Lost all my tomato plants to late blight! (Pics)

[TomNJ]

My dream tomato garden is gone. All 60 of my beautiful lush tomato plants here in Floyd, VA were wiped out in a week by what looks like late blight. They are now just crispy critters!

I managed to harvest a couple of bushels before they completely bit the dust, picking everything with blush or more and with no lesions. Potatoes were also hit so I harvested them as well. We have had almost constant rain here the last month so I was afraid some kind of foliage disease would hit, but I did not expect this.

I have attached some photos below. Caution - Not for the weak of heart.

Oh well, the rest of my garden is doing great, and I won't let this setback ruin my sunny disposition! I'll buy my tomato needs locally, and try again next year.

TomNJ/VA

[LDx4]

Tom,

What horrifying pictures! I'm so sorry! But you've got the right attitude - there's always next year.



Lyn

[z_willus_d]

Tom, I'm sorry to read about the destruction in your garden. Did you try any counteraction? Any foliar spray, fungicides, etc?

-n

[AKmark]

What a shame, wish you the best in the future. Bummed me out seeing those pics, been there myself. Great attitude

[SharonRossy]

So sorry - it really is a bummer to put so much work and then bam! But, like you said, they are just tomatoes and next year is a whole new experience.
Sharon

[riceke]

Feel some comfort Tom in knowing you aren't alone in this malady. This was a bad year for a lot of us. I pulled mine up last week. Never had a year like this. Take a deep breath, say oh well and start next years planning.

[bcday]

Keep a close eye on the tomatoes you harvested that look free of lesions. It takes a few days for the disease to become visible after the spores germinate. The fruits that look OK to you now have nonetheless been exposed to LB spores from the infected fruits, leaves and stems. Any spores on the fruits you saved will germinate and grow in storage.

You should have waited until at least two weeks after all the infected foliage had died, or been removed, before harvesting the potatoes. Late Blight needs living tissue to survive for very long. Potato tubers are safe while they remain in the ground if they were well hilled up before the plants became infected. That way the tubers are protected from spores falling from the infected vines onto the soil surface. Tubers that are dug up amongst infected foliage will collect spores from that foliage, and also from any spores that may still be lingering on the surface of the soil. Those spores will then germinate and infect the tubers in storage. Inspect, weekly at least, every single tuber you dug up while they are in storage.

Do not plant potatoes in the same area where you had them this year. This is not because the soil itself is infected, which it isn't and cannot be (the spores need a living host to survive until next year), but because next year any infected tubers that didn't get dug up this year will sprout. Then they can be pulled up and disposed of before they can release spores into the air to infect next year's crop. The tubers are the living host that the LB needs to survive from one season to the next, so get rid of any volunteers that pop up next year. If you plant more potatoes in the same spot, you won't be able to tell the volunteers from the new clean ones you will be planting.

[Tania]

Darn late blight! So sorry Tom...

These pictures are way too familiar to me. Happens every year in our area. 2011 was the worst, as it happened first week of July, before we had a chance to harvest a single tomato. The entire crop was lost. 1000+ plants.

I am glad you managed to harvest some tomatoes before this devastation...

Tatiana

[tjg911]

ugh! what a disheartening mess. 60 plants. you have a better attitude than i would have over this.

did your neighbors have late blight on potatoes or tomatoes? i know it can blow in from 10 or more miles away, i've read that it can travel 5 to 10 time farther if the spores are pulled up in the atmosphere and blown far away. i always question if it is local, plants bought at big box stores, maybe Bonney strikes again?

give me a call when you have some time to talk. i pmed you and left a phone message so i don't want to be a pest.

so far so good here. maybe i shouldn't have said that.

tom

[edweather]

Yes, sorry, been there. That's the real deal. Everybody calls everything blight and it drives me crazy, but I digress. Hopefully you got some tomatoes before the infection.

[marc_groleau]

I have a lot of beautiful green fruit hanging on the vine. I'm hoping it will ripen before the same thing happens to them. Sorry that you had a bad season. Hope next year if better.

[PA_Julia]

Tom!!!!

OMG!!! I'm so sorry!!!!!

[TomNJ]

Thank you all for your kind words, advice, and sympathy!

I have never used any pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides before - perhaps I should rethink that for next year. I doubt it would have helped much this year as we had rain nearly daily. Besides, spraying the top and bottom sides of all leaves on 60 bushy plants after every rain is probably something I couldn't keep up with, especially with travel.

I sowed my potatoes on top of the ground and covered them with a foot of hay, so the hay should have intercepted the spores. I pulled the plants and pushed them aside before removing the hay and taking the potatoes. Nonetheless the potatoes could have been exposed to spores, so I'll keep a close eye on them in storage, as well as the tomatoes. I did get nearly a bushel of potatoes from a 45' row, so I'm pleased with that. Only a few of the potato plants were affected by blight.

Tania - 1,000+ plants!!!! Oh I think that would have brought on a major sulk!

Tom - Sorry I missed your call as I am down at the farm. I'll call you this evening. Hope your German Red garlic that we bought at the Saugerties festival last year came in as big as mine - up to 3"!

TomNJ/VA

[peebee]

I've never seen such horrifying photos of a garden. That is just a shame; I like others here feel for you Tom. So sorry.

[Redbaron]

ouch