Now doing Juan's gardening and culinary Tip of the Week on Juan's for just a few
weeks, I have recieved numerous messages on Facebook and on Juan's email but the
most asked question that I get is "what do I do about tomato blight'? Fighting
tomato blight is not easy and starts before you even plant your seeds but here
is a review of what I mention in the video:
1. Choose Disease Resistant
Varieties: When you are choosing seeds to plant in your early season nursery
or at the garden store buying tomatoes, info on the plants will tell you what
fungus and other disease that plant is resistant to. Buy plants that have lots
of resistance codes. (see video)
2. Use Ground Cover: Always use
a barrier like newspaper to keep disease infected dirt and soil borne fungus like
tomato blight from splashing on our lower plant leaves when it rains or you
water. Put mulch or straw on top of the newspaper to keep it in place and keep
the weeds down and the blight out.
3. Keep Plants Elevated For Air Flow:
If you planted your tomatoes too close together, plan next year to give them
more space. Air flow through your garden prevents bight and proper spacing is
imperative to good plant health and production. Use cages or tie plants up on
stakes with strips of nylon panty hose (some stretchy material) to keep them off
the ground.
4: Clean Off Infected Leaves: At the bottom of the plant,
pull off all of the dead and discolored leaves. Take those infected leaves
and put them in the garbage and keep them away from the plants. After doing that,
it is a good time to spray the plants with the Liquid Copper if you want to.
Note:
Not mentioned in the video you can buy Liquid Copper which is
available at garden stores. It is even organic approved. It is a powder when
mixed with water is a blue metallic liquid that you can spray on the plants to
dry them out. If your plants are on the verge of death in late August don't waste
your money on it but here in early July while plants are still developing, it
can have value. |
