Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Robert_Brenchley on July 23, 2009, 20:32:26
-
I've got it in my spuds. We haven't had a Smith period for ages, though we've had quite a lot of single days when the criteria have been met. There's no reported outbreak closer than Wolverhampton, and I'm convinced this has come from volunteers, probably on the site. I can see I'm going to be trying to convince everyone to be ruthless with them in future. I'll still get a crop, but it's going to destroy my toms, yet again, before they have a chance to do anything.
-
Terribly sorry to hear this :(
-
Very sorry to hear this robert!!
(yes, blight DOES come from volunteers, it can't over-winter in soil alone) ;)
-
Very sorry to hear this robert!!
(yes, blight DOES come from volunteers, it can't over-winter in soil alone) ;)
It can overwinter on some weeds of the Solanaceae family. However volunteers are a more likely source.
What I don't get is why the blight doesn't cause the volunteer tubers to rot away.
-
What I don't get is why the blight doesn't cause the volunteer tubers to rot away.
They may not be infected. It is easy to blame little spuds but it seems that only the UK establishment holds on to the line that blight does not survive in the soil. Just maybe it does.
-
What I don't get is why the blight doesn't cause the volunteer tubers to rot away.
They may not be infected. It is easy to blame little spuds but it seems that only the UK establishment holds on to the line that blight does not survive in the soil. Just maybe it does.
So are you suggesting that the volunteer picks up blight on its way to the surface, then allows it to become airborne from the emerging plant?
I've never heard it suggested that blight is capable of overwintering in the soil, but I am always happy to be corrected.
-
What I don't get is why the blight doesn't cause the volunteer tubers to rot away.
They may not be infected. It is easy to blame little spuds but it seems that only the UK establishment holds on to the line that blight does not survive in the soil. Just maybe it does.
to quote your often used phrase
where is your evidence?
all the current evidence suggests / proves it can not live in the soil overwinter without plant material ;)
-
Will a copper spray prevent it from traveling to our tomatoes?
-
All my toms got blight and had to be destroyed this week :-\
Got my peppers too but so far chillie's and aubergines seem ok.
Still got one italian tom plant in the porch and a basket with tumbling toms in so all is not lost yet ;D
-
Will a copper spray prevent it from traveling to our tomatoes?
it'll certainly help ;)
-
All my toms got blight and had to be destroyed this week :-\
Got my peppers too but so far chillie's and aubergines seem ok.
Still got one italian tom plant in the porch and a basket with tumbling toms in so all is not lost yet ;D
I brought this up previously, but I think it needs addressing because it's important we gardeners know what we are dealing with and how to react. To my knowledge peppers cannot get blight, Phytophthora infestans. I think you may have been dealing with an entirely different disease or more than one disease simultaneously.
-
Sorry to hear about your potatoes. You may be able to save your tomatoes. I did last year, but it did mean being very vigilant and sacrificing my organic principles. LAst year when the potatoes got blight I cut all the stems and leaves off the infected potatoes and burnt them or put them in the dustbin. I was lucky, as the tubers were still ok. I lost all my tomatoes in 2007 so I was determined the same wouldn't happen in 2008. First, I went over every single tomato plant, and where a leaf looked infected I cut off the whole branch and burnt / dustbinned it. I made sure the plants were well fed, and sprayed every 10 days with Dithane. (I had already tried copper in 2007 but found it to be only limited in its effectiveness as the blight was very bad.) I carried on inspecting the plants at least every other day, cutting off any leaves that showed any signs of blight. I also pinched out the tops of my plants a bit earlier, some after 4 trusses had set, but the later plants after only 3 trusses had set to encourage the tomatoes to ripen earlier. I also had more success with cherry tomatoes, and have given up trying to grow the beef steaks. On plots all around mine the tomatoes were dying, but mine remained healthy for long enough to get a reasonable crop. (not as good as 2006, but a lot better than 2007!)
HTH
KittyKatt
-
I think you may have been dealing with an entirely different disease or more than one disease simultaneously.
MidnightVelvet, firstly I'm very sorry to hear you've already lost your tomatoes.
I agree that you may have a misdiagnosis because, before we got the allotment, I started gardening at home by growing chillies then tomatoes as well and have done so ever since; so I've had some years of growing them alongside one another. I have often had tomatoes affected by blight but the chillies and sweet peppers next to them were never affected. do you have any photos of the affected plants?
I think you may be the first in the forum to report tomato blight this year. What bad luck.
PS If you go for leaf etc removal, best to disinfect the blade between each cut.
-
My toms have got it now, and I walked round the site this morning and verified its presence on at least two plots at the far end. I'm not going to use dithane, so I'll probably give up the idea of growing outdoor toms and look at putting up a polytunnel for next year. A neighbour of mine built one very cheaply, and another neighbour has one with a roof and no sides, which would be ideal for early toms. There are obvious possibilities if I give it some thought.
