What to do with tomato plants when winter comes

Hi,

When the season is over, I general cut my tomato plants right above the roots and throw them away at my local waste recycling center. My idea is that I'd rather not keep any tomato waste in my garden to keep mildew away.

I have absolutely no clue whether this notion that tomato waste can bring mildew is grounded or pure fantasy. It happens that I've been gardening for 3 years in this garden and never had mildew.

As I don't own a car, going to the waste center with several Kg of plant waste is a bit of a hassle. Plus, I hate to remove organic matter from my garden.

Any opinion on the safety of leaving tomato leaves an stems on the ground to decompose ?

Thanks !

Pierre,

I would definitely use those tomato tops to start some compost by adding in a few browns.  Honestly, I have never had a problem with mildew originating from a compost pile.  In my garden, every scrap of organic matter that can possibly get recycled back into the garden beds does so.  I would never make the effort to deliberately take away organic matter that I grew myself.

But as a possible strategy, maybe pick a spot in your garden that was less-than-perfect last year and build your compost pile right there on the ground.  Over time (a matter of weeks to months), the soil microbes and microbes in the compost will merge together for mutual benefit.  Even if you didn’t use the compost, the very act of composting will make that spot magically fertile (but of course, use the compost as well!).

I hope this is helpful.  If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Eric

I agree with Eric regarding adding them to the compost pile.

When the compost heats up I feel it will kill any fungal activity.

Though you could spray the leaves with this:

https://permies.com/t/93537/toxic-Fungicide

I concur.

Thank you Eric for your answer. My problem with compost is that I have a small urban garden, with very little organic input from the garden itself (except dead veggies and lawn). I also live alone most of the time, so my "green" garbage production is very low. I also lack space to have a proper compost pile. What I do have is a worm composter (which never gets hot). I feel that I don't have the capacity to make a proper compost pile that will heat up to the point of killing pathogens. So if I use my tomato tops it'll be as "in place" composting. I'd just let winter and my microscopic friends do their job.

Do you think that's "safe" ?

Eric Hanson wrote:Pierre,

I would definitely use those tomato tops to start some compost by adding in a few browns.  Honestly, I have never had a problem with mildew originating from a compost pile.  In my garden, every scrap of organic matter that can possibly get recycled back into the garden beds does so.  I would never make the effort to deliberately take away organic matter that I grew myself.

But as a possible strategy, maybe pick a spot in your garden that was less-than-perfect last year and build your compost pile right there on the ground.  Over time (a matter of weeks to months), the soil microbes and microbes in the compost will merge together for mutual benefit.  Even if you didn’t use the compost, the very act of composting will make that spot magically fertile (but of course, use the compost as well!).

I hope this is helpful.  If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Eric

Why do people feel that a compost pile has to get hot?

When Mother Nature composts do her piles always get hot?  She composts all over my property without those piles getting hot.

It is too windy here so I let Mother Nature do all my composting.

Since you are using worm composting to me that sounds great.  Do they like to eat tomato plants?

What kind of pathogen do you have?

Were I leave people mostly fear mildew. I've never had any, but I've always thrown my tomato tops away out of my garden. Hence my original question.

Anne Miller wrote:Why do people feel that a compost pile has to get hot?

When Mother Nature composts do her piles always get hot?  She composts all over my property without those piles getting hot.

It is too windy here so I let Mother Nature do all my composting.

Since you are using worm composting to me that sounds great.  Do they like to eat tomato plants?

What kind of pathogen do you have?

Mildew is easily remedied with something as simple as baking soda aka bicarbonate of soda.

Here is a thread to help with several recipes including the one I use:

https://permies.com/t/93537/non toxic-Fungicide

I have read that composting will kill mildew.

Anne Miller wrote:Mildew is easily remedied with something as simple as baking soda aka bicarbonate of soda.

Here is a thread to help with several recipes including the one I use:

https://permies.com/t/93537/non toxic-Fungicide

I have read that composting will kill mildew.

