How to slow down tomato mould efficiently

Tomato blight fungus is one of the most common diseases. It is a nightmare that can completely wipe out a large part of your crop. That is, if you let the infected plants continue to grow. Phytophthora infestans is quite easy to recognize. As soon as you see the typical brown spots on leaves you know you have to act, because if you do not, this disease can infect the entire plant. These spots are usually brow but they may also turn yellow.

You should think about protection already during planting

This will not help you to recognize the moment of attack, however, the actual elimination of conditions supporting mould growth is essential. Mould mainly needs high humidity to spread, so you should plant tomatoes in a sunny area. Tomato plants shall not touch and you should not plant tomatoes after potatoes, eggplant, or zucchinis. As a matter of fact, tomatoes should not be near potatoes at all. A good idea is to plant common marigold, basil or tagetes around them because these plants serve as great disinfecting elements.

Foto: Pixabay

Remove affected parts immediately!

Be sure to monitor your tomatoes and clip them regularly. Mould usually appears at the lower parts of the plant so check often. Lower parts of the plant should not touch the ground. When you notice fungus appearing on plants, remove the affected parts or leaves immediately. If you a have large part of the plant infected, you should completely uproot the plant and burn it. Do not put it in compost. Water only near the roots and a little less, so the plants can dry quickly.

Natural protection of tomatoes

An excellent protection method is to use an extract from garlic for example. Let 50 g of crushed garlic infuse in 5 litters of boiling water and then let the mixture sit for 1 day. Filter it through a coffee filter. Dilute the mixture (1:4), pour it into a sprayer and spray it daily on your plants. There is also another method. Dissolve 5 teaspoons of baking powder in 5 litters of water and apply every 3 days.

Photo: Radek Štěpán