[missmoneypenny]

I know it's controversial and not everyone thinks it s a good idea. The product is banned now I think but I had some left over. The recent damp, warmish weather is worrying me. Last year I lost 90% of my crop, I did spray but a lot too late.
I'll keep people posted about how it goes this year.

[pdblake]

Not sure you need to be spraying yet, but I don't think it's been banned yet. At least I bought some not long ago and I'm sure I've seen it for sale recently.

[snowdrops]

Sometimes they ban stuff for a reason-ie it is harmful & then it becomes illegal to use any you have stored. I'll take my chances without chemical intervention as that's why I grow my own.

[vanessa.xx]

I bought some last weekend and it was in all 3 garden centres I visited so don't think it's banned

[borderowl]

Can somebody please tell me if this is blight or whatever it is? Sorry I also put this in a previous thread but I can't find much online about this. Thanks Kev

[seaside]

It's not been banned, but I do think it is going to be removed from the organic usage list soon. Why after all these years, I have no idea. Science changes quicker than the wind, and then back again, usually under political and commercial lobbying, and Bordeaux mixture is a perfect example. I have always prided myself on organic growing apart from the odd slug pellet, and they're history in the next month once my 3 year old bottle runs out.

Bordeaux is effective on greenhouse tomatoes, there's no doubt, but like others have said, maybe a bit early to spray. Last resort reactive spraying is my method. Looking at the forecast, if we get through this weekend without a Smiffy, we'll be safe into July.

I'm changing my practice this year and I've gone for a dual running approach this year. Half my greenhouse tomatoes are in the border, and half are in pots on staging, ready to be redeployed if necessary. Having said that and having always grown my greenhouse tomatoes in the border, it has been interesting that my potted gardeners delight and tumbling toms high up on the staging this year are not suffering from the leaf condensation that allows the spores in while my border plants are peppered every morning.

Borderowl ... it is difficult to tell from a picture, but it does look a bit like the botrytis I had to manage last year. Iif it is one lone plant, and all the rest are fine, I would be hopeful and say it's not a blight. I would still carefully move it somewhere else though if I were worried.

[missmoneypenny]

Thanks for your opinions. Borderowl it looks like it could be blight but it s hard to say from the photo and it would be v early in the season. Usually you get ugly black patches on the stems first and then they rapidly spread to the leaves and to nearby plants. It happens in a few days and is devastating.

[GrannieAnnie]

When my tomatoes got blight, I'm pretty sure the leaves got it first then the stems.  But I could be wrong, I often am!!   

[fatcat1955]

Bordeaux mixture is toxic to livestock and fish. I think i would rather get blight on my crop's than use it.

[davejg]

As i understand it it was removed from sale this year but ok to use for another two years. The (more expensive) replacement also has copper in it so work out the reason for its removal on that basis.

[seaside]

Bordeaux mixture is toxic to livestock and fish. I think i would rather get blight on my crop's than use it.

That applies to mass application commercial operations over many years and they should keep their own house in order. That does not concern the small allotment holder in their greenhouse. I have sprayed my greenhouse tomatoes twice in my life. I very much doubt I have harmed a hair on an ant with that spray
 

Political comment removed by Admin.

[surbie100]

I posted this last year, but might be worth revisiting:

'Bordeaux Mixture itself has been revoked (i.e. not banned, but its uses re-defined), but it will available until February 2013. For more, see www.rhs.org.uk or www.pesticides.gov.uk (go to Databases Home, and look at 'Garden Pesticides’) and be warned, this is a complicated issue.

From RHS website
Bordeaux Mixture will be withdrawn from sale on 28 February 2013 but any person can use and store existing stocks until 28 February 2015.'

It's not in my local garden centres anymore, but it's still widely available on the internet.

Edit to add: This March 2013 fungicide advice http://www.rhs.org.uk/Media/PDFs/Advice/Fungicides lists it first, and says nothing about the revoking, so now I am just horribly confused. Has the ruling been delayed? 

[Yorkie]

It is very confusing, but if you look closely at the documents on the pesticides database, I *think* the situation is as follows:

There was a previous Approval (from 1999 and 2010) for the use of BM, which would have set out particular conditions under which BM could be used.

That was revoked in 2011, with effect from 28 Feb 13 for sale, and 28 Feb 15 for use.  So anything sold under that particular licence was governed by that previous Approval notice, and will be illegal to sell / use after those dates.

However, BM is not itself withdrawn because at the same time as that Revocation Notice was issued, a fresh Approval Notice was issued.  This expires 31 Dec 20 for sale, and 31 Dec 21 for use.

Therefore it is still legal to use BM in accordance with the replacement Approval Notice, which states it is only for use on apple, blackcurrant, celery, cherry, gooseberry, peach, plum, potato, tomato; and at a maximum concentration of 35 g of product per 1.5 litre water.

https://secure.pesticides.gov.uk/pestreg/getfullproduct.asp?productid=7915&pageno=1&origin=prodsearch

[shoozie]

Can somebody please tell me if this is blight or whatever it is? Sorry I also put this in a previous thread but I can't find much online about this. Thanks Kev

It's highly unlikely to have any form of blight in a greenhouse at this time of year up here.  It's more likely growing conditions in the greenhouse are encouraging some sort of fungal disease.  Botrytis, for example, causes similar damage to your  pic. 

[surbie100]

It is very confusing, but if you look closely at the documents on the pesticides database, I *think* the situation is as follows:

There was a previous Approval (from 1999 and 2010) for the use of BM, which would have set out particular conditions under which BM could be used.

That was revoked in 2011, with effect from 28 Feb 13 for sale, and 28 Feb 15 for use.  So anything sold under that particular licence was governed by that previous Approval notice, and will be illegal to sell / use after those dates.

However, BM is not itself withdrawn because at the same time as that Revocation Notice was issued, a fresh Approval Notice was issued.  This expires 31 Dec 20 for sale, and 31 Dec 21 for use.

Therefore it is still legal to use BM in accordance with the replacement Approval Notice, which states it is only for use on apple, blackcurrant, celery, cherry, gooseberry, peach, plum, potato, tomato; and at a maximum concentration of 35 g of product per 1.5 litre water.

https://secure.pesticides.gov.uk/pestreg/getfullproduct.asp?productid=7915&pageno=1&origin=prodsearch

Thanks Yorkie, that's much clearer. And I didn't need to stockpile either - yay!