Tomatoe plant mould :(

[Cassandra Lewis]

Hi there,

Just wondering if anyone could help diagnose a problem I have with some of my tomatoe plants - they have a grey type mould on the stems, and the leaves are looking a little worse for wear - I thought it might have been grey mould - and in one of my organic gardening books said to try 'flowers of sulphate' to fix - so have sprikled that on - but not sure how long before they should start to improve, or if you have to keep dosing them it. And now I thought maybe it's powdery mildew - which I think you can fix with a bakind soda solution?

Appreciate anyones knowledge

Thanks

[Letitia Shaw]

Me too.......a search through a couple of my books didn't reveal anything definite, but it might be late blight.....bought some copper yesterday so will see how my plants respond to a spray with that. I've also cut a lot of the lower leaves off, which were quite badly affected

[Richard Watson]

There's something to be said for the dry climates of inland South Island,i never get any fungal disease at all luckily,but for people who do experience those kinds of problems the best think is to gain as much knowledge as possible, i'm a member of a international tomato forum that's very good for help with this type of thing,its a fantastic forum with many experts and breeders who are most helpful.

http://www.tomatoville.com

[Dinzie]

Sounds like it is grey mould - botrytus......Copper applied to the area will help>be aware though that it is a poison to us in large amounts.... prune to get air and sunlight to the affected stem parts if you can >>>Never allow leaves nor fruit touch the soil>>prune lower leaves to stop this >>>it also helps with watering>>>don't get the leaves wet if possible....Because the mould is on the stem it may be a challenge to get rid....here's hoping for you :O)

D

[Vicki Hill]

Hm, I think I have this problem with some of my toms as well - interested to know what people come back with. I've just been pulling the 'contaminated' leaves off, trying to water the ground (not the plant) and hoping it won't spread anywhere else.

[Porangi Hoiho]

I had this. Pruning a lot of the non-flowering and lower stems and all dry leaves and watering heaps (mornings only) and upping feeding to twice weekly helped a lot. Good luck. Tomatoes can be hard work. Chur.