Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: WelshBoa on July 26, 2011, 09:05
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Hi
I have been on holiday for a week so had to remove the polythene cover off my greenhouse frame and hope we had rain as had no-one to water them for me.
I have come back and noticed the following discolouration to some, but not all of the fruit.
Admittedly the lower leaves on most of the plants had discoloured in this way for some time but I had ignored this, but all the fruit was fine and green when I left.
Should I remove the tomatoes that have this discolouration? It may be something relatively harmless? Googling some diseases it looks a little like septoria leaf spot or could it be blight?
Just to note I only ever water at base of plant and feed twice a week on average. Plants have been under polythene covered frame from day 1 and this is first season.
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a54/WelshBoa/tomato3.jpg)
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a54/WelshBoa/tomato1.jpg)
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That's looking rather like blight.
I take it that you're in Wales from your user name. (Your location in your profile would be useful).
The have been some reported outbreaks in South Wales.
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Cut down all the tops of our potatoes because of what I am sure is blight.
Only ever grow 1st & 2nd earlies because we get it every year, as do others on our site.
It can be that bad some years that even toms grown in greenhouse get it.
We never compost any of the tops and remove them from site as soon as they are cut down.
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I usually pull off most of the old leaves which reduces disease and allows better airflow around the plants, and reduces the need to water so much. Also you can better see how the tomatoes are getting on. After all it's tomatoes you want, not leaves, so it won't hurt them.
I don't know if it is blight or not, but I often get leaves that have that sort of discolouration. Is there mould on the backs of the leaves?
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Thanks all for the messages. Yes am in Swansea in South Wales. My potatoes growing in sacks at other end of garden appear to be ok although foliage has now died back.
Will remove the dodgy looking fruit and just hope I get some decent tomatoes. First year I have grown in this garden but didnt appear to be anyone growing before that for quite some time as was a wilderness!
Whilst I have an audience - my first and second early potatoes (which were slightly late going in - is it safe to leave them in the sacks? Presumably they will still continue to grow slowly and I can dig some out as and when I need them?
The temptation of course for me is to empty all the sacks and see what I have got weight wise but guess they wont keep all that long in a warm kitchen.
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Provided you don't see the same problem as in your pix, and that the plant is still growing, you should be okay to leave the rest in their sacks. But if you see an increase in the discoloration, dig them up and eat them fast as affected potatoes won't store.
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OK have now had a closer look at the toms. Even though they are all in close proximity in greenhouse only one plant seems to have the affected fruit.
There is no mould on the underneath of any of the leaves. I have thought about removing some of the foliage but wondered if removing too many shoots would open up the main stalk to disease if shoots were removed apart from the ones you pinch out.
I have attached more photo's. Some of the fruits appear to have been bored into but this wouldnt explain the discolouration in anycase
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a54/WelshBoa/P1020264.jpg)
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a54/WelshBoa/P1020263.jpg)
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a54/WelshBoa/P1020262.jpg)
(http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a54/WelshBoa/P1020261.jpg)
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For a start I'd rip that whole plant out! and then keep a very close eye on the others.
You could spray with this (http://www.diyretailer.co.uk/solution-to-loss-of-dithane-cms-528)
which may protect the toms that look disease free at the moment.
Good luck
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The tomatoes don't look very nice, but maybe the slugs have found them attractive and made those holes.
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I have something very similar on my outdoor patio toms. The fruits have mostly been fine, excellent in fact, but one or two have rotten.
I have been spraying fortnightly. I just can't make my mind up if it's blight or not, assume it prob is and the spray is doing what it should.
The various varieties on my allotment however are blighted for sure, tell tale blacked marks on the stems and trusses and flowers falling off. One or two have set some fruit and i'm keeping a daily watch on those.
This is my first year growing toms outdoors on the allotment so I'm naturally dissappointed but the ones at home have been nothing short of terrific so far. I've also grown a mixture of grafted and non grafted. I have to say, whilst the grafted plants are generally 'stronger' looking, there is no noticeable increase in yield and so I think i'll revert back to the cheaper option all round next year.
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Well I purchased some of that spray and given them a treatment. I was hoping to have my veg remain totally organic, but not about to lose 6 or 8 plants worth of tomatoes.
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Good luck with that. The pics look pretty dire! :ohmy:
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I went out to see tomatoes today and they have a sort of very pale white spotting on them that rubs off with a wipe. Is this residue froim the spray I used do you know?
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Sounds very much like it.
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I have seen that discolouration on the leaves on my g'house toms in the past every year but fruits have been ok. Haven't seen it this year - after potting and after about 3 weeks, I fed weekly with Maxicrop general until the first trusses showed fruit - then switched to Maxicrop tom feed. Toms sure show signs of slug/snail damage but don't know about the dark discolouration.
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My tomatoes got this blight as well. Don't know if its an outbreak or anything because toms of all our neighbors on the plot are perfectly OK. I was so sad...had to pull most of the plants, only left 4 of 20 but I doubt there will be any results. We had quite wet week, about 5 days of rain but again - why mine got killed but other people ones didn't? My hubby says its because they might sprayed them with something and will get cancer in 10 years or liver disorder.
We didn't spray at all,we just killed all of them organically haha :D
Last year we had same problem but blight came in September and we managed to eat and preserve some of ripen ones.
I'm sad panda...I love toms. :blink:
My toms in back garden are OK. Weird, innit?