-
two plants binned on Monday. Another inspection today when it stops raining. I have already sprayed wth Dithane once
-
Yep, looks like we have it here in Bedford. Devasted about 40 tom plants :(
sorry to hear some of you have it as well!
-
Got it in the greenhouse. Devastatingly swift aswell.
-
After having a drought we've now had lots of rain and warm humidity and it looks like some of mine have blight, especially the Brandywine toms. They were all grown from seed but perhaps the wind brought it from the neighbors' toms.
But I'm not going down without a fight and have severely pruned and sprayed with copper and seedweed.
-
I tried tomatoes at home this year to see if it made any difference (last two years got none on the allotment because of blight). Sadly it doesnt - in fact the tomatoes have got it where my allotment potatoes havent (yet).
Ho-hum!
-
I would be interested in knowing what varieties have been affected by blight. I am beginning to wonder if some of the newer varieties are more susceptible than the older varieties or vice-versa
-
After having a drought we've now had lots of rain and warm humidity and it looks like some of mine have blight, especially the Brandywine toms. They were all grown from seed but perhaps the wind brought it from the neighbors' toms.
But I'm not going down without a fight and have severely pruned and sprayed with copper and seedweed.
That's supposed to be "copper and seaweed" :-\
An article about the blight said that the variety doesn't matter- it can infect any tom. But then it went on to say that some think the cherry type tom is less likely to be infected, but then they are earlier and so might be harvested before the late blight rears its ugly head.
It would be interesting to take a poll about which varieties A4Aers say have been infected.
-
Charlotte, Duke of York, Arran Pilot and, to a lesser extent, PFA. Cara, which is said to be partly resistant, seems to be holding out so far. I lost much of the crop to blight two years ago though, so don't hold out too many hopes. Some of my neighbours have given up trying to grow maincrops, and I'm likely to follow suit.
-
:) in 2007 my plot like many others on this forum was flooded, my potatoes and toms (both outside and in the greenhouses) were devastated by blight.
I was not prepared to bin all my once lovely toms without trying to save them.
I took all the infected toms and leaves off, and waited and they grew out of it.
I mainly grow heritage varieties which to be honest when they haven't got blight grow like crazy anyway and I found even with blight they just wouldn't stop growing!.. and I did get alot of toms that year(Jap Black Truffle did very well)
The pots I grew that year were Nicola and I dived for them wearing my marigold gloves in flood conditions and they were perfect! I grow them every year as I know they seem to survive blight.. touch wood :)
I commiserate with everyone who has blight at the moment but would say don't be too hasty, you may be able to save some of your plants. / shades x
-
Lots of late potato blight on my allotment. It's bad, and it's killing the tomatoes too. I have a row of main crop called spirit which are virtually unaffected.
-
I've just cut all the potatoes down to ground level; it looks as though there's a decent crop under there so all's not lost. I've got rid of the tomatoes, which had early signs of the disease, and I'll have to look for ways to grow the under cover in future.
Recently one poster made an alarming suggestion that blight survives in the soil. Spores cannot do so. However, we now have two strains within the UK, and where both are present in a single infection, it's possible for sexual reproduction to occur, leading to the production of oocytes. These can overwinter in soil. However, so far, it seems to happen rarely or not at all in the UK. So don't panic!
-
I suspected blight would come soon given the weather of late so I sprayed my toms last week. Since then we've had torrential rain, should I spray again now although the instructions say 10 days?
-
I should do it as it will wash off. I've been avoiding it as I don't want my soil loaded with copper. I think this can possibly be tackled at the source, and given that many plotholders have little or no understanding of blight, I'm wondering what an awareness campaign on the site might achieve.
-
I suspected blight would come soon given the weather of late so I sprayed my toms last week. Since then we've had torrential rain, should I spray again now although the instructions say 10 days?
The instructions on my copper spray say "weekly" but if heavy infestation as often as every 4 days. You didn't say what you're spraying with though.
-
observation today:
I have 27 toms planted in three different areas in our yard and the worst hit, showing large brown streaks, are the potato-leafed toms (Pruden's Purple, Brandywine). The Black Krim also was hard hit (unfortunately because it has a fantastic taste as does Pruden's Purple though she is late this year.)
The Polfast which are a very early tom always look terrible this time of year anyway though loaded with fruits and are gone by August normally so no tears over losing them. They were hard hit.
Tigerella and Anna Russian are doing well comparatively (too early to draw definite conclusions). They are smaller leafed (do you suppose that has anything to do with it) and the potato-leafed may be closer to potatoes so therefore less resistant???
