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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me again another good site to try http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/okgard/msg0521172224078.html have a look for okie dawns entry on may 4th she knows her stuff on blight
hi again hope you got the photos heres another site to try http://www.organicmattersmag.com
also for sterlising try Armillatox or citrox both are natural products heres another one for blight but dont know if its organic Bio Dithane 945.
chris have a look on bbc gardening thsy uesd a large heavy duty black wheely bin liner to grow there spuds i did mine in plastic boxes and some 12 inch flower tubs with good effect and you can move them round as well hope to have been some help ttfn (ta ta for now )
Hi Ian,
Bad luck getting tomato blight. Your soil is probably infected with the spores. If you have a decent period of freezing weather in Dublin this winter the spores will be killed by the frost.
I am still investigating soil sterilisation techniques. So can’t advise you on that, yet. Perhaps someone out there knows the answer? One of the comments above mentions that organic growers do use Bordeaux Mixture, in moderation. I have heard it is very effective on plants but don’t know how effective it is on soil.
At the risk of boring everyone, I am another “me too” with tomato blight. This is my first year gardening, so the advice here has been very helpful. I would like to try tomatoes again next year, and because I was late spotting the disease, I suspect that my soil is infected with the spores. How do I sterilise the soil ? I am now contmplating building a raised bed using uninfected soil. I’m in Dublin for those of you tracking the extent of this.
Hi Rosemary,
I’m sorry but the comment that you left on August 21st was treated as spam by my anti spam software and I have only just discovered it.
I am going to store my compost, hoping for a freezing winter – this kills the blight spores. If we have a mild one, I will sterilise the soil brfore spreading it in the garden.
Hi Peter,
Looking forward to receiving your photos. Toms often take quite a while to ripen on a windowsill.
I think Kate(uk) has answered your questions below.
Hi Kate,
I’ve had the same problem with my courgettes. Very disappointing. Thanks for dropping by. Hope the village show went well today.
Had similar problems with marrows/squashes/courgettes-I suspect it is weather related- too wet so as the blossom prepares to drop off it gets mouldy and rots instead of drying out and dropping, combine this with poor fertilisation as the insects haven’t been out in the rain and you get loads of flowers (as usual),followed small fruits,sometimes partially set, that rot when the blossom dies. I noticed that when we had a day or so of sunshine thereafter I had fruits setting properly.
hello again sorry about the cut and paste but glad you found the site helpful i’ve left me 3 toms in the green house gave them a right good pruning about 2 leaves per plant left and just keep getting rid of the odd infected fruit there still struggling on and producing fruit i’ve not used anything on them got one aubergine in there as well along with 2 peppers the aubergine is proudcing fruit but there not growing very fast have also put one tom from each plant on the window cill there still green been there for 4 days now any comments anybody fn can i send you pic of them you might be able to confirm blight ps the 3 out side are all doing well sun gold are starting to ripen thanks and good luck with your crops
Hi Chris,
Thanks for dropping by. I have heard that the tyre stack method is good for potatoes. Do hope that you have pots for Christmas. I’d love to hear how they work out.
Can’t give you a definitive answer on your marrows and courgettes. It has happened to me, this year, with courgettes and squash. Superb flowers and then they drop. I put it down to the weather. It is just too chilly and wet. Ditto the French beans. This summer has been a disaster for us vegetable wise except the salad stuff, Swiss Chard and runner beans. These are loving the rain. Another plus is that the cabbage white has not attacked the broccoli plants yet (presumably they can’t fly in the rain).
Thanks for dropping by.
Hi Jenny,
Sad to hear about your problems. Can’t help with the squash/courgette problem, I’m afraid. Same problems here and any treatment, if I knew of one, would be washed off instantly by the rain.
Interesting that diathane worked on most of your toms. Thanks for your tip on Big Boy. What a shame about your aubergines.
Thanks for leaving your location. I reckon our problems are pretty widespread in the UK.
Found blighty leaves on my toms this evening so it was out with the secateurs. Before the welcome home cup of tea. I am amazed that the replacement toms have lasted so long. Just hoping for some sun tomorrow.
Hi again
I also am having trouble with marrows/ squashes.
Have 5 plants of hasta la pasta squashes that have been covered in flowers for wks. Fruit gets to about an inch long and then drops off or rots. Any suggestions?
Saved most of my greenhouse tomatoes from the blight after spraying with dythane 90 3/4 times and some very harsh pruning! The worst affected plants were the Big Boy beef toms which seemed to have no resistence at all.
I lost all of my greenhouse aubergines over a few weeks so the dythane didnt help with these. I am in Warwickshire by the way and blight is widespread around here.