How to Prevent Dreaded Tomato Plant Diseases

It doesn't matter if you are the neighborhood tomato gardening guru, or the newcomer that's merely learning the ropes, tomato diseases can sneak up on you and destroy your entire crop. The good news about growing tomatoes is that they are likely one of the easiest vegetables to grow for rookie gardeners, but you should still be careful because there are lots of diseases that can attack the garden. Luckily, proper preventative measures and good garden maintenance should keep your plants robust and productive. Early detection is the best medicine as far as keeping your plants healthy for the remainder of the gardening season.

As mentioned above, prevention is one of the most important things to consider in avoiding issues that may develop in your garden. Winter time is a wonderful chance to do a little information gathering respecting diseases that are more common in your specific region. Educate yourself with this information before going out and picking your seeds for the upcoming season, and pick a tomato variety that is more tolerant to the tomato diseases that might be predominant in your region. Various different types of tomato are bred specifically to resist certain pests, fungi, and diseases, and are given a certain letter "code" to designate the particular resistance. If the plant has the code "F" it designates that this tomato type is resistant to fusarium wilt fungus. Many other different codes are out there, and a little extra research is necessary to find out which tomato is the best for you, and a trip to the garden store is a good first step in the process.

Many aficionados, when asked about the tastiest tomato species, will without a doubt rave about the delicious heirlooms. While they are the best tasting, they are not that disease resistant, and have a greater inclination to be negatively affected by some type of sickness. The cause for this is that they have been raised over the years for taste and not immunity. If the taste of heirloom tomatoes is what you wish for, then you have to add a little extra work and preventative care into your gardening plan. You will probably have to use some kind of cages or stakes to keep the vines off the soil, and make sure your soil is well fortified with nutrients, especially humus of the organic variety. Creating your own humus in a home compost bin is a terrific way to keep your soil really healthy. You might also lay a bed of mulch over the soil to keep moisture in, and avoid over watering.

Another time tested trick in preventing tomato diseases is by rotating tomato plants with other vegetables every year. If you go on to grow your tomatoes in the same area every year, the soil will become depleted of the nutrients that are particularly beneficial to tomatoes. By planting something else in their spot next season, it will give the soil time to replenish itself with other nutrients and minerals. Not only will rotating your vegetables be beneficial for the soil, it will help to keep different fungi away that could be damaging to your tomato plants.

Tomatoes are truly one of the easiest vegetables for the rookie gardener to successfully grow, and surely one of the most delectable! One warning however, it is necessary to take precautionary steps, do some preventative upkeep, and water the garden properly to keep tomato diseases out. Make sure the soil is kept moist, but not over-watered, don't water the plant leaves themselves. It's also a good idea to keep a layer of mulch over the top of the soil. An additional consideration is the type of tomato you choose to grow, preferably one that is resistant to diseases and fungi common in your local area. Keep these tips in mind, and you should be two steps ahead of the other tomato growers in your neighborhood, and probably produce some of the fattest and juiciest tomatoes around!

Mike Mazzaro has written extensively on tomato gardening. For more information on avoiding common tomato diseases, visit http://www.TomatoGardeningSecrets.com