The tomato is just too good! It is used in various small dishes, in salads, in sauces and even in juice! We love it so much that we just bite into it! If you have a vegetable garden at home, you probably planted tomatoes, right? Let us know how they are doing! Large and very juicy or in poor condition.

Yes, unfortunately, it happens that our tomatoes get fungal diseases that need to be treated quickly so as not to lose your crop! At their head is powdery mildew, the number 1 enemy of tomatoes! Do not panic! In this article we present many easy-to-prepare recipes for natural fungicides to prevent this fungus and prevent it from destroying your tomato plants!

Tomato disease: what is late blight?

As with all plants, downy mildew is one of the most common and dangerous diseases! As Tammy Sons of Tennessee Wholesale Nursery explains, they appear as large, irregular brown spots on the above-ground portion of the plant, including the leaves and stems. As they develop, the spots enlarge, drying out the affected areas and reducing the healthy surface area of your plant, which can no longer photosynthesize and slowly dies.

How does late blight damage tomatoes?

Because it is a disease that spreads very quickly, late blight can lead to a slight decrease in productivity or total loss of the crop. This depends on several factors, including:

  • Weather conditions ;
  • Plant phenology;
  • The level of nitrogen fertilization achieved;
  • The number and duration of treatments applied;
  • The variety planted.

What weather conditions favor the development of downy mildew?

Mildew finds its happiness when the weather is humid and hot! When humidity is above 90% and temperatures are between 50 and 77 °F, this fungus thrives and spreads unhindered! Temperatures above 86 °F and low humidity, on the other hand, give this fungus no chance of survival!

How to avoid mildew and protect tomato leaves?

The appearance of mildew on the tomato plant is not always easy to fight! To protect your crop, you must now remember to prevent the appearance of the disease and equip yourself with effective fungicides!

How to avoid late blight in tomatoes?

  • Your tomatoes need sufficient ventilation. Therefore, make sure that there is a distance between the plants so that air can circulate, and light reaches the entire plantation.
  • Remove the leaves that touch the ground.
  • Avoid excess water in irrigation, as the latter is the main factor in the development of late blight.
  • Do not grow your tomatoes in the same place, as they appreciate the rotation of fruit.
  • Be careful not to injure your plants, especially when pruning, which should be done with well-cleaned scissors.
  • Fertilize your tomatoes properly with fertilizers without excess nitrogen and rich in potassium, because lack of nutrients weakens the plants and makes them more susceptible to the development of tuber rot.
  • Grow resistant varieties.
  • Separate your tomato and potato orchards. They can both be affected by the same fungus and contaminate each other.
  • The emitters of your irrigation system must be placed on the ground between the rows. Never wet the stems or leaves of the plants. Water only the tomato plants and allow the soil surface to dry out between waterings (technique recommended by garden expert Oliver Hill of Garden List).
  • Remove all residue at the end of each harvest to reduce the risk of contaminating future plantings.
  • In the event of infection, cutting, removing and burning infected plants as soon as the first symptoms appear is a good measure to control the spread of the disease.

Mold control: how to protect tomato plants from powdery mildew?

Tomatoes like soils with low humidity and thrive best in mild temperatures (between 68 and 79 °F)! To combat the appearance of tomato powdery mildew, it is important to know that it is better to act preventively when climatic conditions favor the appearance of the disease. Once this happens, it is very difficult to control! The most effective way to protect your tomatoes from this pest fungus is to spray them with fungicides! If you do not want to use industrial products, here is a list of natural ingredients that fight mold!

  1. An infusion of horsetail

Spray your tomatoes with an infusion of horsetail in humid weather! How to prepare it:

  • Soak the horsetails for 24 hours (2 pounds of fresh plant or 1/3 lb. of dry plant in 10 quarts of water);
  • Boil them for 20 minutes in a large pot.
  • Cover the pan and let everything cool down.
  • Before spraying, dilute 5 parts by volume of the solution in 100 parts by volume of water.

  1. Sage extract

Spray your tomatoes with fermented sage extract (2 pounds of leaves and flowers to 10 l of water). Dilute this time to 10% before spraying the tomatoes (10 parts by volume of the solution in 100 parts by volume of water)!

  1. Chamomile

Prepare a chamomile tea with 50 g of flowers per liter of water. Dilute each liter of infusion with 9 liters of water before spraying your plants.

  1. Garlic

Garlic is a very effective natural antifungal agent. Add 2 ounces of garlic cloves to each quart of water. Then dilute your solution in 4 parts by volume of water and spray it on your tomatoes for several days in the sun.

  1. Cow’s milk

By forming a microbial film on the surface of the leaves and changing the pH of the plant, the milk covers and protects the tomato. The latter becomes unshakable and no longer provides ideal conditions for the spread of powdery mildew. Milk is rich in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium! So, it not only protects your tomatoes, but also nourishes them and helps them grow better! This nutrient-rich mildew treatment does double duty! It is a powerful natural fungicide and foliar fertilizer at the same time!

Use milk once a week as a preventative:

  • Dilute 3 glasses of milk in 7 glasses of water.
  • Water the tomatoes with this solution

Prevention treatment (twice a week)

  • Dilute 1 glass of milk in 4 glasses of water.
  • Then spray the tomatoes!
  • The milk should be applied to all parts of the plant very early in the morning.

When should tomatoes be treated for late blight?

If, despite all the preventive measures you have taken to protect your tomatoes from powdery mildew, it still attacks your plantation, you can still try to save the day! However, you need to react quickly! Start treatment as soon as you notice that your plants are affected!