew that AFTER I tried too the trick. ]
> But since photos play only a minor secondary role on a discussion forum anywayâ¦
Well, some would like to post pictures in a sequence, and being able to upload more than one picture from the computer, is useful / faster for some.
> ...minor secondary role... ?
Sometimes a picture IS necessary to help somebody who asks a question. See posts when people who want to help, request pictures.
This post was edited by Daniel_NY on Thu, Sep 18, 14 at 20:33
GW is waaaay behind the times when it comes to being a user friendly forum... It is the only forum I belong to that you have to use a picture hosting site to upload photos.
All my other forums keep track on the discussions that I have contributed to and I can click on an icon to bring all of those up front. In other words, I don't have to scroll through every thread and try to remember which ones I am active in. Having to preview your post first is a waste of time since they just recently got an edit function.
After posting a reply, I almost always have to refresh my page... and on and on it goes.
And count me as another person who thought Digdirt's post was misleading.
If there is a meaning in the name, when I hear "PINEAPPLE" tomato, this is what I think of. There are some bi colors that are also carry the name "pineapple". This is just part of the mish mash of naming convention in tomato world. CONFUSING!
The three close friends that made the original movie Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978) had no experience growing tomatoes.
The project was started because they considered the tomato the most innocuous thing present in the household. One guy disliked tomatoes and did not eat them at the time ... but now eats a lot of Caprese salads with tomatoes, another made nothing with them, and the third, the director, John DeBello had no recipes for them, but knows every tomato joke under the Sun because he likes 2nd grade level humor:
I donâÂÂt have any tomato recipes. But at this point, IâÂÂve heard every tomato joke every told. The intellectual level of tomato jokes is usually about second grade. HereâÂÂs one of the oldest, though, along with the chicken crossing the road: WhatâÂÂd one tomato say to the other tomato?
Ketchup.
All were military, and one had a friend or relative that called something used in target practice "the killer tomato". About the only link these three had to agriculture was that they had a liberal arts education, worked in sports, and the link ... they went to UC Davis (probably has the largest genetic resources of tomato in any one place in the world, but they probably had no clue about it) and made their prototype short of Attack of the Killer Tomatoes for a class on films, when trying to think of the stupidest title possible.
PC
Here is a link that might be useful: Oral History
Good luck lucille, my climate is the same as Galveston's, and my sun intensity the same as Houston. We will both be hoping together for something to show for fall. Houston's winters are 2-4 degrees F cooler, meaning frost in early December, so if you already have mature plants you are in great shape.
I started from seed 5 weeks ago and my fingers are crossed with you that we have no early freezes, our frost date being around Dec 24. Hope to be counting tomatoes along with you!
PC
