I finally had healthy tomato plants this year until I noticed these awful leaves at the bottom of several of my plants. Help? - and Thank you!

Terri, sad to say but I think that's "early blight" http://www.missouribotanicalga...

Thank you. I have some Daconil and another copper based fungicide so maybe I can read a little more to find out which would be better. So far, I havent seen any damage to the tomatoes themselves. My only other concern is that we are supposed to have more rain thru Tuesday and it appears that would spread this even more? Do you have any experience with this and how hard it is to get under control?

My tomatoes always get some disease later in the season, but I'm pretty sure it's either fusarium or verticillium wilt, rather than blight; hopefully someone else will have more information for you!

To me it does look like early blight however in my area this does not begin until much later in the season after the plants have been under stress. Perhaps Georgia is farther along in the growing season. Try removing the affected leaves and stems and applying a fungicide or a copper spray. This blight is soil borne and prevention is the best method to reduce (probably cannot eliminate) this disease.

Wet weather and heat bring on conditions favorable to early blight...and many other similar diseases. Prevention tips include a good mulching program to stop soil splash up onto leaves. That is how the fungus vectors from soil to the plant. Also watering the soil rather than overhead watering which causes more splash. So how do you stop rainfall from splashing? Mulching. By keeping your plants as healthy as possible they will resist....but not eliminate...diseases better. Good air flow at the base of the tomato also helps. Thinning out some of the lower branches, especially those in contact with the soil is a must. By rotating areas of your garden so tomatoes are not in the same area every year will lessen soil disease. My small space that is not possible. End of season garden clean-up is essential. Remove all debris, especially previously diseased plant material. Any diseased leaves etc. should be removed from the growing areas.

Right now fungicide application is the best solution. Good luck.

Thank you Paul. I am doing all you recommend except for mulch. Will do that tomorrow when hopefully the rain has stopped. Enjoy your weekend, Terri

There are lots of good ideas for a mulching program but I use layers of newspaper, two or three will do, and then cover with 6-8 inches of weed free straw (easier said than found). At the end of the season it all gets tilled into the garden to add organics.

Also, something I just read recently (and had never really thought about in the past.. ) is the importance of sterilizing tools such as scissors, pruners or whatever you use to remove the diseased leaves (and no doubt a good idea in any case) -- so I've begun wiping all that stuff down with alcohol quite regularly.

Sometimes a soil drench rather than a spray will help more with blight, if it's caught early enough. As Paul says, the pathogen is on/in the soil.

I've had good results with a diluted hydrogen peroxide drench - use drugstore peroxide and dilute 32/1 with water. Drench the whole root zone under the plant. It at least will do no harm. If the damage stops, you've won. If not, a drench with a selected fungicide that is safe for edibles is the next try.

Thank you all again for the continued help. Your support makes me feel more empowered! I have often read about weed-free straw. Where does anyone find this? I assume that it is NOT the straw that is typically in the trailer next to the pine straw at Home Depot, etc? Where is it sold?

I have heard i should use Epsom salts on tomatoes? Anyone?

With regard to sterilization, I always have a container of Clorox wipes in my garden buggy. They come in handy for just that purpose as well as an immediate defense when I realize I have come into contact with poison ivy, sumac, oak, etc...that grows heavily here. Is that a tip I should share to start building up my acorn stash?

Sounds like a great tip, Terri.

And yes, Epsom salts is good on tomatoes as well as lots of other plants. Some people just sprinkle it around the plant but I like to dissolve it and water it in so I know how much the plant is getting. A tablespoon per gallon works well for one tomato plant, and also for my orchids where I spray it on. It's highly soluble so it is either used by the plant right away or disappears quickly if you're irrigating a lot or it rains.

I think that would definitely be a tip worth submitting!

While epsom salts could have beneficial aspects to growing tomatoes, magnesium sulfate is not always the answer. Like adding lime or nitrogen or just about any chemical to your soil or around your plants, you need to know if your particular soil needs before adding anything. You may be doing more harm than good without a soil test.

Just because a garden in North Carolina or Maine or Kansas or Brownville, Nebraska will benefit, a garden in Florida or North Dakota or even just up the road in Peru, Nebraska will cause more growing problems by adding the same stuff. If you know your soil and what is beneficial by all means go for it. But without knowledge my advise is find out first before adding anything. Even your next door neighbor's soil may be different from your own. For about ten bucks you can get the real story.