What I learned about sharing seeds...

Last year, in my attempt to become a frugal gardener by saving money on purchased seed (yet spending and exorbitant amount on soil amendments and other miscellaneous supplies), I requested seeds from Wintersown.org (http://www.wintersown.org/).  This site is pretty fantastic and full of educational resources on non-traditional ways of starting a variety of plants.  Essentially, you send them a SASE and within a few weeks, a magical and random small supply of seeds shows up on your doorstep.   These seeds come from sources such as other gardners who are willing to share extra seeds or actual store bought packages.

One variety I recieved was the Black Cherry tomato, which became one of my favorite tomatoes because even though its a cherry type, it tastes more like a sweet grape. I really can't stomach eating a ton of the normal red cherries, but these were quite different.

I planted them both this year and last, preparing both the same way but with different growing media (coconut coir last year, Epoma potting mix this year). Each container used was washed with a dilute bleach solution prior to planting.  For both years, the plants grew very well, however, I have noticed that about 2 months from sprouting, the leaves develop spots. They tend to look like a water spot initially then turn gray. I haven't positively identified it, and my photos, while pretty, haven't helped me.  Either way, the occurrence of these spots occasionally spreads to nearby plants. Both years, it starts with this variety, so it leads me to believe that it is seed borne.

Tomato Leaf Epidermis (Trichomes)

Tomato Stem Lesion

Tomato Leaf Epidermis (Trichomes)

Tomato Leaf Epidermal Lesion

At this time last year, I frantically threw out most of the plants I was growing but kept a few. I gave some away and they turned out to be fine. I did keep a Black Cherry variety for myself and towards the end of the season, the fruits themselves started to develop spots. The other plants, while afflicted with their own aliments, didn't seem to be affected. If these results are due to some type of bacteria or fungus, they most likely were carried on the seed I received for free.   

I am not blaming anyone at Wintersown, nor do I know their practices when they get seed from other people. Plus, I am growing some of the provided seed not in the intended methods they outline. So really, the only message that can be taken away from all this is some sort of seed treatment should be done on any seed (maybe not necessary if bought from a large operation) where the origin is not known (don't worry disease, once the plants are outdoors, the playing field is leveled).  

This year, I have been cropping the leaves (possibly making it worse), but I am pretty much going to see what happens.  My backyard is tiny, therefore, even though I practice "crop rotation" and instrument cleanliness as best as possible, the chances of stuff spreading is very high no matter what I do. I might take a year off from tomatoes all together next year (besides starting them) and find someone who will tend to them on their own property to let my land cool off a bit. Since the house I live in has been in the family, and I know that tomatoes were generally a crop grown yearly, it probably wouldn't hurt to take a year off despite my expansion to new areas.

Last year my tomatoes produced a decent yield, however, they all were effected by something, whether it was fungal, bacterial, or nutrient deficiency, I can't determine. It may be that because I did a pretty half-ass job of amending the soil, I didn't give them a chance to fend off the invasion of oportunistic organisms. Either way, I really am not as frustrated (just a little) in regards to this because I have at least learned something and hope to continue my plant studies year long. That way, I don't feel as if I only get one chance a year.

I have done a quick search and have felt that using a bleach bath or H202 bath are possiblities as well as a temperature bath, but I will have to do more research.