OT Gardening and tomato diseases

Quite a bit off topic, but I believe we have a few gardeners here. Does anyone have trouble with their garden tomatoes and diseases? I've gotten septoria leaf spot (a foliage killing fungus) for 3 years running despite trying everything I can think of. I've moved my tomatoes to different areas of the yard year-to-year. I water only at the base of plants. I've tried proactively pulling low-hanging branches (where the fungus usually starts) before signs of the disease initially appear. I use a copper fungicide to spray on top and below the leaves.

I got Charlie Brown looking tomato plants lol. Picked 3 tomatoes per plant, they're sickly and no longer blossoming. Sucks. They're brandywines, and I'm in the cold north east usa, so the disease isn't supposed to overwinter.

I live in Florida, home of every possible plant disease, and I no longer grow tomatoes because I don't use insecticides or herbicides. A recent article said Florida tomato growers are in dire straits because the whitefly (biggest reason i don't grow tomatoes) has evolved to survive pesticides. That can be the end of tomatoes in Florida and I'm not speaking hyperbolically saying that.

I used to grow heirloom tomatoes (Brandywine was one) and they wither and rot faster than hybrids with in-grown disease resistance. Now in fall/winter (our growing season) I grow herbs to cook with, green beans, collards, kale, snow peas which have few diseases, just snails and caterpillars that find them yummy too.

You can call your county extension office for advice. They will want to see what your plant looks like to diagnose the solution. My advice is to plant in a new place each time or use large containers with potting mix, not garden soil. Some disease can be airborne or carried by insects. Really makes you appreciate how tough it would be to feed yourself from your garden, farmers have a tough job.

Do you plant in the ground or in pots? Ground. Next year, we were considering building a raised bed and putting down landscaping cloth but just for the tomatoes. Hmm interesting, I could just have some new soil brought in. That's a good ide. It's easy enough to buy some from the garden center, bring a yard in w/truck.

That stinks you can't grow tomatoes in FL, they're certainly pest and disease prone, to say the least...

I'm in the north west USA Seattle to be exact and we have notorious blight fungus of all kinds here. What helps for me:

#1 Make sure no potatoes are planted close to the tomatoes
#2 Plant rather late in the season (depending on your last frost date). Wait until the soil is warm, you can warm it up with black sheeting.
#3 Circulate plants each year
#4 When you plant plant the tomatoes deep! let's say you have an 8" start, plant it down with a bulb planter with only the top 1" above the ground and keep that soil warm with sheeting.
Of course, only water the roots.
I've only had 5 beefsteaks so far but multiple "bloody butcher" heirlooms thus far.

Happy gardening!

Well I'm not an expert, just started this year...but my tomatoes were the best of anyone I know. Also in the northeast. Did a ton of research. Not too many people have had success around me this year so I am proud of myself. Here's what I did...

1. Created a raised bed by removing the top layer of grass, tilling in about 2 bags of store bought cow manure with scotts regular topsoil.

2. Bought my tomatoes from a reputable local nursery, not the grocery or big box stores. I also planted one from seed that my neighbor gave me...only gotten one tomato from that one.

3. Snipped all low branches from the plants leaving only the top 1/2 to 1/3 and planted the rest of the plant sideways in a trench instead of straight down.

4. I planted the tomatoes in the hole with dried eggshells crushed small, some scrap shrimp tails I froze over the winter, and seaweed.

5. I started about 2 weeks earlier than farmer's almanac recommended, just covered the plants with a makeshift saran wrap covering early on to warm the soil.

6. Fertilized (a little too much) with jobe's organic tomato fertilizer. I say too much because the plants got pretty bushy. I'll probably dial it back next year.

7. Removed all the 'suckers' early on until it just got to be too much. Also trimmed the bottom 6 inches of foliage from the plants as they grew. This helps resist disease.

You could try the raised bed and mulch directly around the base of the plants with seaweed or just cut a hole in some newspapers to keep the fungus from 'bouncing' up from the soil and onto the plant. Any recommendation on resisting cracking of the tomatoes? My most productive plant had tons of cracked fruit...I'm guessing from the extreme heat and big downpours of rain?