-
and the potato-leafed may be closer to potatoes so therefore less resistant???[/b][/color]
Strangely enough there is a commonly held perception among avid tomato growers, that PL cultivars are actually more resistant or more tolerant to foliar diseases. My experience is certainly that PL cultivars are far more resilient in our climate and with our diseases. Personally I put it down to the thicker leaves and the fact they don't curl as freely as RL leaves. The lack of curling means water normally drains off them more easily and air is able to flow over them better than with RL
-
[/quote] The instructions on my copper spray say "weekly" but if heavy infestation as often as every 4 days. You didn't say what you're spraying with though.
[/quote]
Dithane, G.Annie. Have been up to check and there are still signs of having been sprayed ( run marks on toms) so I assume it has some staying power. Will monitor every day now and keep sprayer and mix in my car. Had a good look at others and blight seems to be absent so far. Mine were infected last year so I'm extra paranoid this year, especially as the blight king next-plot-but-one has shoved his toms in and not been back since ::), a repetition of last year when his were infected and left to rot >:(
-
The instructions on my copper spray say "weekly" but if heavy infestation as often as every 4 days. You didn't say what you're spraying with though.
[/quote]
Dithane, G.Annie. Have been up to check and there are still signs of having been sprayed ( run marks on toms) so I assume it has some staying power. Will monitor every day now and keep sprayer and mix in my car. Had a good look at others and blight seems to be absent so far. Mine were infected last year so I'm extra paranoid this year, especially as the blight king next-plot-but-one has shoved his toms in and not been back since ::), a repetition of last year when his were infected and left to rot >:(
[/quote] And the allotment committee lets him get away with that???
-
Have just checked my last year's diary - blight arrived here in Torbay on 24 August, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed - so far so good! I won't be growing outdoor toms next year if I lose this year's crop - three years in a row would be just too disheartening.
Tricia
-
No committee sadly, just me moaning to site sec. He just tells me to go away and stop whingeing, but that's another thread probably. ;)
-
I'd tell him that the wind is blowing from the 'blight king' in the direction of his tomato crop...and then wait and see what happens ;D ;D
-
He hasn't got a plot now, just sits in his ivory tower dishing out rules and regs as sec to the Parish council.
Fingers crossed the blight stays away, but the weather here is perfect for it.
-
What a shame blight doesn't attack ivory towers then :D
-
He hasn't got a plot now, just sits in his ivory tower dishing out rules and regs as sec to the Parish council.
Fingers crossed the blight stays away, but the weather here is perfect for it.
Then why is he tolerated as site secretary? you need to vote him out and put someone decent in.
-
Locally some farmers claim the blight problems are from home growers who don't use good sanitation. Your blight king may support that theory.
Wouldn't it be a step ahead if all office holders had to be subject to their own rules and all OB-GYNS had to have had babies etc...
-
I find it intersting that some say "I wont use dithane or bordeaux to try and save my tatts or toms from blight " .. Don't they eat potatoes or toms that year?
Or do they buy and eat Tatts and toms that have been sprayed and blasted wilth a lot more chemicals than we would ever think of using ?.
-
True up to a point, but I'm not, for instance, about to start loading copper into my soil when there appear to be other ways of dealing with the problem. I need a roof for the toms, and I have a neighbour who built a polytunnel out of scrap for very little, so that's a likely solution to part of the problem. I'm also looking into blight resistant spuds; I certainly won't be growing very susceptible varieties again.
-
Went to my lottie this afternoon - first signs on both pots and toms. Apparently there is a lot on our site - but taking a walk around some plots seemed much less affected than others but it could be the varieties they are growing. Also picked first ripe tom! Not surprised about the blight really given the weather, but have to go away on Wednesday so decided to cut down the pots right away. Also needed some pots for tea - dug a PFA root just out of curiosity and got 600 grams from 1 root which pleased me so early on for PFA.
-
yes had to cut back on my anya potatoes as they were covered chopped all the foilage down to ground level all potatoes seem ok however came home from plot went out back three tom plants had to come out the ground and have chopped all leaves off my toms to first truss not feeling to good right now have lost toms again this year
SO MUCH FOR HEAT WAVE ???
-
We seem to have agreed that this is not Blight??
On Picasso & Maxine.
-
Yup just a mineral deficiency i beleive, my earlies are very much like these, and im happy to leave them there till there's no plant left tbh, less rubbish to clear once i finish digging.
-
I find it intersting that some say "I wont use dithane or bordeaux to try and save my tatts or toms from blight " .. Don't they eat potatoes or toms that year?
Or do they buy and eat Tatts and toms that have been sprayed and blasted wilth a lot more chemicals than we would ever think of using ?.
I see your point, however, if I eat a spud from a farmer that sprayed the haulms with Bordeaux, I am not loading my soil with copper.
-
How does the Copper reach the soil?
And in a harmful amount?
-
It'll wash off the leaves, and there's nowhere else for it to go but down. I wouldn't think heavy metals in any concentration are what we need in soil!
