Believe it or not, what you do with your tomato plants after they die can have a huge impact on the health of your garden soil – as well as the tomato plants and other vegetables you grow in the same space in the future.
Some tomato plants die back because of natural causes and “old age.” For example, determinate tomato plants are only made to produce fruit for a short period of time. After that, they start to slowly fade away until they die off.
Other plants start to quickly die back because of diseases like mildew, blight, or wilt. But whether it’s simply the end of the line for your tomatoes, or they begin to show signs of disease, swift action is vital for the health of the rest of the plants in your garden – as well as future crops.
So what do you do with tomato plants after they die? Should you just let them sit in your garden until all your crops are ready to be pulled? Do you leave them in your garden over winter until you are ready to get the space ready for springtime planting?
The answer is actually pretty simple, but it can make a huge difference for your future crops!
What To Do With Tomato Plants After They Die
Step 1 – Remove Plants ASAP!
The first step is to pull up and remove entire dying tomato plants as soon as possible. Tomato plants in general are highly susceptible to many different types of diseases. Weaker, dying plants are easy targets compared to healthy plants. So a quick removal is vital.
This is even true for determinate plants that are simply dying off naturally. The longer they stay in the ground, the more issues can develop. See our article: Determinate Vs Indeterminate Tomatoes – How To Know What To Grow!
This is especially important for plants that are already suffering from blight or other disease. For example, blight spores are capable of living in the soil for up to five years. The longer your dying plant stays in the ground, the more blight spores end up in the surrounding soil, affecting future crops.
Other diseases like verticillium wilt also produce spores that overwinter in the soil. As soon as a new tomato transplant gets in the ground the following year, those spores will enter the plant’s roots and the vicious cycle starts all over again.
Get Rid Of All Tomato Debris – What To Do With Tomato Plants After They Die
You also need to remove any stems, roots, leaves, and especially fruit that has fallen onto the soil. If you allow those materials to stay in the garden space, they can not only also spread diseases but can help overwinter multiple different kinds of pests and insects.
Dying, rotting fruit is a huge issue. There is a whole host of different pests and insects that will flock to your garden to enjoy these fruit.
Aphids, tomato hornworms, and tomato root nematodes are just a few examples. And while those pests are enjoying a meal, they are also laying their eggs to overwinter and plague next year’s garden.
Do Not Compost – Tomato Plants After The Die
One thing is for certain, tomato plants are not good for your compost pile! Adding cmost vegetable plants like green beans or peas is a great way to add nutrients and organic matter to your home compost pile. Simply chop them up and add the pieces to your bin. However, that isn’t the case with tomato plants.
Since tomato plants are such heavy carriers of diseases and pests, it’s best to skip the compost pile altogether. Most home compost piles just can’t produce enough heat to kill off the spores, pathogens, and other tomato diseases many plants contain.
In addition, avoid putting the actual tomatoes in the compost pile. The same reason applies. Home compost piles cannot reach high enough temperatures to kill off any disease that may be present. But even more, it also can’t kill off the seeds each fruit contains
When you use the compost in the future, you then introduce all of the disease and pathogens, as well as the voluntary seeds to the soil.
How To Properly Dispose Of Tomato Plants – What To Do With Tomato Plants After They Die
So how do you dispose of the dying tomato plants? There are actually a few great options. The first is to have a designated compost pile that you don’t use for plants in your garden or flowerbeds. Just make sure that this compost pile is nowhere near your vegetable garden. And, that you won’t be using the compost with vegetables, but when planting trees or flowers.
The next option is to trench and bury the plant materials. The key is to do this in a location that is far away from your garden so the plants don’t infect the surrounding soil.
Another option is to burn the plant material in a fire pit or other location. The heat of the fire will burn off and destroy any spores or pathogens that might be lingering in the dead tomato plant material. Just be sure to always follow local regulations regarding burn laws.
Lastly, you can always dispose of the plant materials in your trash. Some local communities also have commercial composting sites you can use. At these sites, the temperatures get hot enough to kill pathogens.
Recharging The Soil – What To Do With Tomato Plants After They Die
Now that your garden space is clear of any dead or dying tomato plants, it’s time to refresh and recharge the soil for the next growing season. The best way to do this is by planting a cover crop.
Cover crops can vary depending on your location and climate. However, the main goal is to prevent bare soil. This helps to reduce the amount of weed seeds, pests, and other issues from landing on any bare soil.
At the same time, cover crops help to prevent erosion, add organic material back to the soil, and improve the nutrients that tomato plants might have depleted from the soil. See, How To Plant A Cover Crop – Protect & Recharge Your Garden This Fall!
Here’s to getting those dying tomato plants out of your garden ASAP – and keeping your garden soil as healthy and disease-free as possible!
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