The Sauk County Gardener: Tomato season

I love tomatoes, all kinds of tomatoes. Red, yellow, pink, green striped, large slicing ones and little tiny ones I can eat right off the vine. However, to fully enjoy the tomato season, it’s also necessary to know about of tomatoes’ common diseases and pests and be ready to take action. Some common tomato plant diseases include early blight, septoria leaf spot, anthracnose and late blight. With all of these, early prevention using good sanitation methods is best. This includes proper spacing of your tomato plants to aid airflow, pruning the lower leaves to prevent the soil from splashing up under the leaves and selecting disease-resistant plants. At this point in the game, however, slowing the spread is all you can do if have any of these problems. Early next spring, you can work on your disease prevention plan.

All these diseases are much harder to control once the symptoms appear. Symptoms of early blight are circular brown spots on the leaves and stems. The spots enlarge and often have a yellow hallo. Septoria leaf spot shows up first at the base of the plant in way of small spots on the leaves and stems. The spots generally have a white center and a dark border and as the disease progress, the spots merge. Both diseases can lead to total defoliation to the lower leaves, damaged fruit, and death of the plant. To slow these two diseases, prune or thin the affect plants to help increase airflow. Fungicides labeled for vegetables and containing copper or chlorothalonil can help but are best if applied early in the course of the disease and then throughout the rest of the season on a regular basis.

Antracnose is another common disease that overwinters in plant debris. Early symptoms are small, slightly sunken, water-soaked circular spots. The spots grow and typically result in large rotted areas.

Preventing the soil from splashing up and planting in well-drained soil helps prevent the disease. If you want to use a fungicide, start when the tomatoes are formed on the first cluster. Also, choose one that is registered for use on tomatoes to control anthracnose.

Late blight makes tomatoes inedible and kills the plant. It blows in on the wind or transmitted by nearby infected plants. Symptoms are pale-green or olive-green areas on the leaves that quickly turn brown-black, water-soaked and oily looking. The stems can also show areas that are dark brown to black in color. The tomato itself develops large, sunken, golden- to brown, firm spots with distinct ring. As the disease progresses, the leaves, stems, and fruit typically develop a white-gray, fuzzy look. Plants with late blight cannot be saved and should be disposed of immediately to prevent the spread. Do not compost but instead, pull up and bag the entire plant, leave it in the sun for a few days to kill the disease and then put it in your trash.

If those four diseases weren’t enough to contend with, the Wisconsin Pest Bulletin reported the tobacco ringspot virus was found in a La Crosse County hoop house earlier this month. The symptoms include oval-shaped blisters on the fruits. Damage from the two-spotted spider mite was also found on beans and tomatoes and at a La Crosse County community garden. This mite can damage tomatoes, beans, melons, sweet corn, and fruit. It causes the plants to turn yellow, drop leaves and die if the infestation is severe. To learn more about growing tomatoes, check out Homegrown tomatoes for Wisconsin on the

Learning Store – Division of Extension University of Wisconsin-Madison website:  https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0145/8808/4272/files/A1691.pdf.

If you intentionally (or accidentally) planted more than your family can consume fresh during the season, canning and/or freezing your garden produce is a great way to enjoy later this fall and winter. My green, purple and yellow beans are producing well this year, so I have frozen and canned several pints. This past weekend, I canned eight quarts of whole tomatoes and 18 pints of spaghetti sauce, made fire-roasted cherry tomato sauce, and froze several bags of cauliflower and broccoli. With all this produce, it’s extremely important to use the right method to process your produce. I forgot that beans were a low-acid food and needed to be processed via a pressure cooker (even though I read the recipe twice.) I lost a couple pints from one of my previous canning sessions but was able to reprocess pints I later because I discovered my error right after I completed my water bath canning. A lot of work goes into preserving your produce and your time and safety is important. To help ensure your safety and your food perseveration efforts are not in vain, use research-tested food preservation recipes. Here are two great resources regarding research-tested food preservation:

--Safe and Healthy Food for Your Family (https://fyi.extension.wisc.edu/safefood/)

--The National Center for Home Food Processing and Preservation (https://nchfp.uga.edu/)

Remember to contact the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension Sauk County staff if you have any gardening questions. Please send an email to haley.weisert@saukcountywi.gov or call the University of Wisconsin Madison Division of Extension Sauk County office at 608-355-3250.

This week’s article is written by Jeannie Manis, Sauk County Master Gardeners Association (SCMGA) president.