[Growster...]

Jay, I've just taken another three pounds from The Patch, where we were clobbered with some blight but it's not an entire fiasco, and the plants I grew from Crimson Crush seeds seem to be free from the dreaded disease.

I'm 'monitoring' these chaps as they may well be useful next year, but it's taken a lot of blighted failures very close to them, to realise that we're not out of the woods yet!

I've been taking the fruit when they're half-ripened, and washing them carefully at home, then drying them on the drainer, popping them in an ice cream tub and touch wood, they've been 99% OK, so that's my result.

I know most guys and gals here don't have the luxury of getting down to their plants as often as they'd wish, and we've given away several pounds to other chums who have just lost the lot.

It's a rotten disease.



Edited to fix italics

[isakkhull]

I have given up trying to fight it in the greenhouse.I have ripped out all my plants and was wondering what to do next.I grew my toms in the ground,do I have to dig all the soil out?I have been told so many different things to do,from digging down a foot to moving the greenhouse and burning the canes I have used.I had 4 different types of toms in ranging from monster hillbilles to little sweeties.

[AussieInFrance]

I know just how devastating it is...lost most of mine in June but just removed them and re-planted straight into the same site the following day. Now very pleased as the plants are laden with enormous yields. It seems to have been advantageous to have them cropping a little later as i missed most of the wet warm spells which are so conducive to blight.

Blight only survives on live plant tissue so it's safe to compost them, but for extra insurance i left them in the sun to die down for a few days before adding them to the compost bins. There is, understandably, a degree of nervousness about dealing with blight infected tomato plants. Having experienced a loss once, you can see why people would be going the extra mile to ensure it doesn't happen again. Research has shown us that many long-established gardening techniques to be unnecessary now, but we are creatures of habit, aren't we?

Next year....

[Growster...]

Aussie, that's very informative!

We take steps to grow several plants, (60 plus this year), but in various isolated areas either on The Patch, or at home.

My unscientific theory is, that if blight spores are in the breeze, they'll probably get some plants but not all, so we have fourteen plants in a sun-trap on an East wall, seven more a bit further away behind some shrubs and not in view of the first lot, but in the morning sun, thirteen in the greenhouse, six just outside the greenhouse(now gone), and eight in the garden at home, also gone. The others are all down at The Patch, where they battle with other blighters on other plots, but they're responding to some serious chopping where there are signs of the disease.

Again, my basic theory is that growing lots of plants means that if the disease strikes, then you have a chance of at least something, and although our number of toms seems way over the top, ten percent of sixty plants is a better return than ten percent of six.

Also, for what it's worth, and again very unscientific, if the wind is for the most part from the South West, then if the toms are on the East side, they should by rights be better protected, and this year, it seems to have worked so far!

[AussieInFrance]

Reliable insurance. And you're correct in that blight is wind borne and can cover significant distances. Given it's presence it's a wonder any of us get to pick any tomatoes.

I picked about 30kg of delectable toms this afternoon so it will be canning day tomorrow.

[Growster...]

Another thing I've noticed this year, is that when any large toms are on the turn, and still at risk from a blight attack, it doesn't hurt to pick them when they're almost green, but take them home and give them a good scrub in cold water.

I suppose this means that any latent spores will be washed away, but the toms do respond and ripen pretty damn quick, so again, a few more can be saved, even under blighty circumstances!

The blight on The Patch seems to have bitten deep, but not spread any more, and although there are several stems which are totally black in places, the fruit is doing fine, just as if they've pulled through the original attack!

Another thought came to mind yesterday, in that we grow Sungold, which are earlies, Shirley, which come along soon afterwards, and Marmande which take ages but are well on their way now. This means the season is stretched over both the periods when blight can attack, so again, we have to carry on spreading our bets and keeping up the good fight!

(I'll post the Crimson Crush bit later when I can confirm that it's definitely been OK - the jury's still out on that particular plant...)!

[jaydig]

My Crimson Crush plants are still growing away strongly after the initial blight attack, and have yielded 21lbs of toms so far, with loads still to follow on.  I'll keep an eye on them until the end of the season, but I think they're definitely on my list for next year's outdoor toms.

[Growster...]

My Crimson Crush plants are still growing away strongly after the initial blight attack, and have yielded 21lbs of toms so far, with loads still to follow on.  I'll keep an eye on them until the end of the season, but I think they're definitely on my list for next year's outdoor toms.

This is important, Jaydig, as I feel that the Crimson Crush chap has got what it takes to avoid some blight (so far), so I'm monitoring the little lad every day or so!

The toms it has are enormous and look just great, so we'll see!

I really want this whole post to record a session of beating blight whenever we can, and anyone who is devastated by the infestation can at least fight it all for some - or all of the stages, and get a crop.

A commercial tom grower said that all I needed to do was 'open all the doors and windows, and let the wind through', but there again, he had the assistance of special sprays etc, not just hope and a prayer like we have!

Even washing tom plants seems to work, so if the spores are prevalent, a hard quick hose down may even work, but again, that's unscientific.

