Hi don't know if anyone can help here. I'm a new gardener this year an
am growing tomatoes in pots in a courtyard gaden. I have attached pic of 2 of my plants which from research on the net I suspect to have ste rot. There seems to be a lot of conflicting advice on what to do, so thought I'd post here.
Apologies for joining and posting a question straight away, I will hop to be able to contribute as my knowledge grows
It's definitely some type of rot (perhaps Pythium Rot or a form of Blight). Either way, from my experience, the affected plants are doomed. I lost twenty plants to something similar a few years ago. There could be a number of sources but too much moisture/humidity could be a factor that allows the fungus to thrive. I had to destroy the entire crop because it spread so quickly. (I see you're in the UK, so your climate is not unlike mine in Eastern Canada - cool and moist...ideal for fungus to grow).
One thing I'll note from the picture is that you need to mulch the plant. When you water them, the soil gets splashed up on to the leaves and stem and that contributes to the spread of soil-borne diseases (like Blight).
Right now, you have to pull those plants and either burn or garbage them. Do not use any part of the plant or soil in your compost. You'll only pass on the disease. Do not reuse the soil in anything that may eventually host future tomato or potato plants. I usually put the used container soil on the lawn as far from the garden as possible. (This applies to tomatoes and potatoes regardless of whether a disease appears or not...a disease may not affect one season but overwinter in the soil for next season).
The next time you plant tomatoes, use new potting soil (every year) and mulch the base of the plant. When the plants get so high (as in the pics) you might consider a light dusting of a fungicide (if you have any surviving plants that haven't shown the stem rot yet, consider a fungicide dust to see if you can save them). I have a moist climate here and always give a sprinkle of potato dust on my tomatoes and potatoes. I haven't had a fungus problem since. Also, keep the plants away from each other. They don't look like they were touching in the pics, but just in case, ensure the leaves of each plant have enough distance so that they'll never touch. And don't over water them. The soil should feel damp and moist, not saturated.
That's my take on it anyway. I'm quite interested to see what others have to say.
Thanks for the advice, I have binned the worst affected plant and a
closely monitoring the other one. As for the cool climate, it's 82 i the shade today, oh joy, have just come back from a day on the beac windsurfing. When it's like this England really is the best place i the world
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