End of tomatoes bad

[delcecchi]

I guess I could ask my daughter, who has a degree in soil science, to translate But I am not sure it is that important any more. The soil has gray clay and yellow clay, with imbedded hunks of limestone in the clay. The gray clay looks just like the stuff they sell for pottery. Also, even the black dirt, such as it is, is sticky as glue when wet. We have that Karst stuff around Rochester.

Over the years I added chopped leaves, straw, and anything else I could get cheap. Helped a little. Too bad gypsum doesn't work. Seems to me the only thing that would work would involve a cat and a bunch of dump trucks.

On the other hand, my apple trees did fine, as do some evergreens I planted.

[Dotch]

They used to make clay bricks not too far from where our Spring Valley farm is located. I think you have your priorities right. Fishing is much more important!

[delcecchi]

That's pretty country down there. Got to see some of it being support for my son and some of his buddies in the Almanzo.

[eurolarva]

I have blossom end rot almost every year but it only happens to the second and third set of tomatoes growing. First row are always fine and 4th sets and all later it usually goes away on its own. One year I tried a bunch of remedies that were suggested and most of my plants died doing it.

[harvey lee]

I did as Nainoa suggested and now my tomatoes look fantastic.

Thanks Nainoa.

[Gordie]

I think I have some sort of blight because its affecting my tomatoes and peppers .spotty leaves and then they yellow and turn brown up and wither off. I tried several things but I feel I have waited to long and have lost the crop this year.

[delcecchi]

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/p256earlyblight-pot-tom.html

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/efans/ygnews/2011/06/preventing-and-reducing-tomato.html

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/p230lateblight-pot-tom.html

Most likely "early blight".

http://www.tomatodirt.com/tomato-blight-early.html

[pushbutton]

Do not think you are alone Gordie, this year has been pretty brutal on the heat loving crops. While I have not experienced much "blighty" type stuff....simply have not "experienced" much stuff in general. Its all good though. Still suffering from a little PCSD(post canning stress disorder) from last year

[Gordie]

Do not think you are alone Gordie, this year has been pretty brutal on the heat loving crops. While I have not experienced much "blighty" type stuff....simply have not "experienced" much stuff in general. Its all good though. Still suffering from a little PCSD(post canning stress disorder) from last year

Hi My name is Gordie and I have PCSD.... Nope, I still don't feel any better and No I don't feel alone

I had a small bout with blight last season and still had a great harvest. I have tyo do a little ground work though for next season.

[JeremyCampbell]

My garden isnt producing much either.The tomato plants are around 26" high no fruit.It already flowered too.The corn is about 30" high and the rest of the veggies look ok.I hope there's something to harvest I know my wife worked very hard on all this.She started most of it with seedlings,the tomatoes were around 10" high from the farmers market.

[harvey lee]

I have some tomato plants that are loaded but some that seem to not want to grow any or darn few. Same variety but some seem to be almost void of maters even though there are lots of blossoms.

1 Early Girl plant must have 3-4 dozen tomatoes on it and the one right next to it has maybe 5. Same variety but one is doing much better than the other.

last summer with the heat, I did not have many tomatoes but it seemed like later in July and into August, the maters really came. Must have had something to do with the heat.

[Early Riser]

I pulled two of my tomato plants due to stunting and blight. The ones that are left are starting to form tomatoes. I had one Brandywine turing red last week, but a squirrel took it. I usually have so many that I don't notice the occasional theft.

The early heavy rains and persistent cooler weather this year has been tough on peppers, corn and tomatoes. My sweet corn went in a little late and is now tasseled, with some ears forming. Zucchini is behind where it is at most years, but is coming on strong now. I lost half my potato plants as well due to early flooding. The ones that are left, never flowered. I haven't checked them for production, but am not expecting much.

On the other hand it has been a great summer for carrots, beans, lettuce, beets, peas, Kale, Chard, spinach, and al herbs. My garlic also came out OK. All in all I like this cool summer, it reminds me of my Hovland gardening, except I never had a failed potato crop. The latest frost I dealt with up there was June 21st, so tomatoes and corn were not viable possibilities.

