Towards the end of last years growing season, the tomato plants in my greenhouse were covered with grey mold. So much so that I ended up pulling up all the plants and tossing them. This year, I plan on avoiding that scenario like the plague.
Grey mold {also called Botrytis} on tomatoes is actually pretty common when they are grown in a greenhouse setting. Since grey mold prefers humid conditions, my greenhouse was the perfect stomping grounds. Once grey mold sets in, it makes the plant susceptible to all sorts of diseases, and can eventually kill off all of your plants.
It’s actually pretty easy to prevent. Providing ventilation to dry out the conditions really goes a long way. When watering, avoid watering the leaves {this is just a good practice in general} and water in the morning only, so the plants have a chance to dry out throughout the day. Pruning off the lower leaves on the stems will also help so that water doesn’t even have a chance to pool on the leaves.
If you do get grey mold, you can try to save the plant by cutting out any of the infected areas. It is key to remove ALL debris from the area after the season, though, because of course, the mold can overwinter and wreak havoc from year to year. Keep in mind that the mold spores can affect neighboring plants, so sometimes saving the plant isn’t worth it. You can get chemicals to combat it–but since I am not a huge fan of chemicals in my garden, I’m not going to suggest that route.
Hopefully, with a little bit of prevention, grey mold will be a thing of the past for my garden.
~Mavis
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