There's evidence of fungal infection on a couple of the leaves but it's not bad. You've already removed the more affected foliage so you're winning at this stage.
Some toms develop blemishes, a physiological thing. But I still think some sort of critter has been at work. It's certainly not a caterpillar, they leave holes you can stick your finger into. The black edge amounts to a bit of infection. At worst you'll probably have to slice out that little bit of fruit after harvest. If you have enough fruit to spare, and you're curious, you could sacrifice one of the toms, cut it open and see exactly what's inside if anything.
But, on the bright side, you don't have Blossom End Rot, the curse of those sorts of varieties!
ok, brilliant, thanks for the advice. i guess i just continue using baking soda spray / pruning infected branches? i'm in the se and it sounds like dryer weather could be coming which hopefully will help...
first time on this forum so really appreciate the help. i've also got a different problem with some of my Black Russians - some of the flowers have bloomed, shrivelled, and died - without bearing fruit. i'm less worried about them than the romas as they look like healthier plants but would be interested to see if anyone's got ideas.
I wouldn't bother with baking soda. It's been claimed to work as a fungicide but the evidence is anecdotal at best. There's no scientific basis for it. If you're going to spray, use that Bayer product, spraying every leaf and on both sides. Otherwise just remove the affected foliage. You just have to be careful not to denude the plant. It needs foliage for photosynthesis.
Flowers will shrivel and die if they're not pollinated. It's normal. In extremely hot weather, as I have at the moment, they don't even get to get to bloom. They just frizzle up and die.
hah, ok, wasn't sure about the baking soda thing anyway.
interesting re the flowers. i did wonder about non-pollination but wasn't sure as have never seen that happen before (but had read about it). it doesn't sound like any fungi / bacteria would specifically attack the flowers in this way so makes sense to me...
Toms are self-pollinating but you can always give them a help along by brushing the flowers with your hand or giving them a flick at the back with your fingers. A friend of mine used to use an electric toothbrush. By disturbing the pollen inside you increase the chances of it hitting the right spot.
Bacterial Spot will attack tom flowers but the major cause of flower failure is lack of pollination. Temps too high or too low or too much humidity can all impact.
Gah, I just saw a squirrel rummaging around one of my tom plants this morning. And we have loads of squirrels in our garden! Are they likely to cause any damage / problems?
If they try a tomato, they'll more than likely enjoy your crop before you get a chance to. I used to have the problem when I lived in Sydney. If it becomes a problem, the simplest solution is to protect the plants with squirrel-proof cages.
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It doesn't really look like blight. It looks as though the fruits would go on developing despite the blemishes,
There's evidence of fungal infection on a couple of the leaves but it's not bad. You've already removed the more affected foliage so you're winning at this stage.
Some toms develop blemishes, a physiological thing. But I still think some sort of critter has been at work. It's certainly not a caterpillar, they leave holes you can stick your finger into. The black edge amounts to a bit of infection. At worst you'll probably have to slice out that little bit of fruit after harvest. If you have enough fruit to spare, and you're curious, you could sacrifice one of the toms, cut it open and see exactly what's inside if anything.
But, on the bright side, you don't have Blossom End Rot, the curse of those sorts of varieties!
ok, brilliant, thanks for the advice. i guess i just continue using baking soda spray / pruning infected branches? i'm in the se and it sounds like dryer weather could be coming which hopefully will help...
first time on this forum so really appreciate the help. i've also got a different problem with some of my Black Russians - some of the flowers have bloomed, shrivelled, and died - without bearing fruit. i'm less worried about them than the romas as they look like healthier plants but would be interested to see if anyone's got ideas.
I wouldn't bother with baking soda. It's been claimed to work as a fungicide but the evidence is anecdotal at best. There's no scientific basis for it. If you're going to spray, use that Bayer product, spraying every leaf and on both sides. Otherwise just remove the affected foliage. You just have to be careful not to denude the plant. It needs foliage for photosynthesis.
Flowers will shrivel and die if they're not pollinated. It's normal. In extremely hot weather, as I have at the moment, they don't even get to get to bloom. They just frizzle up and die.
hah, ok, wasn't sure about the baking soda thing anyway.
interesting re the flowers. i did wonder about non-pollination but wasn't sure as have never seen that happen before (but had read about it). it doesn't sound like any fungi / bacteria would specifically attack the flowers in this way so makes sense to me...
Toms are self-pollinating but you can always give them a help along by brushing the flowers with your hand or giving them a flick at the back with your fingers. A friend of mine used to use an electric toothbrush. By disturbing the pollen inside you increase the chances of it hitting the right spot.
Bacterial Spot will attack tom flowers but the major cause of flower failure is lack of pollination. Temps too high or too low or too much humidity can all impact.
a old make up brush is perfect for pollonating yoru plants if the insects are not hard working and lazy in your garden lol
Gah, I just saw a squirrel rummaging around one of my tom plants this morning. And we have loads of squirrels in our garden! Are they likely to cause any damage / problems?
If they try a tomato, they'll more than likely enjoy your crop before you get a chance to. I used to have the problem when I lived in Sydney. If it becomes a problem, the simplest solution is to protect the plants with squirrel-proof cages.
curses, i hoped you might say they were allergic to them or something...
i'm not quite sure how i could get cages sorted. don't suppose you know if there's something i could use as a deterrent?