My tomatoes have brown spots on the leaves. What's wrong?

Suzanne D. - National Garden Association Expert EXPERT July 10, 2009

It's likely a disease problem. Your plants may have late blight, or any of a number of other common tomato diseases. This year has been particularly challenging for tomato growers. Not only has it been rainy, but also plants that were infected with late blight disease were inadvertently shipped all over the East Coast. You can try picking off infected leaves and throwing them in the trash, as well as mulching the plants with straw to keep soil (and the disease spores it may contain) from splashing up onto leaves. There are also many fungicides on the market, including organic options. A new, organic biofungicide called Serenade, which contains the active ingredient Bacillus subtilis, has shown promise. Other organic options include products containing sulfur, potassium bicarbonate, and neem oil.