Spotted Wing Drosophila = BASTARDS

Lycanthrope

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I think this is SWD damage, whatever it is, it raised hell with my garden this year (especially raspberries and tomatoes)... Id guess that over 50% of my tomatoes had at least some damage and many were unusable because of this. I sprayed everything with malathion a few times, but not regularly enough evidently. Anyone else have issues and/or suggestions for controlling these f-ers without killing everything beneficial in the area?

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Here is a picture of the little cock suckers....
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lunkerslayer

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You Lycan even those I may get cancer from my used railroad ties I didn't have any issues with insects on my plants. I had some many green pepper and habenero that I gave some away. Out of four tomato plants three five gallon pails ( buckets) of Roma tomatoes. Not bad for my first salsa garden.
 

guywhofishes

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I have railroad ties in our yard (previous owner). Just in flower beds though.

Ring-shaped molecules call polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the toxic/cancerous risk with creosote. These are the main family of chemicals that makes creosote toxic to the critters that break down wood - thus preserving the wood (duh).

But plant/vegetable uptake of PAHs are minor. Dermal contact is your concern - if you have one. So you should worry a lot more about contacting the dirt and timbers than what the veggies deliver.

p.s. if you don't want to eat PAHs then don't grill your food either. ;)

p.p.s. grama's mothballs are a familiar PAH - ishta

good article for nerdtrons here

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3146259/
 
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lunkerslayer

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Just went through read the beginning of the report where they used city Compost to lessen the toxicity of the soil. I wonder if there was a way to tell actually how much of this PAH is in my soil now, I do add manure to my soil hopefully that helps. Good post guywhoishelpful.
 


sd fisherman

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Some of my tomato's had those even though they were grown in containers with fresh potting soil. The smaller cherry and plum tomato were not affected. The Big Boy variety had them the worst.
 

Lou63

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you should rotate where your tomatos are planted every year due to the diseases that harbor in the soil, also they are related to potatoes so try not to plant them in the same spot as your potato plants were the year before. I have 3 places that I rotate my tomato plants from year to year.
 

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guywhofishes

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Just went through read the beginning of the report where they used city Compost to lessen the toxicity of the soil. I wonder if there was a way to tell actually how much of this PAH is in my soil now, I do add manure to my soil hopefully that helps. Good post guywhoishelpful.

PAHs in soil are "stuck" or sorbed to the soil pretty tightly. In other words if you wash the soil off you get 99% of the PAHs off because they are stuck to the soil like bugs on a windshield.

When you eat dirt (toddler) then your digestive system can get them off and into your bloodstream.

Actual creosote is the only things I'd get too worked up about - the oily stuff. That stuff is HIGHLY concentrated in PAHs (thousands or millions more than veggies or soil) - enough that I'd want gloves/pants on and not let creosote get directly onto your skin.

Compared to smoking and eating BBQ every night this (railroad ties in my garden) stuff is pretty trivial IMO - but why take your chances - don't get creosote on you and don't eat the dirt. I'd not worry about the veggies themselves though.
 
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Lycanthrope

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My garden is small enough Im not sure moving the tomatoes will make much difference, but Ill try it next year.
 


Lou63

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When I bought my house I was lucky enough to pick up the lot next door for $50 so I have a bit of room, need to take out some pines that shade the lot and my garden would be much better.
 

Lycanthrope

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PrairieGhost

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I had a problem with my tomatoes that looked like that and a lady told me it was soil chemistry from compost. She told me to put a small scoup of bone meal in the bottom of the hole when I plant. I have no idea what the problem was, but I fon't have it when using bone meal. My damage was mosly one big spot on the bottom side of the tomatoe, and sometimes a few small spots higher up on the tomatoe.
 

svnmag

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Grandma started her tomatoes in late winter in these cool water expandable peat moss deals called "Jiffy 7's" and always gave hers a bit of bone meal when setting them out. Man that used to be fun when I was little. Mom has some seeds saved from her plants in the early 90's would they still be good?... These babies were very similar to or MAY HAVE been beefsteaks. Very fleshy, RED and dense. Mouth is watering now.
 


svnmag

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Nice job ruining a nostalgic Grandma story tool. I never became aware of my nipples until I was 22.
 

svnmag

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WOW. She was also fluent in Latin and now you compare her to swine​?!!
 

tikkalover

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"My damage was mosly one big spot on the bottom side of the tomatoe, and sometimes a few small spots higher up on the tomatoes." I heard a couple different theories on this, 1. To much water at the wrong time. 2. Calcium deficient. Which the bone meal would fix.
 


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