Bacterial Leaf Spot on Tomato, or Something Else?

[Johntlewis]

This is starting to appear on my fall indeterminetes. These come from 2 year old seed, Beefmaster, I think. I use drip irrigation. Otherwise, it's been very dry in Oklahoma. Is this Bacterial Leaf Spot or perhaps something else? I did recently fertilize them with a Miracle Gro water soluble mix, but I thought I diluted it sufficiently. Maybe Not??

 

[Chuck]

Looks more like blight to me. You only have about 30-45 days until first big frost. I wouldn't worry about it unless you have some decent tomatoes growing You can if you want spray with a copper based fungicide and that should keep your plants healthy enough for the fruit to size up. Why in the world are you using Miracle Gro, a nasty Scotts product when you could be using a good liquid fertilizer like Medina HastaGro?

 

[Johntlewis]

Thanks, Chuck. I'm building a hoop house of sorts around my raised tomato beds so I can hopefully extend the growing season. That being said, I will be getting some copper based fungicide to keep them going strong. As for the Miracle Gro vs. Medina HastaGro..... I must be educated!

 

[Chuck]

Thanks, Chuck. I'm building a hoop house of sorts around my raised tomato beds so I can hopefully extend the growing season. That being said, I will be getting some copper based fungicide too keep them going strong. As for the Miracle Gro vs. Medina HastaGro..... I must be educated!

Miracle Gro is a chemical fertilizer which only feeds the plants. It harms the soil by depleting it of organic matter and its use over time will leave salt buildups in the soil. When this happens the microbial life in the soil is greatly reduced thus making it that much harder for the plants to uptake nutrients. When the plants have trouble uptaking nutrients you will start to find your plants being affected by different diseases. When the plants are weakened they attract insects and the plants natural immunity is compromised. All of this happens over time, not instantly. Chemical fertilizers give a huge short time burst of growth to plants but as the chemicals burn away the organic matter in the soil it takes more and more of the chemical to sustain this growth. And if too much chemical fertilizer is applied it will literally burn the roots of your plants. I am sure you have heard the term Worn Out Soil where farms have stopped producing. Worn out soil is caused by chemical fertilizers. On the other hand organic fertilizers do the exact opposite. They add to the soil. They release their nutrients over time and will not burn your plants unless an extraordinary amount is accidentally dumped and left on them. You don't have to increase the amount of fertilizer over time. Your plants build up an immunity to pests and diseases.

If I were you I would not use liquid fertilizer in my vegetable garden. It will work great but it has 2 drawbacks. One is that it is more expensive than the pelleted fertilizers and second it must be applied much more often. Liquids are more for flowers and indoor houseplants. There are a lot of great organic fertilizers out there. I use Medina products mainly because they are easy to find. I know Dallas is full of them and Dallas is only a hop skip and a jump from Ardmore. I am sure your local nursery will carry it but if not they will carry something just as good.

 

[Onatah]

A great fertilizer for tomato plants is rabbit pellets (manure). It is a cold manure so can be applied without composting/aging. It breaks down quickly but if you don't want to use the pellets directly (no odor, btw). That said, it composts really nicely and looks like black potting soil in rapid time. Rabbit pellets are famed for helping grow giant tomatoes and strong plants. It also attracts wigglers like an irresistible magnet, thus helping to further boost your soil rather than harming it with chemicals.

You can also use it to make a compost tea to spray on your plants. It will help arm them to fight intruders like blight. If this is blight, snip off the leaves and toss them somewhere they won't further infect your soil. Not sure if you can ever get it out. Are these spots just on the bottom leaves or all over?

 

[headfullofbees]

Poultry manure is excellent too.
It also contains plenty of calcium, which helps avoid blossom end rot.

It is also the case that, if you do want a fast-acting fertiliser, you can dissolve a few handfuls in a bucket of water, bottle it, and keep it to hand.
You can even apply this as a very fast-acting foliar spray.