Early Blight vs. Septoria Leaf Spot

After more reading, more inspecting, and more thinking I started to have a deep suspicion that my tomatoes had been misdiagnosed. The spots seemed too small and too numerous to be blight. I saw multiple articles that discussed two different diseases, both common and commonly mistaken for each other. Maybe my plants had Septoria Leaf Spot rather than blight.

I took some pictures of infected leaves and posted them on the forums of http://www.yougrowgirl.com/ (only the best website ever!) Sure enough, it is Septoria Leaf Spot! The treatment for the disease is the same as early blight: copper. Since the copper/sulfur dust that I had previously tried didn't work it was suggested that I try liquid copper instead. I bought some yesterday and sprayed.

Let's hope the copper works and I end up with some healthy tomatoes!

Plants In- Trouble Begins

I put my plants into the garden bed last week. These photos were taken about two days after I had planted everything. Tomatoes and peppers are on the left; the plants on the right are onions. I also planted corn and spinach seeds on the right.

Since the photo has been taken I have added basil and more peppers. Sadly, my tomato plants are now dying. I've barely had them! It started with one. I thought maybe the leaves had gotten a little sunburnt. Next thing I know two plants have it. So I went online searching. It appears that my tomatoes have early blight.

I went and got some copper/sulfur dust, it didn't seem to help. I'm going to have to pull the first one that got infected, which already has a little tomato on it. The second one that became infected isn't too bad, yet. The disease still continues to move up the plant, regardless of the dust. A third plant has begun to show some signs.

Below is the first infected, before it started to die, now it only has the top three leaf branches and the fruit. It is a red pear tomato. I think I might replace it with some tomatillo plants.

Trip to the Nursery

I went to the nursery and bought some plants. I love nurseries and could easily spend all day in one (and practically did!) When I was younger I stayed with my grandmother during the summer and she would take me to the nursery, it was great.

I think that I came home with a nice selection of plants. There were so many beautiful plants there, I had to refrian myself from buying too many.

What I got:
1 Dill
1 German Chamomile
2 Sequiona Strawberries
1 Sweet Baby Girl Tomato
1 Juliet Tomato
6-pack Patio Tomatoes
1 Nasturtium "Whirlybird Mahogany"
1 Creeping Thyme
1 Meyer Lemon Tree
1 Asparagus Fern (Houseplant. He was in the clearance area and in desperate need of a new pot)

Working The Soil

Last week I tilled my clay. I tried to work it with just a shovel, but it ended up being too much work so I rented a small rototiller for a few hours and went at it! After I got the clay worked and broken up into something more managable I mixed in some humus/compost and aged manure. I am happy to say that I feel comfortable referring to the earth in my garden as soil now, rather than clay.

The only problem is that I have big clumps that don't want to break up. I made sure to work the clay when it wasn't wet, but still ended up with the clumps. There isn't a ton, but it is a little annoying. Some have hardened while other clumps are squishy. How do I get rid of these clumps? I broke up some hard ones and tossed ones that were hard as rock to the side.

Also, there is a very large population of pillbugs in my yard. I know they normally eat decaying matter, like compost and old leaves. However, the ones in my yard are munching on the weeds that are very much alive. Is this because there isn't enough decaying matter for them? Will they decide to snack on my garden? Should I feed them?
I made myself laugh with that last question, it sounds so strange!

What I Have To Work With

See that square of disrupted earth in the corner? That's the start of my garden. It's not much, yet. I took this photo from my bedroom window this evening. I thought that a photo from a high point would give a good view of everything, plus I was sick and didn't want to go outside.

The soil here is clay. Terrible, hard, sticky clay. There was a small top layer, about 1/3" deep, of decaying leaves, but otherwise all clay. This week I plan to get some compost and manure for it. Someone said I'm suppose to dig out the clay and replace it with bedding soil. However, I have no plans to do that. I believe in nourishing the soil already present rather than carting in some from elsewhere.
The plot currently measures 10'x6'. I'm not sure if it is large enough. I plan to grow squash and watermelon, which I know takes up a lot of space. I was thinking I could plant the squash and melon at the edge of the plot and let it grow out of the side. However, I heard about the "three sisters" companionship planting and am interested in trying that out. If I do that I think that I need to expand my plot. If I decide to go this route I'm suppose to make a mound. To do this do I just dig up soil into a pile? What about the hole that will be left behind?

I have no clue what I am doing. I've been reading about good soil and fertilizing, but there is so much information it feels a little overwhelming. It almost makes me want to crawl back into my comfort zone and stick to container gardening.