help save my babies! could a couple cold nights do THIS? PICS

[unless]

greetings friends!

my homemade-SIP-grown tomato babies are under distress. well, some of them. here's the thing. i planted three tubs at the beginning of april in my tried-and-true wicking mix with 3 cups espoma and 2 cups dolomite. temperatures were mild and i watered regularly via the tube. two tubs are unsheltered, located on the NORTH side of the house, and the other one is relatively protected, located SOUTH of a couple storage sheds.

anyway, all was going swimmingly UNTIL approximately 2 weeks ago when we went from temps in the 50-80 degree range to a couple of 38 degree nights . a big windy cold front had come barreling through. afterward, i noticed (too late) that the reservoirs had been BONE DRY during this time (they must have been expending more liquid than i calculated). so not only was it cold, but it was dry. (it didn't freeze, though.)

the interesting part is what developed over the coming week. HERE IS WHERE I DESPERATELY NEED YOUR HELP DIAGNOSING THIS PROBLEM, BECAUSE THE COLD SNAP AND DRYNESS MAY NOT BE THE CAUSAL AGENTS AT PLAY HERE. what has happened is that the leaves and stems of the plants in the unsheltered tubs have turned yellowish. the leaves developed necrotic spots (see pictures). i do NOT observe any leaf curl. curiously, the plants on the south side of the shed look fine.

also of note is the fact that some of the tomatoes that set after the cold front have blossom-end rot. thinking the issue might actually be some kind of nutrient deficiency in my mix that happened to manifest right after the cold snap, i've been applying fish emulsion to the plants as well as calcium carbonate solution. THE NEW GROWTH APPEARS GREEN AND HEALTHY, if a bit sparse (the plants are currently about six feet tall). i do want to make sure this isn't an issue that's likely to spread (e.g. a fungal disease or something). NOTE however that the spots on the tomato leaves don't feature concentric circles.

SORRY FOR SUCH A LONG-WINDED ACCOUNT; i hope i provided all relevant details to identify the issue! MANY THANKS TO YOU ALL!!!

[kath]

Welcome to the forum, unless. The problem in your picture reminds me of Early Blight but I hope that someone with more expertise will chime in on this one.

kath

[RayR]

Looks like the plants are just stressed to me. From your description of the cold winds and water issues that would be the cause. Don't assume every brown spot or yellowing of leaves has to do with fungal pathogens.

[amideutch]

Second the early Blight diagnoses. The BER was probably caused by stress when the reservoirs went dry. I would remove the diseased leaves and spray with a copper fungicide. Then after a week hit the plant with Daconil. The unaffected plant on the south side spray with Daconil now. Then you need to decide what kind of disease prevention program you want to use be it chemical or organic. Can't stress enough the importance of starting a disease prevention program once you set out your plants. Once they get infected it's a lot harder to eradicate.

We have a lot of members from Texas that I'm sure will chime in. In the mean time check out our Garden diseases and pests forum for more information on disease control.

BTW, welcome to TVille.

Ami

[unless]

oh my! THANKS ALL FOR THE ADVICE. i'd go out and trim off the affected growth, but it is raining torrentially out today (and that's probably not helping the problem, either!!!).

if it is indeed a fungal problem, i might try to save a few $$$ and locate something effective i already have in my arsenal. i do have some actinovate. once i remove all affected leaves, do you think a thorough foliar applicatoin of actinovate and a good 'ol soil drench will help? the packaging indicates it is effective against early blight. i applied it to the soil at planting time, but that was a couple months ago. guess i should have followed up on that sooner.

anybody ever go this route before? if i do, i'll surely have to wait for the weather to clear up. hopefully the plants don't deteriorate before then.

*SIGH* gardening here is hard. three weeks ago it was in the upper 30s, bone dry, and terribly windy; lately it's been in the 90s and unbearably humid. i guess insect pests (i have plenty on my squash and such) and fungus particularly love this climate. it's like south florida but with more extremes. a couple years ago we had a summer with over sixty 100+ degree HUMID days, and every time i came in from outside i'd have to peel my clothing off of me. despite all that humidity in the air, we didn't get a drop of measurable rainfall.

[amideutch]

Yes, Actinovate will work fine and we recommend it highly. Normally we advise members to used Actinovate and EXEL LG (Phosphorous Acid) together which is also bio friendly with a little molasses mixed in as a spreader/sticker. Using both will cover a wider spectrum of diseases.

If I knew you had Actinovate I would have told you to use it before the copper. As soon as the rain stops hit them with the actinovate. If the Actinovate controls it no need for the Daconil. Keep applying weekly or every other week depending on the weather.

Ami

[unless]

yay! thanks immensely for the reply. i will certainly go out tomorrow and make a thorough application (weather permitting)!

would you believe we have just had 15.5 inches of rainfall here in less than twenty four hours?!? the area is seeing some severe flash flooding. i live on a hill but am effectively stranded at home because we are surrounded by low water crossings, all of which are dangerously flooded. over sixty people have had to be rescued from their homes.

[tlintx]

Thankfully you're safe!!!

It was interesting to see comments from the native Texans on the news articles. We didn't get any rain north of Houston, but it sure looked like it was going to pour.

I keep stocked up on hurricane supplies just in case. Propane, hamburger buns, ketchup, beer... you know, hurricane supplies.

I agree, this climate is a challenge. And a blessing! 365 day growing season, if you pick your varieties carefully!


Tl