An intro and a question

[genuphobia]

'lo there! 20something living in central NC, currently shacked up with the 'rents, who decided to build a raised bed at the far corner of the property. Having nothing to plant a third of the box with, it was decided to start a garden with tomatoes that taste like proper tomatoes should.

I've got a Red Brandywine, a Cherokee Purple, a Sungold and a Gold Medal growing alongside several lavender and a few sad-looking dills that just went in this afternoon.

This is what I found on the Gold Medal yesterday:



That leaf stalk got the snip when I found it.

Today, two leaf branches on the same plant that had been fine yesterday turned up with spots when I examined the plant this morning. I clipped them both off and gave everything but the dill a thorough spray of Daconil, but I still haven't figured out what it is. I'm hoping it's not Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus. The leaves didn't wilt, and I haven't seen any thrips, but I know that's not the only way TSWV spreads, so I'm not ruling it out as a possibility. Augh.

If anyone here could help me out, that'd be great!

Comments

[florence_craye]

Not sure exactly: could it be septoria leaf spot? The don't seem to have brown rings around the spots, but that is what comes to mind first for me. I have bookmarked this useful page with a tomato leaf symptoms key, too.

If that doesn't help, I hope someone else has the answer! Sungolds are my favorite cherry tomato, and you can't beat Cherokee Purples. :D

[genuphobia]

That's what it's looking like, or at least something fungal. The Daconil I put on the plant yesterday seems to have stopped the spread. The last leaf stalk just looks lonely and pathetic, not lonely, pathetic and speckled today. Will be picking up another Gold Medal plant today, just in case. Thanks for that link, btw! That's insanely useful.

This is my first run with growing heirlooms. The person that sold me the Brandywine raved about the Sungold and sent me home with a plant for free. So far it's the happiest of the four 'maters, so I have no complaints about it whatsoever. :D

[florence_craye]

I'm planting only cherry tomatoes this year: two sungolds and two black cherries. But in previous years, I've planted (along with sungolds) Black Krim, Costoluto, Super Sweet 100, Sweet gold, Green Zebra, Brandywine, Marvel Stripe and sweet 100s. Of course, some of those are not heirloom. But they still taste good! I'd love to hear how the Gold Medal work out. I have never had them before.

I am glad the Daconil seems to be working! I always have mold and fungus problems with my cukes, and had grey mold on the strawberries this year that was knocked out thanks to fungicide. But have not had too many issues with tomatoes yet. *knock on wood* Then again, the hornworms haven't been seen yet, either.

[genuphobia]

Hey, as long as it tastes good, who cares what it is!

I saw the Gold Medal sitting in Whole Foods, so I grabbed it on a whim, never having heard of it before. I'll definitely get pics up of any fruit it bears, as it seems to be a real show-stopper (if it lives -- which it had better *glares daggers at it*).

Which variety was your personal fave, if you don't mind my asking?

[florence_craye]

sungold was definitely my favorite so far (super sweet 100s after that) for cherry tomatoes, and for larger ones, probably brandywine or marvel stripe. This year, I'm sticking with cherries as I don't have the patience for ripening larger tomatoes and like having new tomatoes to eat every day or two. The past years were awful droughts, so that may have been why it took forever for the big ones to ripen. Also, Green Zebras are wonderfully tasty tomatoes: just not when grown in my garden, for some reason.

That said, I hope to grow some cherokee purples in the future or hopefully some Paul Robesons. But those are for another time when I'm out of grad school and have more time on my hands and maybe a permanent garden instead of my containers. I'm sticking to cherry tomatoes now, and am excited to see what my black cherry tomatoes will taste like... I should take photos and post them here soon.

[bluemeridian]

Oh that is a useful link - thanks for sharing it!