Quote:
Originally Posted by PaulF
Many diseases including blights and wilts are soil borne and are transmitted by direct contact of leaves with soil. Water splashing on bare soil sends dirt onto leaves and the spores are in place. Any stressed plant is then more susceptible than a stronger plant. As tomatoes age over the growing season they weaken from reproduction and disease is more frequent. Certain varieties also are more susceptible than others.
An important safeguard to soil borne diseases like blights and wilts is a good mulching program. A barrier between soil and plant will go far in reducing disease. I use newspaper as a first layer and straw on top of that. After having tried several different combinations, for me this has reduced disease tremendously. My garden is so small it is impossible to rotate the crops enough that there is no overlap. I credit mulch with successful reduction in pathogen transmission...not elimination, but great reduction.
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Thank you. From what I read with extension and other sources it seems to be primarily soil-borne; so, your approach makes sense. I have the ability to more the garden as much as 50+ feet, so it should be fine. I've also located a few resistant varieties, such as Chef's Choice, Mountain Rouge and Old Brooks, so we will se.