Tomato blight help

[CrazyConure]

How do I control the blight on my tomatoes? I'm not getting any fruit because of this. The leaves have the classic bull sign. The leaves are rapidly turning the yellow brown and dying.

What do I do? I had no problems with blight at first. I am using the same soil but I had it in the compost bin before reusing it.

How do I prevent this? Do I use a copper fungicide? I was alternating between milk and baking soda but it's not working.

It's VERY hot, humid, and wet here. Do you think that's the cause? If the soil is infected, wby do people recommend mulch? Isn't the blight going to kill the plant because the roots are also underground?? I'm confused.

 

[Chuck]

How do I control the blight on my tomatoes? I'm not getting any fruit because of this. The leaves have the classic bull sign. The leaves are rapidly turning the yellow brown and dying.

What do I do? I had no problems with blight at first. I am using the same soil but I had it in the compost bin before reusing it.

How do I prevent this? Do I use a copper fungicide? I was alternating between milk and baking soda but it's not working.

It's VERY hot, humid, and wet here. Do you think that's the cause? If the soil is infected, wby do people recommend mulch? Isn't the blight going to kill the plant because the roots are also underground?? I'm confused.

What I am going to tell you is NOT reassuring. Early blight on tomatoes is a cross all of us who live where it is hot and humid have to bear. There is no cure for it. The only thing you can do is to figure out a way to make your plants survive long enough for a harvest. I will start with the easiest thing to do first and that is to only plant early and maybe mid season tomato varieties and to only plant determinate or semi-determinate varieties of those. That way the plants have already matured their harvest before the main onset of blight occurs. But if you are like me you like the size and flavor of indeterminates. Blight is transmitted by the wind and by water splashing up on the leaves. That is why mulching is important but not infallible. Blight is a fungus that lives in and on the soil and its surface and as such blows around. You cannot stop it but there are ways to prolong its onset. In all of my years I have tried everything known to mankind to stop it completely to no avail. The best thing I have found is a multipronged approach. The first is to mulch. The second is to dust the plants and the soil/mulch around the base of the plants with horticultural cornmeal. Then I spray all of my tomatoes at least once every 2 weeks with cornmeal spray mixed with liquid seaweed. The seaweed is to help against spider mites which where I live start about the same time as the blight. Keep up the cornmeal dusting weekly. As the lower limbs become affected snip them off. Don't wait until they are already completely yellow before doing so. Snip at the first sign. If you do this I can guarantee a full harvest but as the year progresses the blight will take over. And remember that during the heat of summer you will not have any, except cherry varieties, set any fruit at all. This is why it is important to not plant any late varieties or really big mid-season varieties.

 

[CrazyConure]

Ok. I see. What's the difference between horticultural cornmeal and regular cornmeal?

 

[Chuck]

Ok. I see. What's the difference between horticultural cornmeal and regular cornmeal?

A HUGE difference. Regular cornmeal always says on the package somewhere the word "enriched". What enriched means is that most of the minerals and nutrients have been ground away during processing. The outer hard shell of the kernel of corn has been removed. You can still get the unenriched corn at the grocery and it is called either Whole Ground or Stone Ground and you will not find the word enriched anywhere on the package. It also costs about 3 times as much as the enriched kind. I bought a 50lb bag of horticultral or non food grade whole ground corn for $12 at the local cattle feed store here at the first of the season and I used it all.

 

[Chuck]

Ok. I see. What's the difference between horticultural cornmeal and regular cornmeal?

I guess I should tell you what the horticultural cornmeal and spray does. It does absolutely nothing itself. All it does is provide the favorite growing medium for another fungus named Tricoderma. Tricoderma fungus is a fungus which eats bad fungus such as the early blight fungus. It eats other harmful fungi too but I can't recall their names.

 

[CrazyConure]

That was my main question! Thanks!

 

[tbendl]

the word "enriched". What enriched means is that most of the minerals and nutrients have been ground away during processing.

They should really call it Unriched.

 

[Chuck]

They should really call it Unriched.

And not only are many of the nutrients removed it doesn't taste as good either. Try whole ground cornbread vs Aunt Jemima enriched and you will do what I do. I consume the non food grade stuff I put on my tomatoes. All I do is sift it to get the big particles out. Its baked at 375 for 20 minutes so I would think that would kill any bad stuff that might be in it. And so far I am still alive although tomorrow is another day.

 

[Durgan]

Nixtamalize field corn purchased usually as bird seed. Or grow and process your own.

Nixtamalization Process
The first step involves cooking dried corn kernels in an alkalizing agent such as limewater. When limewater reaches its boiling point, heating is continued for a few minutes to an hour. The kernels are then allowed to steep anywhere from a few minutes to up to 24 hours. This is followed by decanting to separate the alkaline liquid from the kernel. The kernels are then rinsed properly. This is followed by hulling, which involves removing the hard portion of the kernel. What remains is the endosperm of the grain, which is commonly referred to as nixtamal.

Fresh nixtamalized corn is then grounded to corn flour (dough), which is commonly used for making tortillas, tortilla chips, tamales, pupusas, tlacoyos, and arepas. Hominy is made by the nixtamalization of dried maize kernels.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-does-nixtamalization-mean.html

 

[Chuck]

Nixtamalize field corn purchased usually as bird seed. Or grow and process your own.

