In article
,
Billy wrote:

In article ,
Bill who putters wrote:

In article
,
Higgs Boson wrote:

The "wilt" or whatever it is got so bad that I pulled up several large
plants that were not producing. Also trimmed all the foliage
(infected, dried) from the remaining plants and left ONLY the tomatoes
to (I HOPE!) ripen.

Asked the nursery and they said the weather here (Santa Monica CA) has
been so overcast and humid that fungus or whatever has flourished.

1. I want to protect the remaining plants (volunteers -- not the ones
from Home Despot that I tossed).
Nursery sold me product whose label reads:

"Serenade garden Disease Control: Can be used for organic gardens.
Fungicide that attacks harmful garden diseases." Active ingredient is
QST 713 strain of Bacillus subtilis 0.074%.

This from AGRA Quest, not my favorite among corporate ag. giants.

2. Nursery guy also said that I should not replant edibles in that
area; that I should remove the earth to a depth of (I think he said )
about 6" or more; that it would take "several years" for the area to
recover. (Assuming it is infected).

That sounds pretty drastic to me; esp removing the earth. It's been
suggested by a landscape friend that I PLANT some edibles, even
tomatoes, in that area to see what happens to them. Perhaps wait
until this unseasonable cool and damp gives way to usual summer heat.

What do you think?

TIA

Nothing wrong with the concept of going fallow. Just away of saying not
planting anything for a year or more. Not gardening is a lot like
fasting easy to say difficult to do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crop_rotation

I played this game once Bill. If it is fulsarium or verticillium, 3
years is a hard minimum. For sure, I'd shop it around. See what Master
Gardeners have to say and all that. I'm just not familiar with any other
tomato disease that has a several year quarantine on it. It will attack
all of the Solanaceae Family, and basil, among other plants. That said I
did grow lettuce, beets, parsley, and chives in the same plot with no
ill effect to them.
Mrs. Lieberman may want to get a list of plants that's not affected by
fulsarium, or verticillium wilts.

My fried Ralph about 4 miles away can't grow eggplant. This going on
I'd guess 15 years. This from a S. Jersey truck farmer tradition.
This wilt /disease stuff is a real concern and with the mold/fungus
issues about we all must try to garden healthy or clean which is almost
impossible as we encourage death and rot to become new life. Don't know.

--
Bill S. Jersey USA zone 5 shade garden
What use one more wake up call?