What is wrong with my tomato??

[A few] of my tomatoes are doing this brown 'thing' and I don't know why. Being a 'green horn' I planted my tomato plants and once they started getting big I realized that they needed stronger caging so I gathered them up and boxed them in. This changed the amount of direct sunlight that the plants near the center were getting. Could this have anything to do with it?? Other than that, I have no idea what is causing this. Sure would appreciate anyone's help identifying the problem! ...I hope you can see the problem even though it's not the best picture. I took it with my cell phone. :- / ...I can take another picture if you need me to.

:) Glenda

Looks like late blight that is affecting much of tomato growing this year:

http://www.google.com/search?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS342&q=late+blight+tomatoes&aq=1&oq=late+blight&aqi=g10

That's a whole page, by Google, of late blight articles.

Thanks Pirl! I'll check it out....

OK.......now I'm depressed. My potato plants are turning brown and laying over, which I thought was the life cycle of the potato plant but maybe not...... I need to go dig up some potatoes and see if they're healthy. This may have gotten my potatoes AND some of my tomatoes. :-[ ....Poo.

What do you all do/use to help control late blight????

Glenda there is no cure. There are several threads on the tomato forum about this plague.

It's true - no cure. Bag them up, tie the bag closed, leave in the sun to "cook" the plants and kill the virus or else, being airborne, it will spread to other vegetable gardens and to farmers.

Try not to buy them at the big box stores next year but buy your seedlings from local people who raise them or grow them yourself. Much less of a chance of the blight when they're home grown.

I bought my seed potatoes and tomato plants at a small family nursery way out in the country. Ughhh!. I'm off to bag the up.

Can I still collect the seeds from them or are they no good???

I wouldn't. Why risk the disappointment again next year?

Good point! Ughhhh.... Thanks Pirl!! :)

Sorry!

Don't give up on your potatoes before checking them. In your area, this would be the time that the potatoes would naturally be dying back.

Ok......cross your fingers for me! I'll let you all know what I find.

Good luck!

I posted a picture of my tomato leaves at http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1031996/ Can anyone tell me if this is late blight?

Check out the photos of tomato leaves with late blight here:

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=tomato+leaves+late+blight&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

Glenda - before you go ripping things out, be sure this is what you've got. There are alot of things going on this year. I lost an entire garden to this blight, even after careful spraying. However, the spraying did save the crops that were farthest away as they hadn't been hit yet. I almost tore everything out in a panic, thinking it was more of the same. As it turns out, I was hit by yet another (or 2, or 3) diseases - all neatly packaged under the name of "early blight", and I was able to save some (a very few) of them, and actually had one, yes, ONE BLT this season! Lots of cherries and grapes in the far garden made it, but the heirlooms were in the main gardens, and most of them succumbed.

glenda - sequee is being very polite explaining to you what happened to her garden. if you read the d-mails she sent to me you would be blushing right now. she wasn't a happy camper. LOL

Smacks Frank upside the head with a rotten tomato! LOL, perhaps I was not at my most diplomatic, but who knew you'd kiss'n'tell???

LOL You all are a hoot! ......OK.......I went out and dug up one of my potato plants that had turned brown and fallen over. Under all the straw (I grew them in heavy straw this year) and dirt I found the most BEAUTIFUL HEALTHY potatoes!!!! :-D No sign of the "brown rot" that is plaguing [some] of my tomatoes!!!! Woohoo! [Doing the 'happy dance' here] Does that mean it is something else than late blight - although I clearly have some 'kind' of problem with my tomatoes??? My potato beds and tomato beds are only 10' apart, if that makes any difference. .....So am I in the clear for late blight?

I don't know but is it possible that your taters were done when this mess blew in that got your tomatoes? I had several plants that got the brown rot spots on the fruit for a time but whatever it was, it wasn't late blight because although the plants didn't thrive, they didn't die a quick death either. I also had some of the brown stem lesions but again, it wasn't fatal and wasn't on the same plants with the fruit rot. I just plant extras because there seems to be endless problems just waiting to pounce.