Growing healthy tomatoes: disease and fungal prevention.

Regardless of your level of experience in growing tomatoes, diseases and other problems associated with gardening are bound to challenge you at some point in your career. Although tomatoes are one of the easiest crops for beginning gardeners to grow successfully, there are still numerous maladies out there that may attack your tomato garden. Not to worry though, most problems you may encounter are preventable with good garden hygiene and maintenance. If your plants do contract a disease or fungus, the sooner you detect the problem, the better the plants’ chances for survival.

Some of the most effective ways of dealing with tomato garden diseases starts with prevention. Before you even begin planting, a little research is in order. Talk to some experienced gardeners in your local area and find out about the more prevalent diseases that occur in the region. Once you’ve identified the most common problems, you can find a tomato variety that has been specifically bred to be resistant to that malady. For example, if fusarium wilt and nematodes are a problem in your area, consider a tomato that has the designation “VFN” after the variety name. This code designates a natural resistance to that particular fungus. If there is a “T” tagged on to the name, the tomato plant is also less prone to be affected by tobacco mosaic virus.

Ask any gardener about their favorite tasting tomato, and they’re sure to tell you about some type of heirloom variety. Unfortunately, heirlooms have not been bred for disease resistance, just flavor, so they tend to be more susceptible to tomato diseases and pests. If you have your heart set on growing heirlooms, you must practice preventative medicine to keep your plants healthy. Consider staking or caging your tomato plants so that they are kept off the ground and air can more freely circulate between them. Excessive moisture on the leaves will promote fungal infections. Make sure your soil is healthy and packed with nutritious organic “humus,” which will keep your plants nourished. A good covering of mulch over the soil will keep the underlying soil moist without having to water excessively.

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