It's some of kind of wilt brought on by the recent hot, humid weather. I really haven't bothered to examine too closely what kind of wilt it is specifically (bacterial, fungal, viral - take your pick), because there is no cure for any of them. The only solution is to remove your bushes and bin them, and don't plant the same spot with tomatoes (or their relatives potatoes, chillies, peppers etc) for up to four years.
Sigh.
You can see the typical foliage wilting and dying off in this shot. The bushes look dreadful :-(
And of course, because the foliage has all but died off, the big, fat tomatoes (which still look OK) which are (were) ripening on the bushes are now all sunburnt after a hot couple of days (you can see the pale patch, which will begin to rot).
Even my cherry tomatoes look bad, which is very unusual as they are normally very hardy and disease-resistant. Thank goodness for the self-seeded cherry tomato plant out the front which still looks OK, or we'd be out of tomatoes (eek!).
I've picked what green tomatoes were not affected by sunburn and have them ripening on the kitchen bench - the plants are destined for the garbage (not the compost, I don't want their disease affecting everything in my garden) - and I am fervently crossing my fingers that the two Amish Paste tomato seedlings I recently planted in another part of the garden escape the infection.
I've never grown Rouge de Marmande before, and the first couple we picked had me salivating for more. Look at the gorgeous curves on this one, it's nothing like the round, unblemished store-bought tomatoes is it - and it isn't even fully ripe yet.
Weather, pests, diseases, dogs... who'd be a farmer? LOL.
12 comments:
I agree, who'd be a farmer! That is so sad about your tomatoes Julie :( It's hard to tell from pics, but if you haven't binned them yet, have a look on the underside for tiny mites (magnifying glass will help) - if it's mites they may spread to other plants.
Underside of leaves that is.
Oh no, what a shame. I hope nothing happens to the plants my dad is growing. I'm trying to convert him to heirloom seeds, so I gave him a packet of mixed tomato heirloom seeds and we now have about 8 of the plants in his garden. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for lovely delicious tomatos that will convince him to stick with heirlooms. We've already had one batch of corn wilt and die from the other seeds I got him from Diggers. I don't want him to get to the point where he thinks they are all too hard to grown and go back to buying all his punnets from places like Big W and have a heap of plants which you can't save seeds from etc. While we are renting I'm trying to live my dreams thru him, hehe.
I agree, it's depressing enough being a backyard veggie gardenener when one's crops fail. Fingers crossed the other seedlings thrive.
PS Just noticed I'm back on your blog list, thanks!
Ohhhh yeah. Know just what you mean about the wilting tomatoes. You got my sympathy.
My plants wilted 4 or 5 ago and they still look awful, but they are reshooting at the base much to my delight! I am hoping I might squeeze afew more tomatoes out of them before the cooler months start.
Goodluck with your crop
Emily
weeks ago - sorry I shouldn't type without my glasses I make too many mistakes... Emily
Hi Julie, this is what happens to my tomatoes all the time even when planted in different places and at different times of the year. I believe it is viral. It seems totally hopeless to me. I would appreciate any further suggestions you might have on this problem.
Yes, who would be a farmer!
Patricia
Hi Julie,
So sorry to hear of your losses it has to seemed to be a particularly bad year for tomatoes.
I hope you still have enough growing season left to get another crop into production. Those Rouge de Marmande certainly do look beautiful though.
Kind Regards
Belinda
Hi guys,
Thanks for your sympathy :-)
Patricia,
Alas, the only 'cure' I know of is to not plant tomatoes in the infected locations for up to to 4 years to ensure the virus is dead! I wonder if it could be nematodes in the soil instead? I believe the wilting looks similar - but if you pull the plants up they have nodules on their roots? You would have to Google treatments for them though as I can't remember, sorry, although I think it is more treatable than viral wilt. Good luck!
Cheers, Julie
It's disappointing when that happens, I had the same problem last year, I think it was a viral thing. I'm having better luck this year, fingers crossed. Just wanted to say thanks for all the great recipes on your other blog, have made the spinach pie and sweet potato salad, they were delish!
Half my Tomatoes and most of my Zucchini plants just did exactly the same thing. Frustrating isn't it. I initially thought it was heat/dry....but it has seemed to move from one end of the garden to the other....I hope it does not mean i cannot plant in the same place for 4 years! I only have 4 garden beds and 2 of them are affected.
P.S your photos look brilliant...Lovely tomatoes...Cheers, Tricia
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