View Single Post
Old July 15, 2019   #11
bower
Tomatovillian™
 
bower's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Newfoundland, Canada
Posts: 6,793
Default

I try to pick a dry sunny day to prune, and do it early so they have a few afternoon hours for the pruning cuts to dry, especially if I have to prune large stems.
If I have to prune off diseased leaves I use a bucket or bag to get the sporey parts down into before moving down the row. Getting them out of a tight space, it's important to have it contained. I use my hands to take off leaves and don't worry about sanitizer unless I put my hand right into the spores (which I generally avoid doing).

Same with pruners, I will avoid cutting into a rotten or diseased part, instead prune above it, if at all possible - in this case I don't bother to sanitize them between cuts either.

If I have to prune large stems (as opposed to suckers, branches, leaves) I always dip the pruners in household bleach before cutting. I found that it made a big difference to getting the cut to heal without developing any mold or blight. Even a healthy stem has a much better chance to heal clean and stay healthy (in our humid climate) if the cut is with freshly dipped pruners.
We don't have bacterial blight though, which I hear is easy to spread by hand. In that case, hand sanitizer of some kind makes sense.
bower is offline   Reply With Quote