What is the best disease resistant tomato. How is the Cherokee Purple or Brandywine?

I've had good luck with Brandywine. They're pretty tough disease-wise. I like that they are a taller plant and are good eating tomatoes.

Plant different kinds keep them sprayed with copper sulfate

Since I have plenty of room, I plant a bunch of different disease resistant varieties and plant more that I need. That way I'll have plenty even if (and I always do) lose some plants to blight or whatever. I don't have time to spray or prune either, so this method has always worked for me.

Celebrity I think are most resistant, I plant more than I need to make sure I have enough

I have raised mostly celebrity tomatoes for over the last decade plus. I have only had 2 seasons where disease has been an issue. They are rated high for resistance. They also are a both determinant and indeterminant in their growing pattern, which is rare. I do follow a program of fungicide treatment and ground covering as my tomatoes now are in a heavier clay loam place and there is more dieseae organisms in the soil then in the lighter, sandier garden I had used before.

Bryce

I love my heirlooms but I agree that a good hybrid will be more disease resistant .

I grow predominantly heirlooms and get along well. Pink Girl is a hybrid that seems to be fairly resistant to most issues.

Crop rotation seems to help me.

What ground cover works good for tomatoes. What does a ground cover do to help tomatoes. What is a good fungicide for tomatoes. How do you feed tomatoes. I have always just planted them, tied them up and pinched off the suckers. I am interested in taking it to the next level with some of the suggestions above.

We use saw dust, don’t put it tight to the stem as it will restrict growth, as for water and fertilizer we use the drip pipe so the water goes right to the plant.

For a ground cover I use the 36 inch by 100 foot rolls of landscaper material, cut in half (18 inches wide) and lay out and pin down. I cut a slot and plant the plants in the slot. I do that for weed control around the plant and the row but also to keep dirt from splashing up on the plants and leaves when it rains. I use a standard fungicide and spray every 7-10 days about 5-6 times per season. Don't use much fungicide the first couple but as the plant grows one uses more. As to fertilizer, we tested 5 years ago and we were well balanced so all we do now is I put dig a small trench along the row when right before planting and covering. I use a 10-10-10 and sprinkle about 1/4 cup per plant and do that once. Our other nutrients comes from a covering of about 2 inches of composted sheep manure over the whole garden. This similar to what is done with first year corn with a lot of OM and N. A bit of starter to get the plant going and then when the soil warms up the soil organisms break down the OM and the plants really take off. I have never been much for pruning or snipping and that has worked well for me.

Bryce

I use the black fabric, and last year when I planted the seedlings I put a sheet of brown paper around the stem to stop the soil from splashing on the plant, it made no difference, I got the same leaf spot as always

If I could only grow one tomato it would be Cherokee Purple. I usually plant 20-40 plants and a dozen of them will be Cherokee Purple. Of those dozen I try to buy plants from diff places and spread the love around b/c some do better than others. Plant them with plenty of spacing so air can move in and around them. One full shovel length between plants in any direction. Keep them dry with air moving around them like that you wont have all the issues to correct. Have good soil with a good starter fertilizer, don't let them sit hot and wet, keep them clean, mulch them, prune them up off the ground and keep the centers of them cleaned up, use concrete wire cages... and you can't hardly beat a cherokee purple.

I agree, it's something you should do every season.

Yes rotation is a good, easy and economical.

Bryce