Whoever said that “life is not fair” must have been a tomato grower. For 2025, home grown tomatoes which began with beautiful, healthy vines have now diminished into dried, diseased plants waiting to be pulled up by their roots and thrown into the trash. This is the next step for John Andrews who lives near Kilquick in Edgecombe County. John has reported to the Cooperative Extension Office that this situation is become routine in his garden. And according to John, this problem is being talked about by other tomato growers in the county who feel as if they are being robbed of much of their crop due to a disease known as Septoria Leaf Spot.

Septoria Leaf Spot is caused by the fungus known as Septoria lycopersici. This disease develops on the lower leaves of the tomato plant first and then progresses up the plant under conditions of high humidity and abundant rainfall. So, in other words, August should be designated as  “Septoria Month!” The way to identify this disease is to look for lesions on the leaf that may become blighted. With Septoria, a yellow lesion develops with a halo around those lesions. If you look closely at a tomato plant which has Septoria, you may also notice small, dark spots like dots of pepper at the center of these lesions called pycnidia. These are the fruiting body of the fungus where the spores are produced.

Septoria is often misdiagnosed as another tomato disease known as Early Blight but the difference is that Septoria rarely infects the fruit of the plant. Lesions that are caused by Early Blight will be larger and darker brown than Septoria leaf spots and will have concentric rings (like a bullseye target!). If you like to plant heirloom tomatoes, chances are that you have Septoria leaf spot because most heirloom tomatoes do not have resistance to Septoria. Check out this video to help you to identify Septoria leaf spot.

Here’s how to break the chain of Septoria leaf spot in 2026. First, plan to rotate your next tomato crop away from this year’s site for 2 or more years. Secondly, once you’ve pulled up the carcasses of a bountiful tomato crop unrealized, dispose of them far away from this year’s planting site. Infected tomato debris and the weed horsenettle can allow the fungus to overwinter. Thirdly, for 2026, plan to use mulches or plastic to reduce the contact between tomato leaves and the soil. When a tomato plant has Septoria identified on the lower leaves, it’s helpful to remove these leaves to break the upward movement of this fungus. Of course, don’t perform this act when you are angry because too much leaf removal can be problematic. Lastly, if you are limited by gardening space and have a history of Septoria, fungicides such as chlorothalonil, copper, or mancozeb will help to reduce this disease. These products must be applied before disease develops because they will not cure a Septoria outbreak.

Remember, next year can be the best year ever for homegrown tomatoes. Planning for that begins now.