Nixtamalization Process
The first step involves cooking dried corn kernels in an alkalizing agent such as limewater. When limewater reaches its boiling point, heating is continued for a few minutes to an hour. The kernels are then allowed to steep anywhere from a few minutes to up to 24 hours. This is followed by decanting to separate the alkaline liquid from the kernel. The kernels are then rinsed properly. This is followed by hulling, which involves removing the hard portion of the kernel. What remains is the endosperm of the grain, which is commonly referred to as nixtamal.

Fresh nixtamalized corn is then grounded to corn flour (dough), which is commonly used for making tortillas, tortilla chips, tamales, pupusas, tlacoyos, and arepas. Hominy is made by the nixtamalization of dried maize kernels.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/what-does-nixtamalization-mean.html

When I was a kid and my parents had a 13 acre truck farm we raised feed and sweet corn on a portion of it. My dad had a gas powered mill into which we would pour the shelled corn and grind it up and put it into sacks. Many people came and had their corn ground by my dad. They used it for cattle, horse and fowl feed depending on the coarseness of the grind. They and we also used it for consumption in making cornbread and tortillas. We had never heard of nixtamalized corn. I wish we would have as it sounds like it makes corn products better.

 

[Durgan]

I learned about nixtamalized corn several years ago. I grow enough corn for my own use and use pickling lime to nixtamalize it. I dehydrate the nixtamalized corn and make flour in the blender and make tortillas periodically, also use the corn in my breakfast gruel. Nixtamalization is simple to implement.

What triggered my interest was why we were not using domestically some of the field corn that is readily available. The bird feed type is cheap and always very clean.
Posted on October 7, 2016 by Durgan


http://durgan.org/2016/October%202016/7%20October%202016%20Nixtamalization./HTML/ 7 October 2016 Nixtamalization
A liter of my Indian corn was nixtamalized for about 48 hours. The corn was washed bought to a gentle boil for 30 minutes then mixed with several tablespoons of calcium hydroxide and left to soak. After 24 hours it was placed on low heat to simmer for about an hour, then allowed to soak for at least 24 hours. The soaking time is flexible. The purpose is to end up with a soft corn where the skins slough off and the center is a bit soft- meaning well soaked with the calcium hydroxide. After soaking the corn is rinsed many times stirring or rubbing between the hands, to remove as much outer skin as possible, basically one wants a kernel with no skin but many will not be removed, which is acceptable. After many through rinsings the corn is ready for using. Tortillas is one use. Simple to make the dough in a home blender with the addition of some corn flour. I dry the corn and use it as an ingredient for making gruel,a breakfast cereal, after blending into small pieces. The dried consitionewd corn keeps similar to packaged cereal.

 

[Chuck]

I learned about nixtamalized corn several years ago. I grow enough corn for my own use and use pickling lime to nixtamalize it. I dehydrate the nixtamalized corn and make flour in the blender and make tortillas periodically, also use the corn in my breakfast gruel. Nixtamalization is simple to implement.

What triggered my interest was why we were not using domestically some of the field corn that is readily available. The bird feed type is cheap and always very clean.
Posted on October 7, 2016 by Durgan


http://durgan.org/2016/October%202016/7%20October%202016%20Nixtamalization./HTML/ 7 October 2016 Nixtamalization
A liter of my Indian corn was nixtamalized for about 48 hours. The corn was washed bought to a gentle boil for 30 minutes then mixed with several tablespoons of calcium hydroxide and left to soak. After 24 hours it was placed on low heat to simmer for about an hour, then allowed to soak for at least 24 hours. The soaking time is flexible. The purpose is to end up with a soft corn where the skins slough off and the center is a bit soft- meaning well soaked with the calcium hydroxide. After soaking the corn is rinsed many times stirring or rubbing between the hands, to remove as much outer skin as possible, basically one wants a kernel with no skin but many will not be removed, which is acceptable. After many through rinsings the corn is ready for using. Tortillas is one use. Simple to make the dough in a home blender with the addition of some corn flour. I dry the corn and use it as an ingredient for making gruel,a breakfast cereal, after blending into small pieces. The dried consitionewd corn keeps similar to packaged cereal.

Why are we using our corn for fuel instead of food? Why is the price of corn in Mexico skyrocketing along with anything made with it? Could it be crooked politicians?

 

[Durgan]

To produce ethanol from grain requires quality grain not scrub type. There is money in ethanol as opposed to the amount used for food. Also corn is heavily subsidized by the USA, which causes distortion in the farm market, since many farms have switched to corn production.

For exampling the Niagara Peninsula farms even in Canada have destroyed their fruit areas and are now producing corn and soy. Less work and more money. Corn that use to go for food in Mexico is now going for ethanol production driving the food prices up and creating shortages.

 

[headfullofbees]

Too late for this year, but here are a few tips:
Grow from seed, first soaking those seeds in a mild aspirin solution, one tablet in a pint of water.
Grow single stem tomatoes, pinching out the side shoots, and take off all leaves below the first truss and any less than a foot above the ground.
This allows better circulation of air, which helps against botrytis and mildew, and although you are growing them at closer spacing, it means that you can better manage, by pruning, or even removal, of your plants.
Spray with actively-aerated compost tea and molasses, especially on the underside of leaves.
Most pests cannot digest molasses, and will leave your plants alone. (Most diseases are spread, plant-to-plant by insects.)
For powdery mildew, use cheap mineral water with a pH of 7.0 or higher, 9 parts, to 1 part milk, again as a foliar spray. It won't retrieve the damage, but will prevent more spores from opening.