Information and discussion regarding garden diseases, insects and other unwelcome critters.
|
![]() |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
![]() |
#16 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 1,413
|
![]()
We get like 0.1 inch of rain every other afternoon, then the plants stay wet all thru the hot night till the blistering hot morning sun hits. Spraying just seems so pointless. Im removing diseased foliage at the bottom faster than its growing at the top. And unless we get a break in the heat, (which isnt likely) Im not gonna get much more fruit set anyway. Aphids have attacked my peppers, vine borers are threatening my squash, and armadillos have ravaged my cantaloupe.
This is the most discouraging time of the year for gardening. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#17 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: AL
Posts: 1,993
|
![]()
Wanna trade gardens for a few days? I'll do your pruning and cleaning of your plants and you come clean up the nightmare I have waiting in the morning when I can see.
Did you just get any of that out of the blue, high wind and unreal rain? We just got power back a little bit ago. New shade structure I was building in now flat on the ground. Peppers look like they been trying to play the game twister. Okra is about flattened and my poor tomatoes. We got enough rain in a half hour to fill a good size cereal bowl. Even with being staked most of mine are down and I picked up green tomatoes off ground. And right before this pop up thunderstorm hit I was looking out the window at mine after reading about how you should have pruned more and wondered if I should do some more on mine. Since whatever you get, I am getting it too. Before this nightmare mess, I was going to ask you, if you can look more or less through your tomatoes and see clearly what is on the other side, is that enough pruning or should I take off maybe a few more leaves? Gonna be a bleach spray day at 6 am soon as it daylight . Hoping a mild dose will hold of and problems . |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#18 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Posts: 1,413
|
![]()
This is the perfect time of year to make a strategic retreat to a dark air conditioned space and wait till September.
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#19 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: Ann Arbor Michigan
Posts: 93
|
![]()
Holy smokes! And here I am complaining about rain. My plants are three & a half weeks in the ground. No sign of any problems yet & for that I am grateful. Good luck to everyone having problems.
Red, please keep us updated on how your progress. Thanks, Joe |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#20 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: ohio
Posts: 49
|
![]() Quote:
Thanks |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#21 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Long Island NY
Posts: 1,992
|
![]()
Bill,
Bummer reading this. Hope you can get things under control. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#22 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 132
|
![]()
I'm a pruner too but I'm not overly dogmatic about it. If you don't want to prune your plants don't prune them.
If your canopy is so dense that red and blue light isn't getting to lower leaves, those lower leaves aren't doing photosynthesis. They are just a waste. The stoma will literally close until blue light hits them again. If your foliage is dense and leaves are resting on one another they can form a vapor lock that causes the plant to stop taking up calcium. This happens because it blocks air movement. I trim my lower foliage pretty aggressively and have found it to work very well. I never did it another way because this is the way I was taught so I certainly can't say it's better than the alternative. That's why I'm not very dogmatic about it ![]() I primarily focus my pruning on eliminating foliage that isn't getting light and I always trim foliage that is near the ground because I have never had foliage near the ground that didn't get early blight if I left it there. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#23 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
|
![]()
This week has been a pruning and spraying marathon for me and in terrible heat. I have only been able to go out and get anything done from about daylight til the temps get unbearable and for me that is not too long. I started the week with a diluted bleach spray of all my plants. The next day I started pruning the shriveling leaves and finally finished that yesterday morning. I got 8 or 9 lawn bags of trimmed diseased foliage toted out to the street yesterday by my youngest son. Man I'm glad he dropped by.
![]() I applied a spray of Daconil one day after the initial bleach spray and then did a follow up bleach spray on the more severely affected plants on Friday. This morning I finished the week by applying a copper spray to everything in the garden including my peppers as a friend told me he was having problems with spot diseases on his. My plants desperately need a good watering following those 100+ degree days but I really needed to get rid of some of that diseased foliage first so that has had to wait and of course that will not help fruit set letting the plants get so dry. My second bed of tomatoes which are single stem are also in desperate need of lowering the plants as most of them are now well over the bar and unsupported by clips but I'll just have to deal with that tomorrow morning. On the plus side the fruit have been ripening very fast resulting in me getting quite a few tomatoes this week and pigging out on BLTs this week. I have eaten so much fresh salsa I should be able to speak Spanish. Man I love that stuff. ![]() Below are a couple of pictures showing some of my tomatoes and the plants after pruning. Bill |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#24 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: Pennsylvania
Posts: 132
|
![]()
Some of those tomatoes are showing cat facing which is fine. It's caused by multiple pollination which typically happens if the flowers are wet when they pollinate.
Some of them look like they have blossom end rot. That can be caused by overwatering but it is often caused by too high of relative humidity in your foliage (lack of airflow or too dense of a canopy). It sounds like you just might have really bad humidity in your area. If your area doesn't have the humidity some pruning might help with the airflow to stave off that problem. I'm told you can foliar feed milk to fix that problem too. I haven't personally tried it. |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#25 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: No.Central Arkansas - 6b/7a
Posts: 179
|
![]()
Bill - what variety(s) are the big heavily ruffled ones with the green shoulders? I can't read the initials on them. Nice collection.
I don't see any with BER and no catfacing either. There is one (right in front) from 2 fused blossoms and I see one with a very mild side zipper. Dave
__________________
Dave |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#26 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Alabama
Posts: 7,068
|
![]() Quote:
You are correct about no blossom end rot on any of them. I haven't had but one or two fruits show any blossom end rot since I started using TTF and that only happens when I can't keep the soil moisture even which sometimes does happen. The skins of many of my tomatoes don't look as good as usual because of the heavy rain followed by four days of plus 100 degree weather which always makes for some rather gnarly looking surfaces on some varieties. Kinda like it has done to my skin as I age. ![]() Bill |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#27 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2015
Location: AL
Posts: 1,993
|
![]()
For all what you have been fighting Bill that's a nice looking haul.
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#28 | |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Mar 2015
Location: NE Louisiana, Zone 8A
Posts: 1,179
|
![]() Quote:
Thats a nice harvest Bill! I have had a lot of BER this year, more than I ever had. What varieties are you growing this year? Which has been the most productive so far? |
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#29 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: Ardmore,Oklahoma
Posts: 172
|
![]()
Hello Bill,
Nice looking harvest and the tomato's look to be a good size. Rick |
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
#30 |
Tomatovillian™
Join Date: Oct 2013
Location: Chicago IL
Posts: 857
|
![]()
Looking really good! and a nice haul! This is encouraging. Community gardens where I have my gardens are choke full of Septoria and EB starting. I have at least 8 weeks to go...
|
![]() |
![]() |
![]() |
|
|