Totally Tomatoes, Perfect Peppers Grant McCarty Local Foods and Small Farms Systems Educator Stephenson, Jo Daviess, Winnebago 1 Today s Plan General setup Deciding on types Trellising Seasonal management Insects Diseases Other problems Harvest 2 1
Questions to consider What grew well last year? What didn t grow well last year? Did you have disease? How do you grow your plants? Soil amendments Trellis Before and during your season 3 Know its features Growing features- height/width Size/shape Taste and texture Sweet or hot Know how it will be used Fresh eating? Sauce? Canned? Peppers: dry? Avoid transplants with flowers Deciding on Varieties 4 2
Deciding on: Tomatoes Different uses, shapes, colors, texture Determinate or Indeterminate Disease Resistance 5 Determinate or Indeterminate Determinate Another name: Hybrid Reach a set height Does not need pruning/sucker removal Better for canning/preserving Indeterminate Other Names: Open Pollinated, Heirloom Will continue to grow Sucker removal is needed Better prices but need more attention 6 3
Deciding on: Tomatoes Mtn Merit Pink Berkley Tye Dye Types Further: Slicer, Paste, Canning Varieties Paste: Roma, San Marzano Slicer: Mortgage Lifter, Kellog s Breakfast, Cherokee Purple, Prudence Purple, Pink Berkley Tye Dye, Mtn Merit, Big Beef Canning: Celebrity, Fantastic, Early Girl Disease Resistance Code V F FF FFF A St N T EB LB S Disease Verticillium wilt resistance Fusarium wilt race 1 resistance Fusarium wilt races 1 & 2 resistance Fusarium wilt races 1, 2 & 3 resistance Alternaria resistance Stemphylium or gray leaf spot resistance Root-knot nematode resistance Tobacco mosaic virus resistance Early Blight resistance Late Blight resistance Septoria Leaf Spot resistance Some tomatoes and peppers have been bred for resistance Common codes to look for will address disease problems Grow those with and without 8 4
Deciding on: Peppers Shape, sizes, heat There may be some disease resistance Consider date to maturity Scoville Range Heat range for peppers 9 Scoville Range 10 5
Ghost Chili Pepper Scoville Scale of 1,041,000 Carolina Reaper Scoville Scale of 1,569,300 average 6
Deciding on: Peppers Types: Sweet, Hot (broad categories) Varieties: Bell: California Wonder, Bell Boy, Lady Bell, Purple Belle, Chocolate Bell Hot Pepper: Primero Red, Red Ember, Redflame, Aji Rico 13 Deciding on: Eggplant Fairly compact plant Thrives in summer heat Varieties: Rosa Bianca, Gretel, Hansal, Fairy Tale Fairly good for containers 7
Purchase transplants Reputable nursery/home and garden store Examine leaf tissue Disease Insects 15 Late Plantings Keep in mind first frost date (Oct 4) 104 Days + Tolerate 40s/50s 30s is problem May need to top off* Month before frost 16 8
Containers Determinates, Patio, Lunchbox Peppers, Fairy Tale Eggplant Minimum: 5 gallon bucket Growing media: mix of soilless media (perlite, vermiculite) with compost or other Avoid garden soil Fertility needs Long term: Trellis? Sunlight? Drying out? 17 Other Ways to Grow Straw Bale Bale is conditioned using water/fertilizer 2-3 Tomatoes per bale, 4 Peppers, etc Companion Plants Marigolds 18 9
Get your area going Soil ph 6-7.5 Add organic matter Compost, aged manure Pick your fertilizer Full Sun Maybe some partial shade tolerance Crop Rotation Especially if problems last couple of years 19 Tomatoes At planting: Spacing 24-36 inches Depends on variety, trellising, determinate/indeterminate Peppers 18 inches May double-row them (15 inches between row) Eggplants 18-24 inches 20 10
At planting: Mulching Can control weeds and keep soil moisture in Address water infiltration Water splash Two types: Organic and Inorganic 21 Organic Mulches Vary considerable in application rate May need to apply throughout season Turnover when season ends Ex. Leaves, grass clippings, straw 22 11
