Tomato Blight

[Paul Narramore]

At a time when many of us are flooded, it seems almost petty to have a moan. I was greedy last year when I planted far too many tomatoes in a raised bed and subsequently lost the entire crop from blight. Crowding, a lack of thinning and overhead watering was presumably the cause.

This year I reduced the number of tomato plants and planted them further apart. I'm pretty disappointed to discover today signs of tomato blight on the lower leaves and stems. I've now trimmed all of the non-fruiting branches to allow more sunlight (!) and air into the centres of the plants.

Should I be doing anything else, such as a spray, for instance? Hopefully I haven't lost the crop for the second year and there are quite a few green tomatoes on there.

[digger]

I am not sure what can be done paul, there is a product called "dithane 945" but i am not sure if anyone would use it on edible crops or not and there are the traditional copper fungicides,but as with many other products i don't think the manufacturers can recommend it's use in the soil any longer. If it's any compensation at all you should know that everyone is in the same boat this year with too much moisture and humidity which is a fungal spores dream. I have lost my entire potatoe crop this year some rotted in the waterlogged ground and the others in gro sacks succumbed to blight, my tomatoes are heading in the same direction as yours are lots of big green ones and the stem and shoots of the lower plant looking very ill, the top most growth is okay for now, but if the plant does keel over i recommend taking off the green tomatoes and stick them in a dry drawer with a banana to ripen them. Obviously this season is going to be terrible for the showbench lots of exhibition growers are saying they have nothing worth showing but sometimes thats a rouse to give people false security .i know my cucumbers are the best crop ever theses conditions are just right for them and my onions in pots are romping away so if mine are ok for the showbench other exhibitors will have some good ones as well.

[sue1002]

Just a thought Paul, but did you plant the toms in the same place as last year? the blight spores might still be in the soil and it is recommended not to plant the same family in the same place the next year. It might be worth digging some up and transferring them into large pots to put in the greenhouse where they shouldn't be affected by all this rainfall.

Sorry to hear about your spuds digger, let's all hope this wet weather goes away.

[Paul Narramore]

No Sue, not in the same raised bed but certainly the one alongside. With the worst and heaviest recorded rainfall since records began in June, and with July going the same way, I think the only thing I did 'wrong' was failing to thin out the bottom growth before now. I shalln't use a spray just yet and will keep an eye on it to see if it subsides. Oh, and the removed branches are in the dustbin rather than the compost heap.

[Miranda]

Blight seems to be a huge problem this year and I know of a few people who have lost their entire crop. Hope yours survives, Paul!