[Cliffsta]

Hi All,
Over the course of the last few weeks of late summer and early autumn,

both our tomato plants and one or two potato plants seem to be

suffering from the same symptom. There is this large brown withering on

leaves. Its very hard to tell the disease as there is no obvious fungal

build up or spotting. It looks just like they haven't been watered and

the leaves are withering. Without jumping to conclusions - Is this a

disease such as late blight?

The plants are outdoors in a patch, the weather has been mostly

temperate and not too much rain - so growing conditions should be

ideal. There is a load of green fruit on the tomato plant - Just the

leaves are all slowly decaying.

Is this curable and how?

Photos here:
Edit by Aunty: Please post pictures rather than a link to another site.

[Headgardener22]

Sounds like blight to me.

Are the tomatoes going brown and mucky?

Suggest you cut down the potatoes and get rid of the tops (don't compost them). You should also think about digging up the roots before they get infected. Once they're up, you'll need to keep an eye on them because they will rot in store.

I harvested my spuds a couple of weeks ago and about 10 of them (out of 100lbs)  have rotted since then. I keep them in the green boxes you can get from the supermarket so that they're easy to inspect.

I don't grow tomatoes at the allotment any more, always get blight.

[Growster...]

Sorry to say that Headgardener is absolutely right, Cliff, which is a sad story!

Blight's been particularly bad this year, and most areas in the country have been affected as well.

Do as he says, and keep fingers crossed as well. If the toms are still green and un-affected as yet, I suggest making some green tomato chutney as soon as possible, because they'll follow on into rot pretty soon.

Sorry to be the bringer of bad news on your first post, but if you want to stay the course on this site, there are so many people ready to help and give advice, you'll never really want to leave!

[JayG]

My outdoor Red Alert bushes are now all but dead having shown the first signs of blight on the stems and leaves a couple of weeks ago.
I've managed to keep what's now left of them alive long enough (drastic surgery of affected parts) to get most of the crop to the stage where they can be (and are) ripening indoors.

They need to be of reasonable size for the variety and preferably showing signs of yellow rather than still being dark green, and need watching very carefully in case the blight has already got inside any of them.

So don't despair entirely (yet!) - I expect to ripen at least 90% of the crop, although overall the crop will of course be reduced by the plant's productive life having been cut short.

[sunshineband]

Yes I have managed to keep my outdoor toms going through surgery too. We have a few trusses ripening on the kitchen windowsill, with large fruit sitting in the fruit bowl amongst the apples.

Have almost all of them ripe now and so will embark on the next lot of sauce -- eaten all the efirst lot without storing any 

Comment on composting blighted foliage -- without live tomato material the spores die out I thought

[gavinjconway]

I'v cut the top off one of my outside toms 4 times now following the blight patches... today I cut the whole stem with a truss off way below the new crop of blight and left the other stem... hope it survives as it has a good truss of toms on it..

[Growster...]

I'v cut the top off one of my outside toms 4 times now following the blight patches... today I cut the whole stem with a truss off way below the new crop of blight and left the other stem... hope it survives as it has a good truss of toms on it..

It's got like that, hasn't it Gavin!

I'm in the GH every day, peering at every tiny brown mark, and having to take out individual leaves even...

Planning for next year is going to be difficult, as there will be so many areas where we had blight, I'm not sure where they're all going to go!

[Yorkie]

Planning for next year is going to be difficult, as there will be so many areas where we had blight, I'm not sure where they're all going to go!

So long as you remove the plant tissue / volunteer spuds, and rotate, you will be fine.

[mumofstig]

So long as you remove the plant tissue....you will be fine.

exactly what Monty said on GW on Friday 

[sunshineband]

So long as you remove the plant tissue....you will be fine.

exactly what Monty said on GW on Friday 

Glad that hasn't changed at least 

[Yorkie]

He did say to burn it all, though, by way of disposal.

[gavinjconway]

Seems like we all watched Monty    I did like his comment about growing the toms in the same soil in the GH for a few years without any trouble - in my new GH at the plot I grow in the floor as well.. Ill make sure any blighted pieces get burned at dawn 

[Growster...]

It's got to be a burn hasn't it!

I tried to keep the toms in a place where blight from others might not strike, but it didn't work here!

Paaah!

Never mind, next year will be different won't it!

Onwards and upwards - we had our first parsnip today, it weighed well over a pound and a half!