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Old June 30, 2010   #16
duckfan
Tomatovillian™
 
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Long Island formerly zone 6
Posts: 61
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Timmah, Thanks for the input but I used every organic fungicide I could find. I tried alternating sprays of Neem, Copper, Serenade and Greencure. I admit I haven't tried Actinovate or the others you mentioned but I doubt they would effective for late blight anyway. It is not their intended purpose, especially the soil drench. That's a waste of time and money when you're talking about Late Blight. The others are fungicides and Late Blight is not a fungus. It's a 'fungus like' disease and it laughs at normal fungicides. Someone else suggested Agrifos. That's one I'll never use. I wouldn't even consider it. I do not use systemic insecticides or fungicides on anything I intend to eat. (The same goes for the Excel-LG) Last year I sprayed meticulously and re-did it after every rain. Organic fungicides just don't work. Anyone who claims they do didn't have a Late Blight problem in the first place. Anyone who tells you they had Late Blight and they cured it with an organic fungicide cocktail is full of crap. Those people definitely didn't have Late Blight . If eschewing Chlorothalonil and watching your tomatoes rot on the vine in July makes you feel like a better person, good for you. I put too much work into my garden to watch that happen again. Just so we're clear, I haven't used the Chlorothalonil yet. It is, however, in my arsenal this year and it will be used as necessary. There is a very close relationship between cool, damp weather and Late Blight. This has so far been a hot and dry growing season for me. The chance of infection has been extremely low and there hasn't been a reason to spray with anything, even organics. I will be keeping a close eye on the Smith Period forecasts and if there is the possibility of an infection within 50 miles of my location before September 15, I will be ready and I will be pulling out the sprayer. After September 15, the tomatoes are on their own.
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