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Solving the Mystery of Tomatoes and Peppers
Tomatoes need…
Tomato Temperatures – “Good Years and Bad Years”
Pollination is affected by Temperature
Good Soil is a Must In the ground – preparing the soil – altering pH · 2-4” of compost · 1 ½ - 2 “ of expanded shale · Dry molasses – 1 lb per 100 sq ft · D.E. – a heavy dusting over area · Cottonseed Meal/Alfalfa Meal to add nitrogen In a container – a good soil mix · Any large container – must have holes for drainage · Fill the bottom with rocks, broken dishes/pots, even cedar or hardwood mulch this aides in drainage ·Use a good organic potting mix 3/5 of container · Compost 1/5 of container · Expanded Shale 1/5 of container · Mix well before planting Even Soil Moisture · The use of expanded shale and a heavy layer of mulch will help this problem immensely. · When they receive too much water you will have beautiful plants with very low, if any, production. · If the soil dries out while the tomatoes are setting and then you water them heavily, the fruit will crack.
When to Plant · Setting out transplants before the air and soil temperatures are up to a consistent 60° is not advised · An unprotected plant put out before temperatures rise above 55° every night will refuse to set fruit ·Remove all fruits and blossoms before transplanting · Transplant on an over cast day or in the evening. (Cuts down on transplant shock) · Allow 4 sq. ft .or 2’ x 2’ for staked plants, or twice as much if you’re going to let them sprawl · Bury them up to the first set of leaves, if they’re taller you can trench them · Tomato/Pepper Food – a handful in each hole · Water in well with seaweed Choosing Varieties Heirloom vs. Hybrid ·Heirlooms are varieties more than 50 years old that were selected primarily for flavor. · They tend to be soft, succulent, thin skinned and sometimes lumpy · Their seed can be sowed from year to year to produce the same variety · Hybrids are generally more uniform in shape and color · They have documented disease resistance · Seeds from hybrids will not come true to the parent plant and may be sterile Indeterminate or Determinate · Indeterminate - plants continue to set fruit until frost kills them · Tend to be more flavorful ·Ripen a few at a time · Usually much larger plants and require more room
· Determinate - will produce all at once so they’re good for canning and sauce making · Are good container choices, due to the fact they are more compact and bush like
Good Varieties for our Region Indeterminate – Yellow Pear, Sun Gold, Sweet 100, Stupice, Sugar Sweetie, Heat Wave, Solarset, Burbank, Mortgage Lifter, Cherokee Purple, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Black Krim, Arkansas Traveler, Maraglobe, Early Girl, and more. Determinate – Roma, Italian Speckled Roma, San Marzano, Celebrity, Ace Bush, Porters, Patio and more.
Common Nutrient Imbalances Nitrogen Deficiency - Slow growing plants, leaves turning light green or yellow, starting with older leaves. Flower buds yellowing and dropping off. Fix – feed with Alfalfa Meal or Cotton Seed Meal Nitrogen Excess – Large beautiful plants with little or no blooms or fruit set. Fix – pinch off 30–40% of excess leaves. Let weeds grow near plants and pull them when they’re about a foot tall. They’ll soak up the excess nitrogen. The tomatoes will grow out of this problem. Phosphorus Deficiency – Leaves turn purplish beginning with the undersides. Leaves small, stems slender. Often seen in seedlings, in cool soil. Fix – Spray seedlings with seaweed extract. As soil warms up, the problem will go away. Enrich soil with soft rock phosphate. Potassium Deficiency – Older leaves yellow with green veins, then turn bronze. Slow stunted growth. Young leave crinkle. Fix – Sol-po-mag Iron Deficiency – Young leaves pale green to yellow with green veins. Fix – Liquid seaweed, sea mist, or green sand Blossom End Rot - The bottom of the tomato turns brown or black. Fix – Usually a calcium deficiency, use soft rock phosphate, or bone meal. Could also be too much nitrogen.
Tomato Diseases Guidelines to follow · Rotate your corps every year and clean up beds. · Don’t plant where peppers, eggplant or potatoes were the year before. · Fungus hates compost! · Disease is spread by wind, rain, and insects. · Don’t use over head watering for tomatoes. Wet leaves are perfect places for fungal spores to spread. · Yellow leaves at the bottom of the plant early in the season is normal. If the higher leaves show brown or black spots or lesions you’re dealing with fungal disease. Disease Troubleshooting Problem – Bacterial Wilt/Brown Rot · Enters thru the roots, causes the whole plant to wilt, beginning with the tope leaves · Plant stops grown ·The insides of stems become dark brown and water soaked · Near soil line, the main stem starts to decay Answer · Destroy infected plants immediately · Organically active soil suppress the disease – so keep it rich · Treat with Horticultural Cornmeal – antifungal Problem – Curly Top Virus/Western Yellow Blight · Overwinters in perennial plants · Transmitted by leaf hoppers when tomatoes are maturing · New growth on affected plants will be twisted and curled · Leaves become yellow and stiff Answer · Pull the affected plants and try a second crop · Control of leaf hoppers – spray with sea mist, compost tea, or Garret Juice every 10-14 days · Wrap with row cover, or cheese cloth to discourage leaf hoppers Problem – Early Blight · Fungal spores can remain viable for one year and overwinter on weeds and plant debris · Tomatoes are most susceptible to infection when they begin to set fruit · 1/2”, brown to black spots develop on lower leaves, can be round or angular, with shadowy concentric rings Answer ·Avoid early maturing varieties, which are very susceptible ·Pick off the bottom leaves as soon as you notice the signs · Treat with horticultural cornmeal – antifungal · Spray plants with garlic tea – antifungal Problem – Fusarium Wilt · Over winters in soil for years · Lower leaves turn yellow and die · Fruit decays and drops · Roots appear discolored and rotted Answer · Plant resistant varieties (designated by the letter “F” after the variety name) · Low potassium coupled with high nitrogen encourages the disease Organically active soil helps control this ·Treat with horticultural cornmeal – antifungal, can help Problem – Septoria Leaf Spot · Overwinters on weeds and tomato debris · At first, 1/16” to 1/8” light spots with dark margins appear on lower leaves · Later a sprinkling of black dots appear within the spots Answer · Break off infected leaves to keep the spores from spreading · When weather turns hot, the disease is checked naturally Problem – Tobacco Mosaic Virus · Over winters in soil and weeds and can be seed borne · Infected leaves become mottled with yellow green and dark green mosaic patterns and become wrinkled. · Plants become yellow and stunted · Brown sunken rings on fruit Answer · Destroy plants immediately · Treat soil with horticultural cornmeal Problem – Verticillium Wilt · Overwinters in soil and enters through roots · Plants will wilt in midday and perk up at night – the wilting gets worse each day · Plants wither and die shortly after fruit set Answer · Grow a resistant variety, designated by the letter “V” after the variety name. · Treat soil with horticultural cornmeal – antifungal – may help Problem – Tomato Spotted Wilt/Virus · Over winters in weeds · Transmitted by thrips · Bronze ring like spots appear on leaves and plants become stunted · Yellow mosaic patterns may appear on leaves · Fruit may show rings of pale red, yellow or white Answer · Use row cover to control thrips · Spray every 10-14 days with sea mist, compost tea, or Garrett Juice to discourage pests Sweet Peppers need…
Soil Moisture – As with tomatoes, moist, well drained soil is a must. Don’t forget to use expanded shale or lava sand and mulch heavily. 3” is good. When to Plant
Considerations
Follow the same Guidelines for Tomatoes
Growing Hot Peppers
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