[Anton]

Dear Fellow Gardeners,

I have been growing my tomatoes on the allotment along a wall for several years now (they generally get blighted as they are outside but I manage to harvest a fair amount) so I reckon I ought to remove some of the soil to get rid of the diseases that must have built up there. First question how deep should I dig down to replace with a fresh coating of compost on top. Second question I have a trench full of vegetable matter waiting to receive my runner beans could I put the "tomato" soil on top of the trench without the risk of contaminating the beans.

A third question, if you will bear with me. I have a couple of rolls of fleece left over from last year. Any idea how I could make tomato hoods with the fleece?

Thanks in advance.

Anton

[snowdrops]

3rd question first, I would fasten fleece to a baton of wood, then attach to the wall & drop it down over the tomatoes if needed, weight it down with a 2nd baton of wood.
2nd ? Yes it will be fine to put soil for beans they are not related & don't suffer same diseases.
1st ? I would think dig out at least a foot of soil if as you say they have been grown for quite a few years I think that is the same for greenhouse borders but stand to be corrected if someone knows otherwise, & I'm sure they will

[Anton]

Thanks for the answer, snowdrop. They only problem with attaching fleece to the wall is it's the neighbour's wall and they would be a bit miffed if I started banging things into it. I usually position my plants about half a metre from the wall but the wall does reflect the heat nicely back, after a hot day.

Anton

[snowdrops]

Hmm, how about 2 fence posts with a baton top like a goal post with fleece attached to baton, no need for posts to be concreted in could use treated round posts with spikes, that's what I used for my munty frame last year, think there are pics on my diary thread of them.

[Headgardener22]

In response to your first question - what makes you think that diseases has built up in the soil - other than "it must have done because I haven't rotated my crops". Have you had poor performance or diseases other than blight?

If you want to remove soil, one way I've seen it suggested is just to dig out a largeish hole where you plant the tomatoes rather than digging out the whole area.

As regards the "hood", it depends how big your fleece is but what about just leaning some 2x1 against the wall and stapling the fleece to it?

[Anton]

Thanks once again for your answers. No, head gardener, no problems with the tomatoes apart from blight. Excuse my ignorance but what is 2 x1?

Regards,

Anton

[Yorkie]

It's wood with the dimensions of 2" x 1" in cross-section 

[rowan57]

Blight only survives on live plant material such as left over potatoes etc. If you don't have that, you have nothing to fear in the way of blight from your soil, just from the air, and its trickier to clean.

[Annen]

I did this with a board of plywood down the back and folded the fleece over it, or over a wire strung across above the plants.

[Headgardener22]

Thanks once again for your answers. No, head gardener, no problems with the tomatoes apart from blight. Excuse my ignorance but what is 2 x1?

Regards,

Anton

Sorry Anton, didn't see your location as Belgium. Metric measurements 2.5 x 5 cm ...