[Sadgit]

All of my tom plants in the greenhouse are suffering from rot. They have rot in several places along the stem and even on a truss... I had read in the hot weather spray them with water to cool them down, but have I done a bad thing? I did leave several side shoots grow far too big and Mr Next Door slashed the dodo out of them several weeks ago and this is where "some" of the rot/mold is. What could it be? I'll post some pictures tomorrow of the damn things.

Cheers
SG

[Oliver]

I did leave several side shoots grow far too big and Mr Next Door slashed the dodo out of them several weeks ago and this is where "some" of the rot/mold is.

Sideshoots would not cause rot or mould - fungi do that, so if you've got black rot then it's a fungus, the spores of which are airborne and you can do nothing about it. Just remove all the affected plants and burn them and hope they others are ok. Unlikely, but you never know! However, this can be confirmed by the pictures. Sorry! :cry:

[Sadgit]

pictures as promised. The 5 tom plants in the greenhouse look terrible and I have no idea why. they looked lush and green before Mr Next Door removed loads of overgrowth I had left on (remember this is my 1st time growing anything)




Next the rot/mould/fungus


and on a truss, sorry pic turned out blurry



Any advice would be great thanks.

Cheers
SG

[Oliver]

Oo-er.  Well the fruit looks ok, not like black rot - in this the fruit starts to go brown from the stalk end and drops off the plant. It also goes a bit mushy. Only the stalks look a bit dodgy here. I don't rthink Mr Next Door's pruning had anything to do with it. He probably helped increase the air flow around the plants.

Suggest perhaps they are just too warm - all that bubble wrap in the greenhouse in this heat wave might have made the whole greenhouse too warm, also, perhaps it was not ventilated enough so some mould got a chance to develop in the moist warmth?

I would pick the fruit that is beginning to change colour and let it ripen in the kitchen put them on a tray, not touching each other.

Keep a beady eye on the toms for any sign of rot or mould. If you see any - chuck em in the bin asap!

Can't suggest anything else. What do the others have to say? O

[GrannieAnnie]

I would agree with you Oliver.  I would say too high a humidity, which is why I think some of my cabbages in the ply went mouldy!!!  

I had a frame of bubblewrap in my greenhouse early spring to help keep my seedlings warm, but took it down when the weather warmed up.

Apart from that, I can't think of what else it could be

[mellowmick]

Too damp/humid would be my call too; Guess the bubblewrap has hindered the air circulation. Nothing seems 'sunburnt' :cry:

[Sadgit]

Thanks all for the replies. One of the larger sideshoots I left grow, was cut to a 1 inch stump. I've noticed that is also going mouldy. this gardening lark is a joy, when your crop all goes wrong. I thought it was dead easy when I 1st planted things, oh boy I was wrong

[John]

According to the NVS expert, you want a dry atmoshpere for tomatoes. He grows in his polytunnel and waters into funnels so the top of the soil remains dry.

Bit late to do much now, I think. However, the larger, nearly ripe fruits will ripen off the vine and the green ones make chutney.

I'd take them off in case the mould spreads to them.

[milkman]

Be not afraid - nearly all my tomato plants are looking manky like this at the moment (they always do at this time of year) with various blotches, black bits, bits dying off, fluffy bits etc.  I am just ignoring the plants and picking the ripening tomatoes as usual - your fruit looks fine so don't worry - and it will taste great because toms always taste better from plants that look less than well cared for!!

Are your plants in the ground or pots - if they're in pots they may need more uummphh.  Accordingly to Roly our resident tom expert tomato plants extract the most goodness from the roots near the surface so if you can add some more compost or manure or a liquid feed this may help them recover a bit?

Then again, having just consulted my Expert your toms could be suffering from blight which is not uncommon for toms.

[GrannieAnnie]

I could be wrong, but it doesn't look like blight to me.

[Oliver]

I could be wrong, but it doesn't look like blight to me.

Nor me. Blight the leaves shrivel up and go brown! Her leaves have shrivelled up and many have dropped off, but the toms are lovely. (The few that she has in the poly)

Her Roma and Inca (recommended by the RHS) out on the allotment are fantastic - a bumper crop. Will grow Inca next year, but treat them differently - the Packet said no need to stake or sideshoot. Well, the plants are quite tall and the fruits are really big and about 6 to a truss and really heavy, so staking is required, or they all need to be laid on straw.  Trouble is the snails and slugs creep up on them and start eating the ripening fruits that are close to the ground. Slug pellets do the trick ...  She picks the fruit just as it is beginning to turn and lets it ripen indoors, that way the s and s don't get a chance.