

Mary, in CharlotteĪ: If your peonies have not bloomed for the last two years, it's most likely due to not enough light. They have not bloomed for the last two years and they used to be absolutely glorious.

#Early blight tomato container how to#
And I don't know what that is or how to prevent it. The second thing is later in the season for the last couple of years, they've had a white powdery substance all over them. One, I now put compost down on the garden beds every early season for the last three years. There are two changes that have happened. They have not bloomed the last couple of years. I have two peony plants on my east side of my house that have been there for a decade or more and have been beautiful. The strongly scented basil may cause the moth to move on and leave your tomato plants alone. Hornworm moths generally lay their eggs on tomatoes but using this companion-planting method could discourage them. They will keep producing and because they're smaller, will have enough time to mature.Īnd there is some data showing that planting Genovese basil around your tomato plants can confuse a tomato hornworm moth. The exception to the pinch-the-suckers rule is if you have planted cherry tomato varieties. If you're growing large heirloom varieties like Brandywine, any suckers that form after early July won't have enough time to actually produce and mature some fruit. Having fewer leaves on the plants makes it less likely they will fall prey to foliar disease later on in the season.Īs we get into July, you'll start to see some suckers on your tomato plants. Some gardeners go even further and strip all the leaves of their plants off all the way up to the first set of flowers. If they show signs of any kind of disease on them, strip them right off. Go a step further by taking a good look at the leaves near the bottom of the plant stem. When it rains, this mulch barrier makes it less likely that the fungus spores that cause leaf spots will splash up onto the leaves.Īs for the mulching material itself, you can use hay, straw or even wood and bark chips. Mulching can also keep your plants from getting septoria leaf spots.

This mulching practice also helps slow down a lot of foliar diseases, like the fungus, alternaria solani or early blight. This will help ensure your plants won't dry out as fast. Instead of waiting for foliar diseases and fungus to ruin your freshly sliced tomato-and-mayo sandwich dreams, learn how to prevent a few common tomato plant problems before they begin.įirstly, if you haven't planted tomatoes yet in your garden or raised bed, you still have plenty of time.Įven if you get them in the ground in late June, you will get plenty of tomatoes before the first frost in the fall.Ĭhoose the types of tomatoes you like, plant them, then mulch! This one simple act will help in a multitude of ways.Īdding a layer of mulch material underneath your tomato plants preserves the soil moisture. Then, a month or two later, you notice something on the plants' leaves that need attention. Often, with tomatoes, you plant them in the ground and step away, feeling pretty confident.