[flipper]

We have picked a total of six tomatoes so far out of 20 plants. Latest year in memory. I noticed a few getting close this morning so the onslaught should come soon. Bring on the Heat Units! One positive is a minimal ammount of fungal disease in the maters this year.

It seems like everything in the garden is 4-6 weeks behind normal. The green beans are just starting to put out good and they have been tasty. The warden made four quarts of dill pickles yesterday and we have been enjoying refrigerator pickles for a little over a week. Sweet corn looks really good, still about two weeks away from picking though.

What a great year for leafy greens.

Peppers are not great here, we have some foliar disease in them and the yield will be less than half that of a "normal" year.

If we get a late frost, the year won't be all that bad after all.

[Dotch]

'maters here are setting lots of fruit but being planted the end of June, they'll need a long, warm September to amount to much. Still, they look decent for being basically transplanted into untilled mud. The squash with the same treatment have been a disaster. They looked like they were coming around when it was warm in July only to sit still when the weather cooled. Small, ratty looking vines then some squash borer showed up. Sweet corn planted June 30th should tassel this week. It has a lot of rust in it otherwise looks good. Green beans just started flowering, look great, so crossing my fingers. Cukes are coming along but have not flowered yet. Again, planted late June. Winter/fall radish and lettuce crop looks phenomenal, liking the cooler weather with moisture being spoon fed since planting in late July. One variety of snap peas, Cascadia, looks good. Other variety did not germinate or emerge well. Last but not least, the hill of zucchini has just started to bear. I was letting the 1st two on it get a little bigger to give to some friends. The zucchini were nearly perfect, as nice as any we've ever raised. Friday night I went to pick them and wouldn't you know, a bunny decided to take some hunks out of them. Thousands of acres of green stuff to eat and they pick on a zucchini? And people wonder why bunnies are on my "list".

[Rip_Some_Lip]

I came home and found this on my tomatoes. I do have some blight going on but I think this may be something else. Here are a couple pictures showing the leaves wilting away. This just started today. I had this happen last year but happened much earlier and it decimated my plants. I do have a lot of big maters on some plants that are just starting to turn orange although most are still green.

Here is another that has just some leaves starting to wilt.

This picture is interesting. Several plants have this going on in the dirt below the plants. We have had a few rains in the last week around .8" each time. I don't know if it is from water dripping or some sort of insect digging in the soil.

If anyone has any thoughts, please let me know what to do.

[Grainbelt]

When that happened to my plants it was because of cutworm. Look at the base of the stalk and see if it is chewed like a beaver does on a tree. Hard to tell in the picture if that's the case.

[Rip_Some_Lip]

If it is cutworm or some other bug burrowing the stem, can i spray around the bases to take care of it or would I have to spray the whole plant? I would rather not spray insecticed on the fruit if I didnt have to. I did notice with the dew on the plants this morning, the plants were standidng back up. I am guessing by the afternoon they will be wilting again.

[Dotch]

Without seeing the plants up close and personal, I'd say fusarium or verticillium might be likely candidates.

http://www.vegedge.umn.edu/vegpest/toms.htm

[smurfy]

since i've been putting Epsom salt by the base of my tomatoes I no longer have the end rot on my tomatoes.

the cutworms, I put ashes from campfire rings and someones fireplace in my garden from time to time. haven't had cutworm problems since!!!

[delcecchi]

Cutworms?

Or, extension is your friend...

Whole Plant wilts (tomato)

[delcecchi]

Some of the pictures on the above "what is wrong with my plant" site don't show up. I have been assured that it is a minor glitch associated with a site redesign and moving to a different server that will be fixed shortly.

[otterman91105]

Not sure how many of you guys have heard of the straw bale gardens, but i would have to say this is the first year that we put tomato's in them. They are the biggest and best we have ever had!