I'm having a tough time with blight too. Any tomatoes that set before the onset of the blight will be fine. Any that have black spots or look to be bruised, I'd chuck. Dispose of plants once the tomatoes have ripened (I put them in a burn pile we have in our backyard). Do not put the plants in the compost or till them under.

I'm just starting to develop the same problem. Between this and the powdery mildew that destroyed my squash plants, I'm blaming it on the crazy weather we're having this year. Of course, this is my first year gardening, so I'm just trying to blame it on anything other than myself so I don't get too discouraged to continue next year. :)

Peel: There are things beyond our control (weather, disease) so go easy on yourself. :)

I'm glad I've been lurking around here for a while. Seeing the similar problems other people are having and realizing they are in my zone area actually makes me feel more confident for next year.
Sorry to hijack the thread, Mel. :)

Peel, my Aunt is a master gardener and lives in CT. She's having a tough time with tomatoes and peppers this year. I think if a master gardener is having a tough time, just about everybody is. Like Greenhouser said, take it easy on yourself.

I don't know what killed my tomatoes, but I have a feeling it was blight judging from the descriptions I've read here. My 2 eggplant plants are doing fine, though. What can I safely plant next year in the raised bed that the blighted tomatoes were in? I don't think eggplants would be safe, because aren't they related to tomatoes? Peas? Beans? Help!!!

From all I've read, no, you don't want to plant your tomatoes in the same raised box next year. We're considering replacing the soil in our box or covering it in black plastic for awhile...to try and kill any kind of fungus. But I wouldn't plant tomatoes there next year.

Thanks to everyone else for their input.

Early blight is endemic in West Virgina. I use Gardens Alive product Soap Shield to slow down the onset, but I stop spraying in early July when my plants are already huge. After that, I don't worry about it. I still get a huge crop. I have a four year rotation for tomato/pepper family, and the early blight doesn't harm any other crops.

I also live in Massachusetts and have been having trouble with all of my tomato plants this year. At first I blamed it on the tobacco virus. Then, doing some research on septoria, I realized that was my problem. I tried to cut off as much as it as possible from the plants, but sadly three plants didn't make it. All of my plants still [are] managed [ing] to get some tomatoes (though not all vine ripened) and were all good to eat.

So, is this disease due to the crazy weather? Is the soil still good to grow DIFFERENT veggies in?

The soil is still fine for other veggies so long as they are not nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants.)