Well, frak.

[beac]

So, after bouncing back so wonderfully with the milk bath, my poor tomatoes appear to have contracted Septoria Leaf Spot. :( It appear out of the blue today. Yesterday, everything looked good, though I did pull off a few yellowed leaves that I thought we just the tail end of the sad condition they were in when I got home earlier this month.

I used new, organic potting soil and disinfected the pots before planting. I can't think HOW they could have contracted this except if the grower sent me plants that already had the fungus in them when they were shipped (apparently in is stored in seeds or overwinters in the ground, but my plants are in pots, so that's not an option.)

I am DEVASTATED. Anyone have any organic suggestions?

[Denninmi]

1. Well, I've had a lot of success with Gold Bond type powder.

As a fungicide. Gold Bond Medicated Powder is a Zinc oxide base, and it has oils of eucalyptus and I believe thyme, plus menthol. I don't know if it strictly qualifies as organic in the sense the a professional organic farmer could use it. But, I've found it makes a pretty good fungicide on plants. I apply a pretty heavy dusting, and repeat in about 7 days if necessary.

Also, I don't buy the name brand version, which is around $5 at the pharmacy. I buy a generic version at the dollar store.

I honestly haven't tried it on tomatoes, but it did a good job on powdery mildew on roses, and it also works well to keep Botrytis away from my young plants in the greenhouse in spring, where I have problems with that due to the cool temps and humidity.

[beac]

4. Wow, I've never heard that about Gold Bond.

Alas, my tomatoes are right by my front steps and I fear any major powdering would make an awful mess. But I've tucked that info away for future reference. Thanks!

edited for typo

[bvar22]

6. Thanks.

We have never tried this,
but we always have some Mentholated Gold Bond around,
especially during Summer.
We'll give it a try!

[bvar22]

2. Crying together.

(West/Central Arkansas) Our tomatoes started showing signs of Septoria too.
The last 6 weeks have been miserable.
Daytime temps over 100F,
High Humidity,
and NO rain.

We had been treating with a spray that contained Neem and another sulfur compound
but stopped doing that when the temps went above 95F for fear of scorching the leaves.
We avoided the Early Blight which is endemic here,
but due to the high temps, the plants which are lush, green & healthy with regular blossoms
have produced few tomatoes. :(

Yesterday, we saw the first signs of Septoria.
Today is much cooler (85) with a little rain (thank gawd),
so we removed visibly affected branches, and sprayed with Serenade.
I hope that helps.

We also started some new seedlings about 3 weeks ago,
and will be transplanting them soon, hoping for a healthy Late Crop.

Good Luck to you.

[beac]

3. Thanks, bvar!

I've been reading up on it too and today I removed all the spotted leaves (carefully dipping the snips in a mild disinfecting solution between clips) but I've been hung up on what to spray. Some say a copper fungicide, but some claim it's bad for bees/humans/animals.

Since you have personal experience w/Serenade, I feel better about trying that. I called my local organic place and they carry the concentrate. Off to the store now!

[bvar22]

5. This is our first try with Serenade.

I can't vouch for it,
just hoping it works.

We also Keep Honey Bees,
so we are VERY careful about anything we use.

Honey Bees don't pollinate Night Shades (Tomatoes & Potatoes),
and ours have shown very little interest in our Tomato plants,
but we Companion Plant with Borage, Catnip, Basil, and Marigolds, and the Bees LOVE them.
We still wait until nightfall, when the Bees go home,
to spray anything.

So far, all the Oil Based fungicides (Neem, Dormant Oils)
don't seem to have any negative consequences for the Bees.

[beac]

7. OK, so we're experimenting together.

:)

I still feel better w/your recommendation. I was in a swivet and didn't have much time to research, but I trust your judgment and gardening instincts. Did do a little reading up on it just now and found a glowing review on gardenweb: http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/tompests/msg0416394711532.html


Here's hoping we'll both be eating lots of nice, healthy tomatoes soon. :hi:

[OhioBlue]

8. I was glad to read this post... not b/c of your

tomatoes of course, but b/c I then googled Septoria Leaf spot and now I know what is wrong with mine!! I clipped the bad leaves off tonight and sprayed with a fungicide from Wal Mart that said it was organic... I think my cherry tomatoes might have been too far gone. Even the leaves that I left that look healthy have some spots on them. I am hoping that I saved the Romas tho - there were only a few bad leaves on them.

