planting tomatoes after disease

[Deleted]

Last year all my tomato plants were infected with a fungus or some type of disease. I have them planted in a bed off our deck away from my raised bed garden. Can I plant tomatoes in the bed again or will new plants get the same disease? What do I do with the bed if the answer is no?

[farmchix]

I would have put black plastic over the bed after pulling last year's plants. The plastic heats up and kills off the fungus.

[Deleted]

I'm curious too because of the same problem. Since I didn't put black plastic over mine, what plants can I safely put in the bed for this year?

[siletz]

It would be helpful to identify your fungus. Here's a link to some pics: www.growgardentomatoes.com/tomato-disease-identification.html If it's blight, here's a good link about repairing the soil: homeguides.sfgate.com/repair-soil-tomato-blight-71070.html You should not be planting tomatoes in the same spot each year though. You should rotate them so they don't grow in the same soil for at least 3 years. This helps break the cycle of pests and diseases that like to attack a certain family of plants. Be sure to clean up the soil of all of last year's debris so it can't hang out there. If you do want to solarize the soil, clear plastic actually heats the soil up hotter than black plastic.

[northerngardener]

Siletz is right, you don't want to plant anything in the nightshade family (Solanaceae) which includes tomatoes, potatoes, groundcherries, and tomatillos, for three years in that bed. Solarizing the soil with black plastic is a good idea, too, but you still need to rotate plants in that bed.

[Deleted]

Thank you. It stinks because I had planted these in a bed off the deck and have a seperate fenced raised bed garden. I cant put anything else here because animals will eat it. And I don't have room to grow 20 tomato plants in the other beds. I may not grow corn this year so I have room. My corn never does well anyway.

[paquebot]

If you get an infection in your finger, no reason to amputate your hand. I would not give up when there's a cure or preventative for every tomato ailment. Since it's just "some type of disease", and at least 20 plants are involved, get some Serenade. It's organic and will prevent virtually every fungal or bacterial disease. As with many other things, it will not cure but will prevent. Much of my gardening is done in a community garden complex where there is every possible disease or ailment which can carry over in the soil. No such thing as rotation but a regimen of periodic use of Serenade keeps them out of my plots. If you can't find Serenade, most other fungicides will do the same.

Martin  

[seaeagle]

Mulching helps.I always plant my tomatoes in the same place, cause I have 15 foot metal conduit pipes driven in the ground and they are to hard to move. I mulch with pine needles, about 6 inches deep, they settle a lot.The main thing I think is to keep the rain from splashing infected dirt on your plants, especially when they are small. Nice to be here, I enjoy reading the posts.

[claytonpiano]

We're glad you are here as well sea eagle. Another vote for Serenade as well. It is not perfect, but it does help.

[daylilydude]

And yet another vote for Serenade as well from me... I have limited gardening space and plant tomatoes in the same bed every year...