Keeping Your Garden Free of Tomato Diseases

Tomatoes are one of the most popular plants to be included in a vegetable garden. While they are easy to grow, tomato diseases can blight a tomato crop quickly, and it is always a good idea to check for signs of disease on a regular basis.

An ugly disease that often strikes tomatoes is actually several types of fungus known as tomato blight (Phytophthora infestans and Alternaria solani). Blight comes in various forms. Late blight results in either brown or black patches on leaves, and spreads rapidly in wet weather. Early blight affects older leaves on the tomato plant, with small spots that grow bigger. This is common to tomatoes in hot humid conditions. The disease affects not only the leaves, and can reduce your entire tomato crop to a sludgy mess.

Steps to avoid blight include ventilation and watering at the base of the plant to keep the tomato plants dry, and cutting leaves off the tomato plants as soon as there are any signs of blight. Also avoid planting tomatoes where potatoes were previously sewn, as the blight that affects tomatoes also blights potatoes.

More Than Just Blight to Consider

There are other diseases that can affect your tomatoes. There are various types of blight that can affect tomato plants. This is a severe disease, and you will need to destroy all infected tomato plants to avoid losing your whole crop. There are means to minimizing the chances of diseased tomatoes. More and more disease resistant strains of tomatoes are being created – ask your garden supply shop for recommendations.

Avoid growing tomatoes and related species in the same area year after year. Mulching tomatoes and watering at the soil level rather than overhead goes a long way to avoiding blight and other diseases. While there are various diseases that can blight your tomatoes, these plants are still some of the easiest and best to grow.

top