Tomato Blight
Posted by Fiona Nevile in Fruit | 150 comments
We have blight. When we were rushing out yesterday evening I spotted it on three tomato plants. Large blackish brownish splodges and a generally wilty look. It is unmistakeable. We had it five years ago and it devastated our tomato crop within days.
At the time we were creating a website for an expert on plant diseases. The fee was to be paid in whisky. Danny must have negotiated this deal.
The expert arrived with a rather good bottle of Isla whisky under his arm. He was immediately shepherded out to examine the tomatoes.
“Its blight. Just like potato blight. They’re the same family.”
It was hard to discuss his website. We were mourning the loss of a summer plucking sun warmed fruit from the plant and a long winter savouring our intense tomato sauce base. A good harvest makes enough sauce to last us through the winter until June.
We lost our entire crop that year. Now I grow tomatoes in at least two places. The blight has affected the plants at the front on a sunny south west facing wall. Usually the warmth of the wall nurtures the plants but warm and extended wet weather conditions are perfect for the development of tomato blight. I have hoiked out the plants and am hoping the blight spores will not have spread onto the other 12 plants. The blight affected the weakest plants, the others all look strong and healthy. If the wet weather continues for much longer I am afraid that they all will succumb.
The remaining plants could be treated with Bordeaux Mixture which was developed in France to treat fungal disease in vines. A lot of people spray their potatoes with this potion to protect against blight. It is a copper and lime mixture that is not environmentally friendly, so I am loathe to use it on our tomato plants.
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Found this site while googling to find out what was happening to my plants. I now know so commiserations to everyone: I know exactly how you feel as I too have lost my entire crop of tomatoes and need to go outside, once I’ve got over the shock, to dig them up and burn them.
Gutted does not even begin to describe how I feel 🙁
Hi all,
I’m watching from my landing window the smoke from my funeral pyre – the last of the tomatoes and potatoes are just being burned. It’s bad enough when all the time and effort is for nothing, but topped by that feeling of loss when you have no delicious produce to put on your table – that’s the killer!
Someone asked about spores in the greenhouse and next year – if anyone knows how to make it safe I’m another who would like to hear.
To fn: I love trees, but sycamores grow like weeds around here if left to germinate. We pulled literally thousands here in April/May. It took over a day to clear a plot by hand, then we had to go back two days later and do it again. No doubt it will be the same next year – something good to look forward to!
Sadley reading this list has bought a little comfort, I thought I was the only one to have suffered the dratted blight. I have just lost my 3rd lot of plants this year. The first 2 I planted from seed in the greenhouse I then directly into the earth in the greenhouse, they were going great and then what seemed like overnight were taken by blight. The 3rd round I decided not to put in the earth but used growbags and pots, and yes you guessed it I pulled the lot out yesterday – all blighted. How do you get rid of the spores??? Will the soil and greenhouse be contaminated for next year? My outside potatoes have so far survived (fingers crossed). My sympathies to everyone who has lost their veggies I like them feel robbed of my summer fruit and winter sauces.
My heart goes out to everyone with this vile problem! My friend and I are growing veg to sell to our fellow primary school parents (and hopefully eventually a local box veg delivery service).
We have just had to pull out and burn 110 tomato plants – 4 different varieties – devastated does not begin to describe it.
We thought we may be able to make green tomato chutney but like others, I left them in a dry box for a two days and they went black.
Am pleased to say that our aubergine plants and fruits are fine but are in greenhouses – our greenhouse peppers are ok, but the ones we have outdoors look like standards now as we think voles are eating all of the lower bits! I can only hope that the chillis make their tongues sore!! 🙂
Maybe we’ll all get a very late summer – I’m going to try starting some tomato plants from seed now and see if we get anything – will let you know how I get on.
Hi Chris
We have sycamores too, bad news. Luckily they are ours but we are in a conservation area and even lopping can be a palaver. If you lop without permission there can be a substantial fine (£20,000 for cutting down a tree without the rubber stamp sort of reaction!).
Sad to hear about your pots and toms. It is soul destroying after all the work and promise of tasty bounty. And somehow having to burn everything is the final straw.
We lost all of our potatoes and recovered a trug of tubers from 72™ of plants. Three quarters of our tomato plants are clinging on but the yield is poor, even on the healthiest plants.
Thanks so much for leaving a comment.
Hi Jim,
Thanks for dropping by.
It is so depressing to have to dig up and ditch potatoes and tomatoes in July.
I would leave your salvaged tomatoes for a couple of days to see what happens. There is a comment on this post, where someone left ˜healthy™ green toms from a blighted plant on the side for a couple of days. These turned black.
Personally, I would only use healthy tomatoes to make chutney. I don™t know the effects of blight on humans but perhaps someone out there has the facts.
Hi all. My partner and I have just dug out and destroyed our entire crop of spuds and tomatoes due to blight after a ‘little’ rainy spell! We managed to salvage a few kilos of green tomatoes which are a little scabby and patchy and were hoping to make them into chutney. Im just a little worried though as we are new to this. Does anyone know if blight is in any way harmful to humans and if I we put effort into making a load of chutney will we be wasting our time or worse, harming anyone?
Hi everyone, here’s another blighted person to add to the list! Planted first earlies, second earlies and main crop – all gone! and in a matter of under a week. Lush, healthy plants at beginning of week – disaster by Thursday. Am in the process of lifting and burning now. Tomatoes? Well, they got it too. Had 15 in greenhouse and 5 outdoors. Same story – healthy as anything on Thursday, suspicious on Friday – being removed and burned today. We opened up an area of our field this year to start a new veggie garden as our old one has been made useless by neighbour’s sycamore trees surrounding it (he won’t do anything about them – there are 11 in all and grow so quickly) and were looking forward to such good crops in our hard-worked patch where everything can breath …. such folly. Two rows of French climbing beans haven’t even had one flower on yet … goodness knows what happend to those, but runners doing fine and broad beans just going a bit brown but have had good crop. Next year? Let’s hope it is a bit dryer and a bit sunnier .. fingers crossed!
I haven’t tried growing those tomatoes myself, Guy. I definitely will try some blight resistant toms next year.
Perhaps someone out there has tried them?
I have had blight in most of the past years (but last year was fine). I just found an RHS site (www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles0803/tomato_blight.asp) that suggests Ferline, Legand and Fantasio as having good resistance. Has anyone had tried these?
Hi Emma,
Poor you, you picked the wettest summer since records began to start growing tomatoes.
At the end of a normal summer, I usually pick off all the tomatoes that are still green before I ditch the plants. These are kept on a sunny windowsill and eventually most of them ripen. We have eaten the last few just before Christmas!