My Tomatoes got shredded.

Spider mites are a real pain in the ass (but you know that already.
First you have to "Know thy enemy".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider_mite
As you can see spider mites don't live long, but they can reproduce like crazy.
Also mites can become immune to a treatment in one generation.
for example if you spray with Neem oil the mites that survive either didn't get sprayed or are naturally immune to the oil. Those are the ones that will reproduce meaning many will now be immune to Neem oil. If you continue spraying with Neem oil you end up with mites that aren't effected by it.
So right off the bat you want to have at least three different types of treatments that you use in rotation. Also most sprays break down in sunlight, so when you spray is just as important as what you spray. I rotate Neem Oil, Earth-tone insecticidal soap, and Spider mite killer.
Earth-tone Pesticides
Spider Mite Killer - Organic Treatment and Control - Growers Trust
Also healthy plants are less likely to be destroyed which in turn allows you to "control" the mite population instead of having to destroy it (which is virtually impossible). That's where a healthy soil and healthy relationship between the soil and plants come in.
To achieve a healthy relationship I use two different Fungi.
The first is I use as a root dip and the second is spread in the soil. Both use a symbiotic relationship with the plants.
MycoGrow
The Hypsizygus ulmarius Garden Patch

Something else you can try if possible is using predatory insects like Lady Bugs to control the mites.

Anyone ever try growing romaine lettuce from the bottom of the stalk waste? I know romaine can be grown from seed with hydroponics but this is straight tap water swapped out once per day.

The image below (left to right) is supposed to be 1, 2, & 3 days growth.

I'm going to try this, just need to get to the store & buy more romaine.

That's celery on the back/right, not sure how fast that grows with the same setup as romaine.

For spider mites I've always used insecticidal soap, which Thom mentioned. It acts mechanically so they don't become immune to it. It forms a film over the pores they use to breathe. It's also not a toxic product and probably degrades quickly enough.

From what I've read, Campari tomato seeds aren't available on the consumer market. Did you grow from seeds of camparis that you bought at the grocery store? If so, how did they turn out?

Plant marigolds around the tomatoes.

Steve

Some more thoughts:
Organic Ways to Get Rid of Spider Mites | Home Guides | SF Gate

and possibly:
http://www.spidermitekiller.com/how-...ladybug-works/

"Chrysanthemums are what pyrethrins are derived from, Correct?"

Correct.

Dan

Oh yes, that seems to be the norm. The same thing happened to us. Dunno what did it, but all the buds and flowers were eaten. So, now no tomatoes.

I don't know if Chrysanthemums repel the mites. I do know that with bed bugs - and probably the same for other bugs - the pyrethrin crystals break up the skin causing dehydration.

I found these folks to be very knowledgeable - a phone call is best - and a insect growth regulator(IGR) for mites is something you might want to look into (I'll leave it to you to seek more organic IGRs if they don't have em):

Insect Growth Regulator, Insect Growth Regulators, IGR's

The Borg. I have killed them with many things, some more successful. Trust me when I say I have experienced the worst of what Thom has mentioned concerning The Borg becoming immune to damn near everything. I have dealt with populations from indoor gardens that have had everything under the Sun thrown at them, multiple times and in unison for years. I know people with indoor gardens that suit up in a white suit with a respirator and hose down their rooms with chemicals several times a year.

The problem with things like Neem oil is that to be effective, you need to really coat your plants with them, including the undersides of the leaves where the stoma are, and you end up suffocating the plant, too.

Normal dish soap with water in a spray bottle and Listerene watered down a bit, too. Those two I got from a 25 year plant leasing greenhouse owner, but haven't personally tried them.

Other things to mention when dealing with The Borg - eggs and life cycles. Gotta get those eggs, too, which are on the underside of the leaves. I ma sure that wiki article talks about life cycle, etc.

One last treatment that used to be 100% effective on both The Borg and Powdery Mildew (aka The White Demon) was a mixture of a rootzone conditioner and a surfacant from a particular manufacturer. The company changed the recipe for both a few years ago and the effectiveness for PM dropped, but is still has good effect on mites and eggs, albeit reduced from the 100% it was a few years ago. Another tool for the arsenal, that actually has side benefits.

The manufacturer is Dutch Masters and the two products are their root zone conditioner, Zone, and their surficant, Saturator (their old surficant was called Penetrator, if you see a bottle of it anywhere). The surfacant at recommended mixing strength and Zone at about 10mL/gallon. Put in a spray bottle and coat the entire plant, especially the undersides of the leaves. Get a spray bottle where the nozzle rotates to spray up.

There is/was a chlorimide molecule in Zone that the surficant helped actually penetrate the leaf (where PM lives) to kill it, and the combination was toxic to mites and effectively destroyed the eggs, too. All with no adverse effects to the plant.

Another 'natural' spray is AzaMax from General Hydroponics. I've used it with some success.

Another one is Azatrol, which screws with the mites growth hormones and is an anti-feedant. This one is used as both a foilar spray and mixed into the watering solution.

Getting long, sorry. I can talk all day about gardening, but I'll wrap it up on some keys, in addition to the good stuff Thom threw out there:

- Eggs can hatch in three days, and the little buggers can be ready to get busy, if you know what I mean, at 5 days old. So, when you begin a treatment, you need to hit your plants with it every 2-3 days for several treatments, so as to catch all the little beestards in different lifestages. The eggs have a protective covering, so if you don't catch them in the first treatment, they hatch and start humpin' 5 days later.

- Got to get the undersides of the leaves. This is where the eggs are, as well as most of the mites.

- If you catch them early, you can selectively remove infested leaves.

- Lady Bugs eat mites. Not too good for prevention (no food, no ladybugs), but you can release them during heavy infestation to help out. You can buy bags of ladybugs.

- Obviously, you need to check daily and catch them early (though outdoors, you face constant threat of infestation), as the smaller the plant, the easier it is to treat the whole plant, which you need to do.

- Lot's 'o cussin' and swearin' and wishing them ill-will as you apply your chosen solution.

- Make sure to treat the underside of the leaves. That is their main abode.

- Assume every plant or cutting you bring home to your garden from another garden or nursery is infected and treat it with one of the above.

- I fully agree with Thom on having multiple weapons in yer arsenal that you roatate, mix and match with, etc.

I'll shut the hell up now ...

Couple more quick things. My personal experience with pyrethum is that it is not very effective and immunity is very easily gained. I have bombed the bejeezus out of sealed, indoor growrooms, to little avail.

On last thing that does not apply in an outdoor environment is CO2. You can up the ppm of the environment to toxic levels and suffocate them.

@Christopher- Wow,Man. You are an experienced combat veteran.
Love the Borg tag,too .
My enemy is a totally mutated bunch, thanks in part to me, and my neighbors assaults.
Not to mention that my backyard is literally a swamp.
Thanks for your info,stop by any time!( Especially when I post again next grow cycle. )