[missmoneypenny]

Tomatoes are my passion and I am already experiencing anticipatory grief after last years dreadful crop. I知 considering getting a poly tunnel next year if this year痴 crop is also a washout, has anyone got one? Do they protect against blight? Thanks for any information.

[JayG]

No such thing as a 100% guaranteed solution, but growing tomatoes in a PT or GH considerably reduces the risk of the airborne blight spores landing on your crop.

Growing the relatively recent blight resistant varieties outdoors is another option of course.

[Plot 1 Problems]

My toms in my old polytunnel always dodged the blight plus they would crop a little earlier than the outdoor plants.

[jambop]

I generally grow my tomatoes outdoors but this year since I built a new poly tunnel I am going to try growing my salad tomatoes in it. I am just a bit concerned about the temperatures that they might be subjected to though. The weather is good for the next fortnight so today I am planting out my outdoor tomatoes 20 San Marzano have gone in so far. I am still going to grow some Marmande, Harzfeuer and Money maker outdoor to see how they do compared to those in the polytunnel.

[Potty Plotty Lotty]

It worked for me pretty well last year.  I gave up growing non blight resistant varieties on the plot years ago although I could just about get away with growing them at home on the patio in pots.

I got an amazing harvest from 10 cordon plants (5 varieties) in my 3x2m polytunnel with some bush varieties squeezed in the middle. I got a bit of blight towards the end of the season but the season is extended so you get them earlier and they ripen later into the season.

In addition to tomatoes it opens up peppers/aubergines, other warm climate vegetables and many other things beside.

I'm looking forward to this year. First tomato is in, the other ones are a bit behind but will go in soon. 

The advice is always to get as big a one as you can (and anchor them down very well). I'm already wondering if I can fit a second one in 

[Growster...]

I guess that anything which keeps the blight spores at bay is a good idea, even plonking the toms on the wall outside which is furthest from the prevailing wind.

GH/PT toms must fare better than those in the open, as you have a chance to nip the bad bits 'in the bud' more easier, but it'll take a lot of inspection, and regularly!

We had to do this in or GH several years ago, and finished up with just a stem and five trusses, but at least they survived. The area to the south-west of 'The Turrets' is open land, so we rely on this as it seems blight won't travel too far - but it just might...

[missmoneypenny]

Thanks everyone, it seems the consensus is it can help then. I find my ferline fare a little better in the open but last year was so awful I nearly have PTSD. It got to the point I was dreading going to the lottie and spotting more of those horrid grey brown patches on the stems and leaves.

[Rob the rake]

Without wanting to put a downer on things, indoor tomato growing doesn't guarantee immunity from blight. It went through one of my greenhouses like a forest fire some years ago.

 Interestingly, this page suggests a process called solarisation to eliminate the blight fungus on your plot, involving the laying down of clear plastic over a watered piece of ground during a hot spell. presumably the spores are activated by the heat and humidity, but die without any host plants to attack. Might be a bit of job to shrink wrap the whole garden, mind.

[mumofstig]

As blight spores usually arrive in wind and rain, I don't see how solarisation could work tbh, or that we could get a long enough period of hot dry weather (but that's another thing altogether  )
The year there was a bad case of 'blight' in my polytunnel, I finally worked out that it was Botrytis, on the stems, not blight 

[JayG]

Worth remembering that blight spores need very high humidity to germinate and infect tomato plants, so it's a good idea to avoid wetting the leaves when watering, and also to move (or remove) any which are touching the sides of the PT or GH and thereby trapping condensation.
Keeping the humidity low also makes it harder for botrytis to establish and spread.

Blight spores only remain viable for about an hour in hot, dry conditions, (much longer in humid conditions) so taking such precautions can make all the difference.