Also... I've found some small orange eggs on the underside of the leaves. They look similar to potato beetle eggs - anyone know what they might be?

I also found 1 tomato horn worm on my romas last week. I just picked him off - haven't found anymore. I might spray with bt in a few days after I see how they responded to the fungicide.

[beac]

9. Glad to be of help!

At least I know I am not the only one suffering. :)

After I clipped and sprayed, I did find one or two more affected leaves over the next two days and I snipped those off as well. So far, it looks like the infection has stopped. Fingers crossed.

As for your cherries, if they are still producing new leaves at a good pace, they might bounce back. If you plant in the ground (not in containers like me) I understand that it is recommended that you NOT plant tomatoes in that spot for 3-4 years to allow the spot fungus to die off in the soil. Also, don't compost the tomatoes at the end of the season.

Keep an eye out for horn worms. Where there's one, more usually follow.

Could your eggs actually be rust? See this post:http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/roses/msg0303305722336.html
If not, check out the eggs section on What's That Bug: http://www.whatsthatbug.com/category/eggs/

[OhioBlue]

11. Thanks so much for the info

I looked at the links - it does look similar to rust, but these where all together in a cluster - I did some more google searches and Ohio State extension said that potato beetles will attack tomatoes too... so maybe it is potato beetles after all. I haven't seen any... and it seemed like they were earlier last year (I decided not to do potatoes this year because they and flea beetles last year just killed my potatoes last year and they were way too high maintenance for my first organic garden)

I think I'm definitely gonna spray with Bt in the next few days.

Thanks for the advice on the peppers too. :)

[beac]

12. Ack, flea beetles are the WORST!

I cannot do eggplants b/c they will turn the leaves into lace long before any fruit has a chance to develop.

So far, no potato beetles here in my area (knock wood) and I've kept the squash bugs under control with a combo of radish companion planting and bvar's Dustbuster method. ;)

So far so good w/my Septoria problem. We've even had cool & misty weather here the past few days. Welcome in the usually stifling month of July, but not so good when one is battling fungi. Still, I haven't seen any new spots and the tomatoes are making new leaves to replace the ones I culled.

Hurrah for the internet. I can't imagine trying to navigate these many gardening challenges w/out it.

[bvar22]

13. Hi.

From the early indications, the Serenade seems to be working.

So far, I can't find any new areas of damage.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed,
but unless we get a break in the heat, we are not expecting many tomatoes.
It is just too damned hot. :(


We have started some more seedlings,
and are going to experiment with planting a Late Crop.

[beac]

14. Serenade passing the test here so far too!

We had two VERY cool days w/some misty rain, so I was a little worried it would re-activate the fungus but I guess it wasn't enough to wash off the Serenade. Good thing b/c that stuff is EXPENSIVE-- paid $16 for a pre-mixed spray bottle and it too 3/4 of it just to 'coat' four small tomato plants and 3 little peppers!

Good luck w/ your late crop. Keep us posted! :hi:

[beac]

10. Forgot to mention that Septoria can attack peppers too, so you might

want to give any you are growing a pre-emptive spray.

[OhioBlue]

15. I've still got the Septoria attacking my tomatoes.

I think that maybe I didn't spray enough or clip enough or... they were just too far along once I figured out what was wrong. I've got a lot of green fruit on the plants. I clipped more tonight and dusted the cherry tomatoes with the gold bond (the fungicide is just too pricey!!) It got dark before I could finish clipping the romas. I'm thinking I'll dust them with the gold bond tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[beac]

16. Fingers crossed for you and your tomatoes.

:hug:

[beac]

17. One other idea...

If there is a part of one of your plants that is unaffected, you could try cutting that stem off and rooting it in a pot. Tomato cuttings root easily. And both cherrys and Romas do quite well in pots.