It appears my garden has the Tomato/cucumber virus. It started on my cucumber mottled marks on leaves, that eventually dry out. The cucumber started fruiting early and I have 2 nice cucumbers but the new growth flowers and then the new fruit goes nowhere. I have lots of new growth, but the leaves dont last long. My tomatoes have been loaded with fruit. I have been enjoying beautiful cherry tomatoes for about 2 weeks. Last week I noticed a few spots on the leaves and then almost overnight the plants are covered. I am still getting ripening tomatoes but the leaves themselves are almost all brown. My peppers are at the other end of the garden and are starting to show some spots of yellow. The peppers are bountiful and starting to ripen.
I live in Central Florida and am gardening in Straw Bales. Because I garden in my backyard I have one long row of plants. Tomatoes, cucumbers, Green beans. peppers (with herbs in between), The only thing not showing leaf distress are the green beans. I have used Neem oil to control insects as well as ladybugs. The only insect I have found was the squash vine borer in my zucchini. All the infected plants were removed. I have not seen aphids.
After days of research, it seems like my garden is done for now. I will remove all the plants, straw bales, and ground cover. My question would be concerning the metal poles, tomato cages, wire trellis, drip lines and garden equipment. Can everything be disinfected with bleach water? I read one suggestion of covering everything with liquid milk. The garden area is between a wooden fence and the house, do I need to bleach these down too? Can I clean the area and work on a new garden in the fall or maybe even some summer crops or are my backyard garden days over?
It appears my garden has the Tomato/cucumber virus. It started on my cucumber mottled marks on leaves, that eventually dry out. The cucumber started fruiting early and I have 2 nice cucumbers but the new growth flowers and then the new fruit goes nowhere. I have lots of new growth, but the leaves dont last long. My tomatoes have been loaded with fruit. I have been enjoying beautiful cherry tomatoes for about 2 weeks. Last week I noticed a few spots on the leaves and then almost overnight the plants are covered. I am still getting ripening tomatoes but the leaves themselves are almost all brown. My peppers are at the other end of the garden and are starting to show some spots of yellow. The peppers are bountiful and starting to ripen.
I live in Central Florida and am gardening in Straw Bales. Because I garden in my backyard I have one long row of plants. Tomatoes, cucumbers, Green beans. peppers (with herbs in between), The only thing not showing leaf distress are the green beans. I have used Neem oil to control insects as well as ladybugs. The only insect I have found was the squash vine borer in my zucchini. All the infected plants were removed. I have not seen aphids.
After days of research, it seems like my garden is done for now. I will remove all the plants, straw bales, and ground cover. My question would be concerning the metal poles, tomato cages, wire trellis, drip lines and garden equipment. Can everything be disinfected with bleach water? I read one suggestion of covering everything with liquid milk. The garden area is between a wooden fence and the house, do I need to bleach these down too? Can I clean the area and work on a new garden in the fall or maybe even some summer crops or are my backyard garden days over?