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b54red · August 19, 2018

I battled fusarium for 35 years before finally throwing in the towel and going entirely to grafted plants. I tried the resistant hybrid varieties and like you found them hard and rather tasteless except Big Beef which was my insurance tomato until another race of fusarium showed up and started taking them out also.

I did find over the years that some heirloom varieties withstood fusarium better than others but none had the resistance to last long enough. I use an FFF resistant root stock now that also seems resistant to Bacterial Wilt and nematodes. I rarely see a sign of fusarium or nematodes anymore and it has made tomato growing so much more rewarding and so much easier. I sometimes let volunteers grow but they usually succumb to fusarium before producing much in the way of fruit.

You really have only a few choices and your decision should be based on how you want to deal with the problem. You can either continue on with the loses or you can grow in containers, grow the highly fusarium resistant hybrids or graft. I tried all of them and accepted that I just didn't have the energy to do all those containers, hated the hybrids, and loved the taste of good heirloom tomatoes so it was a no-brainer for me.

Grafting wasn't the easiest thing for me to get the hang of but after a couple of years I figured out a few tricks and methods that increased my success rate to the point where it isn't the challenge it once was nor as espensive. Despite my ability now to graft well enough to supply myself and a few friends with enough grafted plants it can still be aggravating at times. I sometimes get no successful grafts with a particular variety and end up not planting it that year but still it beats having to deal with containers or watching my plants slowly wilt and die before their time. My production has gone up significantly and I don't have to set out nearly as many plants in order to have an adequate supply of tomatoes and it is really nice to have some fresh tomatoes during those stressful months of peak summer heat when fusarium would ordinarily take down even my best looking plants.

Now I only have to deal with weather, pests and foliage diseases which are no small concerns down here.

Bill

August 19, 2018	#5
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I battled fusarium for 35 years before finally throwing in the towel and going entirely to grafted plants. I tried the resistant hybrid varieties and like you found them hard and rather tasteless except Big Beef which was my insurance tomato until another race of fusarium showed up and started taking them out also. I did find over the years that some heirloom varieties withstood fusarium better than others but none had the resistance to last long enough. I use an FFF resistant root stock now that also seems resistant to Bacterial Wilt and nematodes. I rarely see a sign of fusarium or nematodes anymore and it has made tomato growing so much more rewarding and so much easier. I sometimes let volunteers grow but they usually succumb to fusarium before producing much in the way of fruit. You really have only a few choices and your decision should be based on how you want to deal with the problem. You can either continue on with the loses or you can grow in containers, grow the highly fusarium resistant hybrids or graft. I tried all of them and accepted that I just didn't have the energy to do all those containers, hated the hybrids, and loved the taste of good heirloom tomatoes so it was a no-brainer for me. Grafting wasn't the easiest thing for me to get the hang of but after a couple of years I figured out a few tricks and methods that increased my success rate to the point where it isn't the challenge it once was nor as espensive. Despite my ability now to graft well enough to supply myself and a few friends with enough grafted plants it can still be aggravating at times. I sometimes get no successful grafts with a particular variety and end up not planting it that year but still it beats having to deal with containers or watching my plants slowly wilt and die before their time. My production has gone up significantly and I don't have to set out nearly as many plants in order to have an adequate supply of tomatoes and it is really nice to have some fresh tomatoes during those stressful months of peak summer heat when fusarium would ordinarily take down even my best looking plants. Now I only have to deal with weather, pests and foliage diseases which are no small concerns down here. Bill