Vendor Writing: Tomato Ebola!

TOMATO EBOLA!

The Next Pandemic

By KEITH D., CONTRIBUTOR VENDOR

Day 1: New growth at plant tips sickly yellow

Day 2: All leaves on plant have gray mottled spots

Day 3: Anything mottled has turned yellow, swiss cheese holes with leaves

Day 4: Leaves blackened, black spots on main stem

Day 5: Leaves black and crispy, stem and branches blackened. Tomatoes shriveled and spotted

Day 6: Entire plant black and crisp

Day 7: Can snap the 1” thick main stem like a dry stick, the puff of dust causing me to sneeze.

I have never seen such a rapid succumbing of plants, wasn’t a hint of disease until about Aug. 1. Not a cutworm or aphid on any of the 60ish plants. It’s slower in the romas, may have two weeks. But any variety of cherry succombs in only SEVEN days!