This year I planted 8 different varieties of tomatoes. 4 out of the 8 have been affected by early blight. The first to be affected (and separated by a house and two outbuildings from the rest of the garden and other affected tomatoes) is a variety known as "Galina". "Galina" is growing beside "Black Plum" which has a known resistance to early blight, and "Gardener's Sweetheart" which was introduced by Will Bonsall. For my own seed saving purposes I'm going to assume that it is at least somewhat resistant. Out of the 5 Galina plants, 1 has not had any signs of early blight!!! I want to select this variety for disease resistance, and so I would assume I would naturally collect seed from this resistant plant, and then in subsequent years save seed from many of the disease resistant offspring to reduce inbreeding. (Correct me if I'm wrong or share your experience!)
But for my remaining varieties affected by early blight: Mortgage Lifter, Cup of Moldova, and Kalinka... all have shown at least some sign of the disease. How should I select for disease resistance? Should I select plants that hold up the best? Should I instead select for something else like early production and yield?
What would you do in this situation?
