In message , Omelet
writes
In article ,
"George.com" wrote:

The black growth mostly on the stalks and a few leaves I attribute to
some bacterial infestation, but the Malathion don't seem to help. A
few hours spent examining labels of pesticides at the Home Depot and
Lowes seems to suggest I am SOL. The growth puts me out of
competition for the Better Homes and Gardens competition, but don't
seem to be hurting the plants a lot; it's just ugly. Any ideas?

or another alternative to try is a neem oil spray.

rob

Seconded.

I would personally never use Malathion on anything I expected to eat.

Me neither! But that black growth sounds suspiciously like blight -
which no amount of insecticide - or fungicide, for that matter - is
going to cure. If that's really what it is, there isn't much you can do
except remove affected leaves and fruit and hope it only spreads slowly.
However, since blight thrives in humid conditions you should probably
cut down on the spraying too.

--
Max Wright