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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I have enjoyed this little Blight support group. Misery likes company.
Just over half of my salvaged green tomatoes went brown and scabby within a couple of days. None of the others showed signs and seemed fine after a week so I’ve made them into chutney today and bulked them out with some shop bought ones. Not what I had planned but at least I will eat some of my own tomatoes this year!
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Hi Steve,
I think that you are right. The moisture from the spray would have not evaporated from the plants. The perfect environment for blight to get a grip.
Bad luck though.
Hi Penny,
I am going to try some blight resistant varieties next year too. The problem is that I really like eating Gardener’s Delight and Sungold.
We are lucky as we have 13 plants still clinging on (we lost half our crop when I could still buy replacement plants from the nursery garden). We have 2 plants that we grew from seed. None of the new plants are blight resistant varieties.
Hi Catrin,
Don’t give up.
This has been the wettest summer since records began. It is devastating when crops die so quickly, it almost seems a personal affront.
I am going to research containing blight more deeply as I want to be confident that next year I will not be challenged by blight again.
Hi Jan,
Poor you, especially having made such succulent beds in your greenhouse.
It is bizarre but I also find it reassuring that so many people have the same problems. It’s so easy to blame yourself which is ridiculous.
Hi Tina,
What bad luck after all that effort.
I don’t know about the reusing the compost. Generally I stack our grow bags until the spring and then dig the compost into the kitchen garden. This year, I’ll do the same but unless we have a cold winter, I will not spread the compost from infected plants as the spores live in the soil and will still be around.
Hi, last year my friend gave me 2 tomato plants,they did so well i saved hundreds of seeds over the winter, tended 80 seedling on various window sills and managed to plant out about 30 plants, they all thrived, bushey with vines of flowers until last week. BLIGHT now i just have four plants on the patio. Luckily i planted in differtn areas and containers as an experiment. As said previously it is oddly reasurring as this is my first attempt at ‘growing’ and i was doing so well. I have removed all dead and dying plants and i am left with a variety of compost and grow bags – do i have to get rid of all the compost or can the soil be used in the general garden? Will the spores be around next year if we dont have a freezing winter?
Thanks for any advice
I’ve been growing veg for 30 years and this is the first time I’ve ever had blight. A week ago the potatoes fell over and today I’ve hoicked out all the tomatoes as well – outdoor and indoor. In spring we moved the greenhouse to a fresh patch and dug in masses of rotted horse manure and made it all clean and lovely – and a very promising-looking crop gets destroyed. Absolutely heart-breaking. It’s oddly reassuring to read about everyone else having the same problem.
Just been checking the tomato sideshoots that I’d pinched out and grown on earlier this year – blighted ! The greenhouse looks weird – just a few tomato stems (haveing stripped off all foliage) with fruit dangling hopefully but each day I have to take off more blighted toms! And, now it seems to have spread to the melons – they are not blackened just wilted (both galia and watermelons) – about half the crop lost so far. Thinking of giving up this gardening lark.
Just been reading through all the comments and realise it’s not just me with blight on my tomatoes. I’m so sad as this is my first year growing tomatoes and I was so looking forward to getting my teeth into all those delicious looking tomatoes until… B L I G H T ! I won’t give up; I’ll have another go next year but will definitely be trying one of the RHS recommended blight resistant varieties.
As a novice growing tomatos the last two years which were quite hot I sprayed the plants profusely as with the cucumbers .I did the same this year, too much moisture and cool temperatures I think brought on the blight.
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for leaving a comment.
I think most people have been shocked to see how quickly blight kills tomatoes and potatoes. We lost most of our tomato plants to blight this year, as this was a good six weeks ago I was able to replace them with commercially grown plants which have not been touched by blight, yet.
All our potatoes went in a matter of days, about a month ago. They potato loss was so disheartening that I have only just dug over the bed.
It has been a bit of a comfort knowing I am not the only one who has been affected by blight on our Tomatoes and Potatoes but I still feel very upset. What makes it worse is that I gave lots of plants away to friends and they are picking Tomatoes.
Hi Anna,
Your experience must have been devastating.
People seem to think that we are going to have a hot September so I hope that you get some tomatoes.
Hi Sue,
Top Marks for persistence. Bad luck losing everything for the third time. Frosty weather kills the spores. I am trying to find a way of treating the soil organically, without success so far.
Hi Chris,
You have my sympathy about your tomatoes and sycamores. We have a problem with sycamores self seeding in the garden here too.
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for leaving a comment. Tomato (like potato) blight kills a crop so quickly. It is dreadful to lose a crop that you have tended for months.