The past couple of years I didn't plant tomatoes. There was no way I could eat them all -- even from one plant. This year, I couldn't help myself. Everyone kept telling me about 'Tiffen Mennonite,' an heirloom variety that's won several taste-offs. If something is that good, I've got to try it. I'm also growing -- figuratively anyway -- a 'Sun Gold' because, well, who isn't?
My success so far hasn't been so good. I've got flowers (not as many as I want) and no fruit ... not even a tiny little marble. I've done everything I tell others to do. I've got to find something to blame it on, but I haven't come up with it yet.
One problem I haven't got yet is late blight, a fungal disease that's encouraged by warm, wet, humid weather. We don't have that now, do we? But we've had it during the past several months. Of course, late blight doesn't usually show up till later in the summer, so how do I know if my tomatoes will get it or not? Another thing to worry about.
If your tomatoes are infected, they'll have irregular, greenish, water-soaked spots on the leaves and stems, says Ross Penhallegon, Oregon State University Extension horticulturist. Under cool, moist conditions, the spots rapidly enlarge to form purplish black lesions. The lesions girdle the stems and leaves, killing the foliage.
As in so many things, prevention works better than a cure.
Here's what Penhallegon recommends:
-- Water tomatoes around the base, not from above, to avoid prolonged wetting of leaves.
-- Make sure to give plants space.
-- Stake and prune to keep air circulating and plants dry.
-- Destroy volunteer tomato and potato plants (they can carry the fungus), as well as plants that are obviously diseased. Put them in a plastic bag and into the trash. Do not compost them.
-- Clean your gardening and pruning tools with alcohol or a 10-percent bleach solution. Do not prune your tomatoes without sanitizing the equipment.
When there's a disease or pest that commonly affects plants, I tell people to choose disease-resistant varieties. In this case, there aren't any.
Get more information at OSU Extension's Online Guide to Plant Disease Control, or call a master gardener hot line: Multnomah County, 503-445-4608; Clackamas County, 503-655-8631; Washington County, 503-821-1150. I suggest you write those numbers down. The knowledgeable master gardeners can answer pretty much all your gardening questions.