Tomato blight is one of those things that you've undoubtedly heard about a million times. You probably don't know what it is. You might have seen tomato blight without ever knowing it.
Many people hop over to this site and are even
more curious about tomatoes. If you're one of them, you're probably
investigating what tomato blight is and what you can do to prevent it. Don't
worry; it's not the end of the world, but your tomatoes need a little tender
loving care.
What is tomato blight?
You might be surprised to learn that tomato blight
refers to several different diseases. All of these diseases have one thing in
common, and that's fungi cause them. Tomato blight can lead to wilting
yellowing and even cause the death of your tomato plant. Don't worry; there are
things you can do to prevent your tomato plants from being down for the count.
What are the symptoms?
Just like humans, there are symptoms when a tomato
plant is sick. If you're fast-acting enough, you can turn these symptoms into
warnings that do nothing more than tell you to get in gear and solve the
problem ASAP. However, bad stuff can happen if you're not on your toes.
Early blight begins as dark circles on older
leaves. The leaves will turn yellow and eventually fall off. You'll often see
this happen in humid, warm climates.
Late blight looks like water-soaked areas on
leaves that turn black or brown. You'll need to be on your toes because this
blight spreads rapidly and must be addressed immediately. Be extremely vigilant
if you have cool, wet conditions because late blight loves that type of
weather.
Septoria leaf spot usually has small, round spots
with gray centers and dark edges on the leaves. Unlike early and late blight, Septoria
won't impact the quality of your tomatoes. So, there's less to worry about if
you spot this infection.
How to prevent tomato blight
The most important thing you can do is plant
blight-resistant varieties of tomato plants. You also want to make sure your
tomato plants are properly spaced apart to ensure that they have plenty of
area. Also, water your tomato plants from the base and not the leaves. You
don't want to make the leaves wet if possible.
Crop rotation is super important when it comes to
preventing blight. You should never plant your tomatoes in the same place in
your garden every year. Change the areas where you plant your tomatoes to
ensure they don't drain the soil of much-needed nutrients.
How to treat tomato blight?
Copper-based fungicides are the most popular, and
you should use them at the beginning of the growing season. Baking soda sprays
or neem oil work if you're looking for a more organic approach to treating
blight. You might be surprised to learn that simply pruning the leaves might help
if you immediately notice the blight. You do want to make sure that you wash
your tools properly after pruning the leaves to ensure that you don't spread
tomato blight later on while working in the garden.
Tomato blight isn't the end of the world
It might seem to some that tomato blight is the
end of the world, but it isn't. Sure, it may dent your harvest, but it
shouldn't if you pay close attention to what's going on with your tomatoes.
Early detection is a must if you want to salvage your harvest, and that's why
you should constantly walk through your garden and inspect your tomato plants,
even if you aren't planning on doing any work.
