Severe infestation of spider mites will eventually kill the leaves on tomato plants, reducing the vigor of the plant and the number and quality of fruit produced. Can you identify a spider mite on your tomato plant?
For more information watch this Kansas Healthy Yards Video – https://kansashealthyyards.org/all-videos/video/spider-mites-on-tomatoes
By: Cassie Thiessen
Extension Master Gardeners come from a variety of backgrounds and share a passion for gardening, an enthusiasm for learning, and a commitment to helping others. Master Gardeners have successfully completed basic training in the discipline of horticulture and they share their time and expertise as volunteers in their community to promote Post Rock Extension District’s educational mission.
If you are interested in becoming a Master Gardener, please reach out to Cassie at cthiessen@ksu.edu or 785-738-3597.
Learn more here: https://www.postrock.k-state.edu/lawn-garden/master-gardner/index.html
Everyone looks forward to that first juicy tomato harvested from the garden. Many gardeners wonder if a tomato has to remain on the vine until it is completely ripe to develop that perfect flavor. It often is surprising to find out that the answer is no.
Learn more about harvesting tomatoes here: https://ckdgardens.com/2023/06/27/harvesting-and-ripening-tomatoes/
By: Cassie Thiessen
Every year we have calls from gardeners who have tomato plants with leaves that curl up. When tomato plants grow vigorously in mild, spring weather the top growth often exceeds the root development. When the first few days of warm, dry summer weather hit, the plant ‘realizes’ that it has a problem and needs to increase its root development. The plant tries to reduce its leaf area by rolling leaves. The leaves curl along the length of the leaf (leaflet) in an upward fashion. It is often accompanied by a thickening of the leaf giving it a leathery texture. Interestingly, leaf roll is worse on some varieties than others.
Though rolling usually occurs during the spring to summer shift period, it may also occur after a heavy cultivating or hoeing, a hard rain, waterlogged soil or any sudden change in weather. This leaf roll is a temporary condition that goes away after a week or so when the plant has a chance to acclimate, recover from injury, or the soil has a chance to dry out.
By: Cassie Thiessen
Have you been bombarded by moths this year?
They are actually army cutworm adults. The army cutworm adult moths have dark, gray-brown forewings and distinct markings.
Adult females lay eggs in the fall with caterpillars emerging from eggs from fall through winter. The caterpillars (larvae) feed on alfalfa and wheat. Army cutworms overwinter as larvae in the soil. Adults emerge from pupae located in the soil in May.
Why such a big outbreak? There is no direct answer, but outbreaks of army cutworm tend to occur every 10-15 years. There is one generation per year in Kansas.
For more information, check out the Kansas Insect Newsletter-
https://entomology.k-state.edu/doc/extension-newsletters/2023/KSInsectNewsletter%2005.pdf
By: Cassie Thiessen
Two common leaf-spot diseases will likely appear on tomatoes once the weather starts to heat up. Septoria leaf spot and early blight are both characterized by brown spots on the leaves.
Septoria leaf spot usually appears earlier in the season than early blight and produces small dark spots. Spots made by early blight are much larger and often have a distorted “target” pattern of concentric circles. Heavily infected leaves eventually turn yellow and drop. Older leaves are more susceptible than younger ones, so these diseases often start at the bottom of the plant and work up. Mulching, caging, or staking keeps plants off the ground, making them less vulnerable. Better air circulation allows foliage to dry quicker than in plants allowed to sprawl.
Mulching also helps prevent water from splashing and carrying disease spores to the plant. In situations where these diseases have been a problem in the past, rotation is a good strategy. Actually, rotation is a good idea even if you have not had problems in the past. But many gardens are too small to make it practical. If you have room, rotate the location of the tomatoes each year to an area that has not had tomatoes or related crops (peppers, potatoes, eggplant) for several years.
If rotation is not feasible, fungicides are often helpful. Be sure to cover both upper and lower leaf surfaces, and reapply fungicide if rainfall removes it. Plants usually become susceptible when the tomato fruit is about the size of a walnut. Chlorothalonil is a good choice for fruiting plants because it has a 0-day waiting period, meaning that fruit can be harvested once the spray is dry.
Chlorothalonil can be found in numerous products including Fertilome Broad-Spectrum Landscape and Garden Fungicide, Ortho Garden Disease Control, GardenTech Daconil, Bonide Fungonil and others. Be sure to start protecting plants before these diseases are first seen if they have been a problem in the past. It is virtually impossible to control these diseases on heavily infected plants.
If chlorothalonil doesn’t seem to be effective, try mancozeb (Bonide Mancozeb Flowable). Note that there is a five-day waiting period between application and when the fruit can be harvested.
By: Cassie Thiessen
K-State Research and Extension has a new and improved Kansas Garden Guide that is free to download. It is full of helpful information including; raised bed gardening, container gardening, improving soil health, composting, and a large section on each specific vegetable crop. For example, if you want to learn how to grow okra, there is a section that covers what varieties to choose, when to plant, spacing, crop rotation, care and harvesting of okra.
Get the free guide here- https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/s51.pdf
By: Cassie Thiessen
