And there it was.
Is it some other early blight? Is it the dreaded late blight, brought to my attention by Pam Pierce?
Whatever it is, some of my tomatoes have it and perhaps severely pruning any stem showing its effects will help and I'll get a crop, and perhaps not. We often get something bothering tomatoes here, and only sometimes does it wipe out entire crops.
In other really unpleasant news, our deeply beloved cat Fred was probably attacked by a human on Saturday night, based on his tail injuries. We find out tomorrow if he gets to keep any of his tail, and whether or not surgery to remove it will give him relief from what seems to be intolerable pain. Until then, we have Schedule II narcotics and a cat carrier.
Tomato diseases seem like a very small problem, indeed.
11 comments:
Oh your poor, poor cat! That is horrible. I can't believe a person did that to him! I'm so very sorry. We have two little fur balls ourselves that we're quite attached too, this news made my heart sink.
I'm sorry to hear about your cat, it's horrible what people do to animals. Hope your tomatoes will recover somewhat. Do you do companion planting with basil and pot marigold?
What is wrong with people! I hope Fred is pain free soon. Poor guy.
So sorry to hear about Fred, hope he feels much better very soon.
My tomato plants did the same last year. Yesterday I took out five plants because many of the leaves had died. One of these days I might get a good crop. Hoping the rest of the plants at least ripen the tomatoes before croaking.
Kendra, thanks. He's a pretty special cat and we are hoping he gets relief soon.
Heiko, I plant with marigolds, but not basil. I'm hoping that only one variety will show great susceptibility, although it's the variety I'm most interested in getting of course!
GrafixMuse, it's been difficult for the kids. We're not playing up the people angle much for them. It's nauseating.
Peggi, thanks for stopping by. Some years here we're inundated. Maybe it's planting time; maybe my yard is spore-filled.
Oh, I'm sorry about Fred :( Tail injuries can be horribly painful, I hope he can find some relief soon.
You're right, tomato woes pale in comparison, but it's because of horrors like this in the garden, that we decided to be brave, and try grafting our heirlooms this year. I'm not sure if this late blight though, are you seeing any fuzzy fungal growth under the leaves that are affected? Late blight tends to look moldy.
I'm so sorry to hear about Fred. It's terrible to think that happened in this town. Terrible. I'm sending Fred good wishes.
As for the tomatoes, I'm wondering if the browning isn't wilt. I have horrifying verticillium here - all must be planned around it.
If you prune, be sure to clean the pruners between plants, so you're not just spreading fungus.
~ Birgitt
Poor Fred! Some people are so disgusting. I hope Fred makes a full recovery. I'm rooting for him.
For the tomatoes, you might try a product called Actinovate. It's an organic fungicide, expensive but really effective. I used it last year to rescue a row of beans that were progressively dying, one by one along the row, from some soil borne fungus. It stopped the crud in its tracks. It is supposed to be effective against late blight and a bunch of other diseases but I haven't had to try it on that yet.
NOOOOOOOOOO! Sorry about the blight, seems like a blight parade of posts now that I'm catching up on everyone's week, that's awful, but you are in good company :) sorry to hear about your kitty :(
CVS, thanks for stopping by. Your tomato grafting posts have given me many ideas, but seriously, it's going to be years before I'm that organized. Maybe I'll simply support your efforts : ) I didn't see anything except yellowing and brown circles, so maybe it's not blight.
Birgit, wilt it might be, based on the top of that one. I'm using my fingers and washing hands.
Michelle, I remember the Actinovate posts. Maybe I should. Goodness knows we're fungally-rich over here.
Erin, you can truly feel my pain.
Poor Fred! I hope the pain meds are giving him some relief and that he does not associate all people with danger.
We get so much fungal problems here... I am on pins and needles every time I look at the tomato plants for fear of what will show up next.
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