[tangojulie]

Has anyone tried this or seen any research? For the first time ever I had no blight on my tomatoes, after giving them the aspirin treatment. Will probably try the same on the potatoes next year but just wondering whether it's likely to do any good.

[madcat]

We did - and didnt suffer the first wave of blight that hit the site.  I dont think it is a total preventative, but I do think it bought us time. By the point we were starting to show the possibility that we had it, the foliage was mostly down and yellow, so off it came and there was no blight in the crop.   

I was thinking about trying it on tomatoes outdoors next year - I think you have convinced me to give it a go.

[AnneB]

I used aspirin on both outdoor tomatoes and potatoes this year.   Like madcat I don't think it is a complete preventative, but it did delay the arrival of blight.  All my spuds were OK.  The tomatoes only got blight in the last week whereas other plots on site succumbed a while back.

I too will definitely use again.

[tangojulie]

Thank you - seeing as it's cheap and easy I'll give it a go!

[arh]

Could you give the quantity/volume etc of this aspirin solution please. Also method of application etc. Thank you. arh.

[solway cropper]

How prevalent was blight this year? If all these so-called 'remedies' really worked somebody would be making a fortune out of them. I remember the one about spraying with milk to prevent blight. The barmy theory was that the calcium in milk made it alkaline and blight prefers acid conditions. Problem is fresh milk is acidic and would provide a perfect breeding ground for blight spores.

[madcat]

Going by the state of other people's potatoes and tomatoes, plus the number of blight watch warnings I have received - there has been at least the usual amount around and perhaps a bit more with the dampish August.

From James Wong's site :
Unbelievably, spraying a dilute solution of aspirin onto your tomato plants (we are talking half a soluble tablet per litre of water) is capable of causing their sugar content to soar one and a half times and boost their Vitamin C content 50%.
This treatment can even make your plants more resistant to cold, drought and (not that we'll ever need it in the UK) heat stress too. According to one trial this can even result in a 47% less incidence of late blight, the scourge of tomato growers  This works as aspirin is a close chemical copy of the plant stress hormone, salicylic acid, which turns on the genes that regulate their defence systems.  The more stress a plant 'thinks' it is under, the more sugars are redirected to the developing fruit in a bid to make them irresistable to passing animals. Plants do this to ensure their seeds have the maximum chance of being dispersed to save the next generation, but it conveniently makes for tastier salad too!
ADAPTED FROM  "RHS GROW FOR FLAVOUR" PUBLISHED BY MITCHELL BEAZLEY

Given how cheap it is and how little in the way of other options we have, it was worth a crack at least to delay onslaught.

The mix is half a soluble tablet per litre of water.

[arh]

Thank you Madcat fot that, I read the James Wong article, but managed to miss the bit about the quantity/litres, speed reading loses out again I guess,  .

[Dantheman]

Has anyone tried this or seen any research? For the first time ever I had no blight on my tomatoes, after giving them the aspirin treatment. Will probably try the same on the potatoes next year but just wondering whether it's likely to do any good.

I done exactly the same this year had great results no blight at all for me on my tom's.

[Gellideg]

As a retired farmer,and commercial potato grower,may I say that blight sprays are "systemic" which means the spray quickly moves into the plants completely.They are effective against CONTRACTING blight for 10days of Smiths period blight periods.So the article explaining how aspirin combats blight is quite plausible as it has a systemic trigger.Applied after first spell of nightime temps above 10C for 3 days or as the tops start to meet across the ridges should be very effective.I would suggest carrying on using the mix every 10 days to ward off the dreaded blight.Perhaps stopping colds and flu too!!   Regards John.

[tangojulie]

Now that's really helpful John, thanks

[lettice]

Interesting this Asprin talk.
Perhaps we are just lucky here, but not ever seen blight on my tomatoes.
As for potatoes, mine have always been healthy plants and just die down naturally same time per different variety each year.
The Sarpo Mira plants just stay green throughout the season, so have to end their growing end of September as need to harvest the potatoes.
Do wonder if people think they have blight sometimes when they do not.

One thing I have alwasy done though is bag up the dying tomato plants as always been told they are not good for the compost and the same for the potatoes as really do not want the potato fruits growing potatoes in there.