Topic: Outdoor tomatoes: Bush or cordon?

[emmy1978]

I've been told that tomatoes tend to get blight on the allotments

I've been told this too. In fact my nighbour said not to bother growing them there but to grow them at home. Too much trouble he says, watering etc, then they just die.
What do you all think? Is it every year or just every few that blight is a problem?

[Deb P]

A friend of mine puts chicken mesh horizontally over her raised bed, and grows her tomatoes through that. I've always used a cane tunnel, even though it means more work keeping them tied in, it makes picking easier.

[Barnowl]

I just grow them at home as it's easier to water them there, but blight avoidance may be a side benefit since (touch wood) blight is not something our plants have suffered from over the years.

[Trevor_D]

Blight does seem to be more of a problem at allotments than in gardens. Is is because they tend to be more open, so the disease can spread quickly? Or perhaps we just grow on a larger scale? Don't know, but I bet someone does.

You must spray with copper fungicide every two or three weeks from mid-July. And watch the humidity. (Metcheck will tell you.) If it gets above 75, then spray. I'm sure there'll be a thread on this in the summer (probably was last summer). And if it does strike, be totally ruthless about destroying affected plants and warn your neighbours to do the same.

I haven't had it every year, and even when I have I've still managed to harvest huge crops. You just need to be vigilant. (So perhaps lots of folks find it easier to be vigilant in their garden than at the allotment and that's why allotments are more prone?)

[Robert_Brenchley]

I do get it on the allotment, but it's always worth trying. Supposedly you can discourage it with plastic sheet stretched over the plants, but I haven't tried it.

[dandelion]

Blight does seem to be more of a problem at allotments than in gardens. Is is because they tend to be more open, so the disease can spread quickly? Or perhaps we just grow on a larger scale?

On our site one of the plotholders didn't bother removing his tomato plants when they gort struck by blight. He just left them in place all winter...

[cleo]

I`m fed up of tomato plants falling over on me so this year I`m getting serious!

75mm*75mm spikes in the ground,5ft posts into the spikes-wires trained across and 6ft canes tied into the wires.

I`ve done the same for my tall peas and mangetout with huge pea sticks I found in the grave grave yard tied in rather than canes-it took ages but looks wonderful-just hope things crop well :)

[Jeannine]

Keeping them covered helps a lot, it is the moisture on the leaves that  makes it so prevalent, if the leaves stay damp for 48 hours it can hit, keeping them dryer is the answer, this is why it hits in damp weather. On the coast can be worse because of mist or dew. If you water, don't wet the leaves. Grow short season ones that ripen before the later damp weather sets in . Xx Jeannine

[cleo]

On our site one of the plotholders didn't bother removing his tomato plants when they gort struck by blight. He just left them in place all winter...

The words `justifiable homicide` come to mind

[Robert_Brenchley]

Fortunately blight will only survive in living tissue. You don't have to worry about dead toms, just live spuds left in the ground.