Bleach Solutions

• The first step to maintaining a healthy tomato garden begins with properly sanitizing the garden tools. The materials necessary for properly sanitizing tools is found in many home's laundry rooms, common household bleach and water. Mix together a 10 percent bleach solution, using 1 part bleach to 9 parts water. Soak tools in the bleach solution for several minutes. Rinse and dry all tools before putting them away, as bleach may be corrosive if left to dry on the tools.
  
  

Blight Disease Symptoms

• In addition to properly sanitizing tools, tomato gardeners must understand the symptoms of each of the three blight diseases commonly found in tomato plants. Septoria blight or septoria leaf spot causes dark gray to black circular spots to develop on lower leaves, after the first fruits set. Early blight produces large, target-shaped spots on the leaves and fruit of the tomato plant. Cankers, or sunken spots, often appear on the stalks of infected tomato plants. Late blight causes dark green to black spots to develop on leaf edges, slowly spreading to the leaf's center. Green, water-soaked spots also develop on the fruit and stems.
  
  

When to Sanitize

• All three types of blight diseases are caused by fungi and spread rapidly between plants in the garden. Should symptoms of any blight disease develop in the garden, gardeners must sanitize their garden tools before and after working among the tomato plants. When tools are properly sanitized each time a gardener works among the plants, it may help slow the progression of blight diseases. Gardeners should also wash hands frequently with soap and water when working among the diseased tomato plants.
  
  

Other Control Methods

• Unfortunately, using a bleach solution to sanitize tools is not enough to cure tomatoes infected with blight diseases. In most cases, the tomato plants must be destroyed to prevent fungi from overwintering in the garden and destroying next season's crop. Dig up tomatoes and place them in trash bags. Seal bags and throw them into trash containers. Avoid splashing water from an infected plant to a healthy plant. Treat healthy plants with a fungicide approved for tomato blight disease. After removing diseased plants, sanitize the tools in bleach again before working with the healthy crops. Avoid planting tomatoes in the same area of the garden during the following season.