The toms on The Patch are thriving as of this morning. Where there are black, ugly stems, the green bits seem to have just 'died', and the fruit is thriving, although still green. We're bringing the early-turning toms home to ripen in a plastic ice-cream box - there are four of these at the moment...

Fight it! It can be done!

[Aled]

Blight The next step:
Hello All
Like many of you I've had blight on my potatoes, however I cut the stems back, and harvested as best I could. Under the circumstances its been OK. Now I am thinking towards next year. Is there any suggestions that people can give me to try to ensure my soil is in the best condition so it can be to avoid blight next year? I have already dug out any potato tubers in the patch and disposed of them. Are there any additives out there we can use? Any advice appreciated.
Cheers
Aled

[New shoot]

Blight spores blow about in the wind, but they only live on live material.  If you dispose of all infected material this year, that is about the best you can do. 

My earlies dodged it and the main crop are Sarpo Mira, which are resistant to blight.  I've not dug any yet, but the top growth is fading fast now, so not long to wait.

Some of my outdoor toms look like they have got blight, but only on the fruit.  Its been happening for weeks, but I'm just picking the dodgy ones off and the rest (and the plants) are fine.  Other than that, the harvest from both greenhouse and outdoor toms has been great.

Funny old year for pests and diseases 

[Tenhens]

Reply 17  from AussieInFrance mentions that blighted plants are safe to compost , prior to logging on I gurgled tomato blight and an article from the Telegraph says not to.  Lost my outdoor plants to it and have just noticed the dreaded signs. 

That pesky law that gets you once in a while, I've just had some time off work and not a thing ,back to the grind stone  not enough time in the morning ( darker mornings)  and by the time I get home the light is starting to fade.

Interesting to read about asprin , not heard of before.  Is there any reason for concern bearing in mind that it thins the blood.  I have some Bordeaux Mixture.  Which to use, advice most welcome.

[Growster...]

Reply 17  from AussieInFrance mentions that blighted plants are safe to compost , prior to logging on I gurgled tomato blight and an article from the Telegraph says not to.  Lost my outdoor plants to it and have just noticed the dreaded signs. 

That pesky law that gets you once in a while, I've just had some time off work and not a thing ,back to the grind stone  not enough time in the morning ( darker mornings)  and by the time I get home the light is starting to fade.

Interesting to read about asprin , not heard of before.  Is there any reason for concern bearing in mind that it thins the blood.  I have some Bordeaux Mixture.  Which to use, advice most welcome.

I'd use both if you can get the Bordeaux now.

But they're preventative, not curative, so you have to apply the stuff before any blight is around.

I think Bordeaux is getting hard to find these days, but soluble aspirin is recognised - but not sanctioned 'scientifically' - as a remedy. As aspirin is a willow derivative, 'they' can hardly ban the use by independent gardeners!

Blight is also best treated by being ruthless with any stems or fruits spotted with the disease. You have to cut out everything as soon as you spot the symptoms, and if that means taking out a full plant with the signs, then do it to save the rest!

If the fruits are still OK, with absolutely no markings, then wash them thoroughly and dry them. They'll hopefully ripen themselves, and not necessarily need to be on a sunny window sill - we pop ours onto an old ice-cream container on the kitchen worktop and they do the business themselves!

[Growster...]

Just as an update, here are some pics of two particular tom plants on The Patch.

I grow them up an old children's climbing frame, and started with thirteen, but lost two Marmande to blight quite early on.

However, the plants from last year's Crimson Crush seed are here, and although they have the usual browning leaves on any older plants,  they're very close to the Marmande which all got a bit of blight, but seem to have pulled through without a scratch.

You can see the brown stems on the other plants, but not these chaps! The leaves are very leathery, rather like their relative tobacco leaves, but the toms have turned out very large, just under half a pound each, and taste pretty good.

But these two are different from another CC further back, and that did get blight, but it didn't really affect the fruit - and its leaves were more like a Shirley or a Marmande! I think the one on the right might have been touched, but as they were growing in all directions, I just left them to it, to see what would happen.

I'll definitely save some seed from these, as we chatted about this some time ago, and Mumofstig rightly mentioned that reversions don't always go as planned! Maybe this one has some built-in resistance...

[mumofstig]

It seems to me that whatever type of blight we had, it wasn't the very aggressive kind that we've had in previous years, that wiped out everything. 
Removing the worst plants and a few leaves off others, seems to have been enough to manage it on the plots this year.

[Growster...]

It seems to me that whatever type of blight we had, it wasn't the very aggressive kind that we've had in previous years, that wiped out everything. 
Removing the worst plants and a few leaves off others, seems to have been enough to manage it on the plots this year.

I think you're right, Mum.

The black stems in the pics are just rock hard, and not spreading any more (they even look as though they've died), but the fruit is just getting on with being - er - fruit!

We lost on average, about three tom fruits every couple of days this year, but that's not the same sort of escapade we had a few years back, when the whole blasted lot collapsed in hours!

Very odd...