I've taken the liberty to fix you're link above. Here's the corrected link: https://permies.com/t/93537/nontoxic-Fungicide

I have stopped making compost piles and now "compost in place" in my yard/garden. Everything is heavily mulched and I just pull it back, lay down my organic residues and cover back up with the mulch... or, often I treat most as "chop & drop" and literally just throw it down around the plants and let nature do its thing. The whole making a pile and turning (or not) and waiting and then forking into wheelbarrows and/or containers to move around... it's steps that can be eliminated. Even "conventional" farmers spread the manure from their cows out on the fields, they're not making piles and waiting, etc.

I did the compost pile thing for years, but I heard this "in place" way and never looked back. For the small system like ours, I think the compost pile isn't practical. If you had a larger system that's producing a lot of bio-mass, then a pile might not just be an choice, but a necessity. Like so much of this stuff... it depends on your situation.  

Regarding the fungus being spread, I would take your tomato plants and put them around other plants that aren't susceptible to that fungus. Use other things around your healthy tomatoes. But, understand, these fungi live in the soil and can't be avoided. I think the best we can do is to help build the diversity in the soil and plant a couple extra tomatoes to help mitigate losses to whatever "pest" may hurt production.

But, hey, that all said, I ain't no expert. I'm just a guy that's been doing this stuff for the past few years and  I listen to a big guy in overalls on the interwebs they call a "Duke."  Go figure.

For the last few years I've chopped my tomato vines into bits 6" to 12" (15 to 30 cm) long and dropped them on top of which ever garden bed is handy. Then I take my Wisteria leaves and drop them on top of that. Then  if it's going to be a windy spot, I use just enough of the Wisteria vines as a mesh to stop too many of the leaves from blowing off. If you're in a really windy, dry area, you might have to use brown packing paper or newspaper as a layer and slightly large branches than I do, but we get so much dew and rain (and currently snow) where I live, that the leaves generally stay wet enough they don't blow off (ecosystem is everything - take ideas you read and think about how they might work or not work in your neighborhood and change accordingly).

In the spring, whatever hasn't decomposed sufficiently, I pull off and dump into a garbage can temporarily (garbage cans are a nice holding device - they're sturdy, have comfortable handles, my smaller fork/shovel fit in, and can be moved around on a dolly). I have enough space that I can have compost piles, so the can of "leftovers" might go there, but sometimes, I've got a bed or area that needs some help so I dig a trench or hole to dump the leftovers in. The big point is that all winter, the microbes in my tomato bed were protected from rain and cold, and had food to feed them. I don't have enough sun to have a winter cover crop because I leave my tomatoes as long as I can if the fall is warm (I've still got tomatoes ripening in the kitchen and ate some yesterday for lunch! We had a long, dry, warm fall which Mother Nature is currently making up for with seriously below average temperatures.)

Pierre, you identify as having a very small garden. I'd suggest you look around you neighborhood and compliment any neighbor growing a plant that needs fall pruning and offer to "help" in return for some of the leaves and woody vine part. I've got grape vines that could be used the same way, but the Wisteria *always* needs a fall pruning or it's leaves block a drain I don't want blocked. "The problem is the solution."

Alternate answer.  Got a pan to put the tomatoes in and an oven?  Cook it hot enough to sterilize it before the pile if you are concerned.  Most directions say most fungal will be killed by 140 degrees+ for 15 minutes or more  Following cooking a meal simply put it in the oven down in the 150 to 180 range.  You should mostly be able to rob heat of the oven cooling down so the energy cost will be negligible.  If you can get the stems dried out first less energy will be needed.  I don't think it is a threat but if you are concerned this would be a low energy alternate answer.  Probably won't cost much more energy that hauling it to recycling would.  

If it's powdery mildew...
I've had luck with sour milk and water mixture for powdery mildew on my comfrey. I have not tried it on plants for any other fungi.

Not too careful with the ratio, but I usually mix 60:40 or so, water to milk. I've used stronger 40:60 or 50:50 and weaker, 70:30 and stronger does work better. But, like I said, not too careful with measurements,  just pour both in a pump sprayer and I make sure to spray up on the underneath as well as the tops, of course, of the leaves and I make sure to spray the mulch around the plants as well. A good soak of the crowns too.

It seems to work well for me and usually do it when I see it, not as a preventive.
A few applications over a few days seems to knock it back enough to last the season.
I'm in Central New York. Zone 5a

Thank you all for these answers. I think I'll just give it a try, do in place composting with my tomato stems.