Trellis Options Cages Staking Make your own Each have their own pros/cons to them 23 Cages Good option for raised beds Good option for planting 1-2 single plants Good option for determinate/smaller tomato plant 24 12
But with cages Can be harder to harvest Flimsy Heavier/steel cages May be overtaken by the tomato plant itself 25 Staking Good choice for rows of tomatoes and growing many plants You decide at what height to trellis Can trellis problem areas 26 13
But with staking Need to insert further into soil during the season May be more laborious with management 27 Seasonal Management: Pruning Sucker removal of indeterminate Below the first flower cluster Determinates do not need pruning Topping indeterminates? Other pruning? 28 14
Seasonal Management: Insects Small: whiteflies, aphids Larger: tomato fruit worm, tomato/tobacco hornworm Solutions: handpick, tolerate, leaf removal, chemical 29 Seasonal Management: Insects Aphids Whiteflies 30 15
Seasonal Management: Insects Tomato/Tobacco Hornworm Tomato Fruitworm 31 Seasonal Management: Diseases Dependent on season Hot? Cold? Wet? Dry? Move by water, air, soil, insects Always water in morning and avoid contact with wet plants Strategies: crop rotation, disease resistance, airflow, 32 16
Early Blight Crops: tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, potatoes Spread: fungal airborne Damage: yellowing of leaves What to look for: small, brown circles on leaves, could spread to stems Prevention: plant resistant varieties, rotate out of family, remove debris from garden after season, air circulation 33 Late Blight Crops: tomato, potato Spread: fungal airborne Damage: black/brown leaves, produce spores on infected leaves and tubers Prevention: crop rotation, remove infected tubers after season 34 17
Phytophthora Blight Spread: soilborne Damage: effects stems and vascular tissue What to look for: crown rot, lesions at base if plant Prevention: plant in well-drained fields without conditions of these, rotate out of solanaceous/cucurbits families 35 Bacterial Spot/Speck Crops: cucurbits, solanaceous Spread: bacteria spread by splashing rain and moist conditions Damage: spots on leaves spreading to fruit causing fruit rot Prevention: clean seeds, crop rotation out of cucurbits for 2 years 36 18
Septoria Leaf Spot Crops: primarily tomatoes Spread: Overwinters on host plant debris, seeds and transplants May not be a problem depending on weather Symptoms: Leaf spots, defoliation (leaf loss) Very different appearance than blights Treatment: dispose of crop residues, crop rotate, control weeds 37 Fusarium/Verticillium Wilt Fusarium- warm Weather; Verticillum- Cold weather Spread: fungal airborne Damage: initial wilting symptoms, yellowing then browning of leaves Prevention: maintain moisture, do not over fertilize, crop rotate out of families if necessary 38 19
Seasonal Management: Physical Deformities Due to weather, rainfall, overnight temperatures Can delay ripening and maturity May spread diseases easier Still edible 39 Seasonal Management: Physical Deformities Catfacing Sunscald 40 20
Seasonal Management: Physical Deformities Cracking Splitting 41 Seasonal Management: Blossom End Rot Cause: water not moving frequently to bring Calcium up Ca application not recommended Strategies: Mulch, work itself out 42 21
Other Problems: Hot Weather Too hot (90s in days, 75 at night) Flowers available, pollen unavailable, won t set fruit Some heat tolerant varieties Keep healthy until weather improves 43 At harvest Fully colored, firm Larger tomatoes: first blush Remove tomato stems Tomatoes: not in fridge Pepper: dependent on characteristics Eggplant: Shiny, not dull 44 22
Wrap Up Know it s features Space correctly Plan for insects and diseases! Mulch well! Have a good season! 45 Conclusion Insect Scouting Net Beat Sheet Trap Specimens gmccarty@illinois. edu 46 23