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#1
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Tomato plants -- sudden death
I've always accepted blight as inevitable, so I plant plenty of tomato
seedlings anticipating attrition. Cultivars are chosen for their disease resistance. This year they were Celebrity, 4th of July, Early Girl, Mountain Pride, and Lillian's Yellow. This past week, after the heavy rains brought by hurricane Ernesto, almost all of my tomato plants died suddenly. Limp leaves, then brown dry leaves, then a dead plant. When the dead plants were pulled they had a smaller root structure than normal. What might account for that? Was lack of roots a symptom or a cause of death? I see no vole tunnels. My garden has always had crickets but this year they are more numerous than ever. Do crickets harm tomato roots? We always read about crop rotation. My garden is 35'x35' and I rotate as much as practical within that space. With tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet peppers being in the same family, is effective crop rotation possible in a small garden? Daniel B. Martin |
#2
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Tomato plants -- sudden death
Whiteflies really attack tomatoes this time of year, and can kill them.
Did you notice tiny white fliers floating off the plants when they were shaken? Sevin works, usually. Daniel B. Martin wrote: I've always accepted blight as inevitable, so I plant plenty of tomato seedlings anticipating attrition. Cultivars are chosen for their disease resistance. This year they were Celebrity, 4th of July, Early Girl, Mountain Pride, and Lillian's Yellow. This past week, after the heavy rains brought by hurricane Ernesto, almost all of my tomato plants died suddenly. Limp leaves, then brown dry leaves, then a dead plant. When the dead plants were pulled they had a smaller root structure than normal. What might account for that? Was lack of roots a symptom or a cause of death? I see no vole tunnels. My garden has always had crickets but this year they are more numerous than ever. Do crickets harm tomato roots? We always read about crop rotation. My garden is 35'x35' and I rotate as much as practical within that space. With tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet peppers being in the same family, is effective crop rotation possible in a small garden? Daniel B. Martin |
#3
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Tomato plants -- sudden death
ncstockguy wrote:
Whiteflies really attack tomatoes this time of year, and can kill them. Did you notice tiny white fliers floating off the plants when they were shaken? Nope. I know what whiteflies look like and they were not present. Daniel B. Martin |
#4
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Tomato plants -- sudden death
In article t,
"Daniel B. Martin" wrote: I've always accepted blight as inevitable, so I plant plenty of tomato seedlings anticipating attrition. Cultivars are chosen for their disease resistance. This year they were Celebrity, 4th of July, Early Girl, Mountain Pride, and Lillian's Yellow. This past week, after the heavy rains brought by hurricane Ernesto, almost all of my tomato plants died suddenly. Limp leaves, then brown dry leaves, then a dead plant. When the dead plants were pulled they had a smaller root structure than normal. What might account for that? Was lack of roots a symptom or a cause of death? I see no vole tunnels. My garden has always had crickets but this year they are more numerous than ever. Do crickets harm tomato roots? We always read about crop rotation. My garden is 35'x35' and I rotate as much as practical within that space. With tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet peppers being in the same family, is effective crop rotation possible in a small garden? I've been told that nematodes can become a problem in soil where tomatoes are grown year after year. Your thought to crop rotation is a good one, as is your point about the fact that the plants are in the same family perhaps making rotation ineffective. Sorry I'm not more helpful. I had to give up on growing tomatoes because I get too much shade. Now I just get mine from the Farmer's Market. -- Philip Semanchuk email: first name @ last name.com |
#5
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Tomato plants -- sudden death
If the roots were gnarled then it was nematodes
If the roots were normal but not small then it is a case of not planting your seedlings deep enough in the ground You had a case of wilt - basically the soil contains a fungus that blocks the vascular system of the plant - so the roots appear healthy but then the plant up and dies, basically becuase the plant is choked off. I rotate by layering a good 4-6 inches of mulch over the soil I have and I plant right into the mulch, I have a very wooded lot so leaves are not an issue. DO NOT repeat DO NOT till the mulch in - just lay it down - you are basically covering the soil diseases down below the mulch if you till it it just mixes it up again Then plant the tomato plant in a trench not a hole, so that at least 6-8 inches of the green part of the plant is buried then use wall o waters in the hole put 10-10-10 and dolomitic lime Avoid top watering the plants, water at the base of the plant You do not need disease resistant variations. by the time the roots hit the lower soil your tomatos will be over 7ft with plenty of fruit and the roots will be over 2 feet long, plenty to support the plant even if it does get wilt. Tomatolord "Daniel B. Martin" wrote in message k.net... I've always accepted blight as inevitable, so I plant plenty of tomato seedlings anticipating attrition. Cultivars are chosen for their disease resistance. This year they were Celebrity, 4th of July, Early Girl, Mountain Pride, and Lillian's Yellow. This past week, after the heavy rains brought by hurricane Ernesto, almost all of my tomato plants died suddenly. Limp leaves, then brown dry leaves, then a dead plant. When the dead plants were pulled they had a smaller root structure than normal. What might account for that? Was lack of roots a symptom or a cause of death? I see no vole tunnels. My garden has always had crickets but this year they are more numerous than ever. Do crickets harm tomato roots? We always read about crop rotation. My garden is 35'x35' and I rotate as much as practical within that space. With tomatoes, eggplant, and sweet peppers being in the same family, is effective crop rotation possible in a small garden? Daniel B. Martin |
#6
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Tomato plants -- sudden death
In article ,
wrote: Avoid top watering the plants, water at the base of the plant I second this. Getting the leaves wet just encourages fungus. ALso, I've been told that tomato plant leaves are very susceptible to soil-borne fungus/parasites and a good way to get that fungus onto the plant is to have exposed soil beneath the plant. THen a heavy watering or hard rain will splash soil onto the lower leaves. I used to mulch with a thick layer of grass clippings and it formed a nice mat that kept the soil in place during a rain. HTH -- Philip Semanchuk email: first name @ last name.com |
#7
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Tomato plants -- sudden death
I have just one note about planting tomatoes in trenches (burying a length
of the stem) -- take care when you are weeding around the plants! I had forgotten one year that I trenched the tomatoes, so I kept snagging them with the tool I was using to weed. (The stems never actually broke, but I'm sure it would have been better for the plants if they had always remained covered up.) Anne wrote in message .. . If the roots were gnarled then it was nematodes If the roots were normal but not small then it is a case of not planting your seedlings deep enough in the ground You had a case of wilt - basically the soil contains a fungus that blocks the vascular system of the plant - so the roots appear healthy but then the plant up and dies, basically becuase the plant is choked off. I rotate by layering a good 4-6 inches of mulch over the soil I have and I plant right into the mulch, I have a very wooded lot so leaves are not an issue. DO NOT repeat DO NOT till the mulch in - just lay it down - you are basically covering the soil diseases down below the mulch if you till it it just mixes it up again Then plant the tomato plant in a trench not a hole, so that at least 6-8 inches of the green part of the plant is buried then use wall o waters in the hole put 10-10-10 and dolomitic lime Avoid top watering the plants, water at the base of the plant You do not need disease resistant variations. by the time the roots hit the lower soil your tomatos will be over 7ft with plenty of fruit and the roots will be over 2 feet long, plenty to support the plant even if it does get wilt. Tomatolord |
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