| What's Bugging your Tomatoes? Are there holes in the leaves of your plants or tiny little creatures on the leaves and stem? Maybe you can even see big beetles resting on the leaves and eating them? For insect troubles, use Safer® Brand Tomato & Vegetable Insect Killer. It is the only OMRI listed® pesticide with the dual action of insecticidal soap and organic pyrethrin. 
If you fear your trouble is with leaf feeding worms or caterpillars, try a more targeted approach… Garden Dust and Caterpillar Killer (liquid concentrate) are Safer® Brand’s OMRI listed products with Bt. (Bacillus thuringensis) which targets these species and will not harm beneficial insects including earth worms. If you are growing an organic garden and are looking for organic pestcides, more specifically insect killers to eliminate common garden pests, be sure to use a product that does not leave harmful residuals. Since regulations restrict the use of the term organic pesticides on products, resources such as OMRI® and the USDA National Organic Program can give gardeners peace of mind knowing the product they are spraying in their garden are certified organic. Safer® Brand boasts the largest array of OMRI® Listed products on the market. Understanding what is bothering your tomatoes is essential for gardening organic tomatoes all year long! Common Tomato Diseases Blossom End Rot – Irregular watering or not enough calcium or nutrients in the soil can lead to blossom end rot which is the brown spots at the bottom of the tomato plants which leaves them inedible. Also tomatoes that touch or grow in the soil will likely develop this issue. It is not a disease, rather a physiological disorder. Mulching, regular watering, and fertilization will eliminate or at least reduce this issue. Have your soil tested for calcium deficiency if it continues to be a problem. Leaf Spot – (Early Blight, Late Plight and Septoria Leaf Spot) Leaf Spot diseases for tomatoes show as dark brown spots with dark concentric rings on the leaves. Fruit Rot – (Anthracnose, Early Blight and Late Blight) Fruit rot shows on the fruit of the plant and develop as early rotting fruit on the vine. They typically occur when the fruit touches the soil. Management of Diseases - Follow the watering practices and select a well location with good air circulation to help prevent these diseases but if they occur, use Safer® Brand Garden Fungicide. It is an OMRI listed® sulfur based fungicide that can be used up to the day of harvest on tomatoes and other vegetables. (Just wash your veggies as you normally would before eating). It will kill the disease on contact and prevent additional outbreaks of the disease for about 30 days by changing the pH of the plant so the disease can not thrive. When leaf spot is present, remove the damaged leaves from the plants but do not remove more than 30% of the plants leaves at a time. If the problem is attacking more than 30% of the leaves, remove only up to 30% of the worst affect leaves, spray garden fungicide and repeat the process in about 10 days. Important! When using any pesticide products test the plant for sensitivity in a small area and wait 24 hours to make sure the plant is unharmed before using the product on the full plant. Safer®Brand brings you a variety of effective garden care products that are gentler on the environment! Most of them proudly display the OMRI Listed® organic seal and comply for use in organic gardening! 
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