Growing your own tomatoes can be super satisfying, but these tasty veggies can fall victim to various diseases. With the right care, you can keep your tomato plants healthy and ensure a great harvest. Here are some straightforward tips to help you prevent diseases in your tomato garden.
Give 'em Space
Tomatoes need room to breathe! Proper spacing helps air circulate between plants, keeping moisture from lingering on the leaves and reducing the chance of fungal infections. More space equals fewer problems with blight and other diseases.
Increase Air Flow
Humidity is the element needed for most diseases to thrive. Tomato diseases are caused by bacteria, fungi and viruses-- they need humidity to thrive. By increasing air flow you'll decreases these pathogens' ability to survive and spread.
We've experience increased humidity levels in the garden in recent year with heavy morning dews. Often times the leaves in the garden don't dry off until at least noon! And we just receive a deluge of rain-- over 4 inches in a 24 hour period! UFF!
All the more reason to increase spacing and airflow to help them dry off more quickly.
a) Plant tomatoes a minimum of 2 feet apart-- if you planted them closer than that keep them pruned up!
b) Keep weeds in check-- they can be a source of disease organisms and just their presence decreases air flow, delaying the drying process in the mornings and following rainfalls.
c) Trim the bottom tomato leaves. Most diseases start in the foliage closest to the ground-- because many of the disease pathogens are soil-borne. Keeping this foliage trimmed removes that threat and allows more air to circulate up through the canopy of the plant. Let that air get in underneath the plants!
d) Trellis to let air circulate throughout your plants. Trellising also encourages fruit to ripen more quickly and makes fruit easier to harvest.
Minimize watering
Tomatoes need remarkably little water to grow and thrive. Excess moisture is the enemy! This encourages disease issues in tomatoes more than any other factor.
One strategy is to, as much as possible, only water your tomatoes a couple-three weeks after transplanting them. Even then and after that, only water when the weather is hot and dry for days to a week or more.
Here are some key watering tips:
a) Only water the soil-- AVOID watering the leaves.
b) Only water in the morning-- any excess leaf moisture after watering has the greatest chance to evaporate during the heat of the day.
c) Only water when needed-- overwatering can lead to root problems.
If you have a greenhouse or high tunnel, growing tomatoes under this 'cover' will prevent heavy morning dews and decrease humidity issues. Also prevents that deluge of rain, like we just received! At the same time, it will increase the available heat units for faster ripening.
Mulching
Hay, straw, black plastic and dried grass clippings are great mulch your tomatoes. Mulching will:
a) reduce the need to water. Remember-- tomatoes need less water than you think!
b) reduce the risk of soil splash. Again, many tomato diseases are soil-borne pathogens that get started in your tomatoes after being splashed on your plant leaves from rain or overhead watering.
Be on the lookout for disease
Cultivate your garden detective skills! Look for colors and textures that seem suspicious and look closer as soon as you notice them!
a) Try to identify any issues using your local county extension agent and online resources.
b) Avoid handling wet tomato plants. Wait until they dry off to avoid spreading diseases.
c) Remove suspicious infected leaves ASAP to prevent spread and/or entire plants once the presence of disease is confirmed.
d) After handling diseased plants, be sure to wash your hands and sanitize your tools before returning to your garden.
Remove any suspicious leaves
Manage Pests
Pests like aphids and whiteflies can spread diseases to your tomatoes. Keep an eye out for these critters and use natural remedies like insecticidal soaps, neem oil, or bring in beneficial insects like ladybugs to help control them.
Rotate Your Crops
Switch up where you plant your tomatoes each year to keep soil-borne diseases at bay. Avoid planting tomatoes and their relatives like peppers, eggplants, and potatoes in the same spot for a few years. This break helps disrupt the life cycle of harmful pathogens in the soil.
Our rotation is simple-- just shift the rows that you plant to each crop over a row or two every year. This keeps the sequencing of crops consistent and ensures the disruption of harmful pathogen and pests.
Have a great tomato season!
Your garden coach,
Theresa
PS. Got any tricks you'd like to share that have increased your tomato harvests? Email me at: theresa@prairieroadorganic.co Can’t wait to hear them!