-
Oh, thanks! And it stays there & permeates all future crops??
-
after losing all the toms in the greenhouse on the lottie have noticed tonight that i nowhave it in the greenhouse at home so i looks like i wont get any ripe toms this year :'(
-
Real sad!
-
No signs of blight on our lottie yet, two years ago the toms were wiped out with blight, so I have grown them in my back garden since and this year they are under cover on the veranda of the summerhouse. :-X ;D ;D ;D
-
None on our site - fingers crossed watching my PFA like a hawk. So sorry for all of you who are suffering though, must be so upsetting after all your hard work :(
Lushy x
-
A neighbour of mine appears to have blight on greenhouse toms. I think it's a case of being careful to keep the leaves dry in weather like this.
-
It is interesting to see how the blight looks and effects various toms. One has completely and in two days wilted from top to bottom like the stem was cut. Others have big dark brown patches on their mainly lower leaves while others have pinpoint dark spots. I'm still picking lots of tomatoes so can't complain I guess. The Tigerella toms, our smallest variety, are doing the best so far though time will tell.
-
Found out today we have it on site, one lady has lost all her spuds and heritage toms. So, the only spuds I have left in are my PFA - should I take them out or cut them down or just leave them? Would really hate to loose them. Any advice please, thanks
Lushy x
-
It has been suggested that my problem is maturity rather than blight.
Thought it a bit early, but lifted a root of Maxine today.
See what you mean, John et al!!
-
I've had 'maturity' on my Duke of York for some time, but when blight broke out in the Charlotte, it looked quite different! If the PFA isn't showing signs of the disease, leave it. I was ruthless with mine, and cut down the Cara while it was only showing a very few small leisons, but I won't be planting the more vulnerable varieties again.
-
lost 3 tomato plants today in the greenhouse, must have been due to leaking roof. Just hope it hasn't spread to the others now. Lost all my toms last year and was only thinking at the weekend how well they were doing this
-
I have 2 allotments, on the one my neighbours crop have been completely devastated by blight, but he usually plants supermarket potatoes rather than seed potatoes. The blight passed onto ours, but only a couple of spots. I dug them up anyway. On his from first signs to no leaves took around 4 days!
At the other allotment most plots now have bad blight, leaves are gone or almost gone. Surprisingly I only have a few spots on my Bartlett potatoes next to a neighbours plot, where his blighted potatoes are only a narrow path away from mine. I am wondering if the Bartletts are know to be fairly resistant.
I have removed infected leaves and plan to go back tomorrow.
I have got photos of blight now, so I am wondering if it would be useful to post them, as I now a few weeks ago thre were lots of people thinking they had blight when it was earlies dying back or Mg deficiency.
-
First signs of blight here in Derby this week. :-\ :'(
:-
Yesterday, only some of the outdoor tomatoes had it, and it interestingly it varied from plant to plant, some totally wiped out in two days, some unaffected! Cyril's choice, Red zebra, and Aurora were totally affected and binned, Legend and some bush tomato seeds I tried outdoors last year and saved the seeds of are all at the moment completely unaffected. These are the plants I've grown with the climbing french beans so if I do lose them, I still have some productive plants in the same space: I'm glad I tried that now!
No blight on potatoes as yet (a few yellowing leaves and brown flecks same as Tim's plants), I'll have to go down again later and dig some more up for tea!
-
I think everything depends on the variety you plant. I wonder whether we can compile a list of resistant varieties? I could start with Cara, it only had a few spots when it was all over the Charlotte next to it. Charlotte's a lovely potato but I won't be planting it again because of the susceptibility to blight.
-
We're still blight free in Maidstone. We escaped it last year too. Maybe down to prevailing winds or something.
I've heard Brighton suffers little blight because of its prevailing winds off the channel combined with a hills behind it.
I think a list of varieties that exhibit resistance or tolerance would be a very good idea, especially as we have new strains of blight in the UK now, so old resistance may not be relevant and previously vulnerable cultivars may now be better.
-
I'm also in maidstone and also at the moment blight free but last year my neighbours outdoor toms were blighted i think it was early September, a week later i got it too on my toms but they survived due i think to the cover i have over my toms which kept them relatively dry. i meticulously up to 2 or 3 times a day picked off any affected leaves/ fruit (of which i only lost no more than 5 and i cleaned my blades in between each cut).
i remember binning one plant variety banana cream early October whether it is more susceptible or not is yet to be seen as my daughter grew the same variety in her little bed with no cover and it didn't get blighted at all, i think mine had the odds stacked against it as it was in a corner and i don't think it was drying out properly when it got splashed by the rain.
my last ripe fruits were taken last week of October and i finally discarded all the plants after the second frost in November any green fruit that was left was made into chutney.
-
I have 2 allotments, on the one my neighbours crop have been completely devastated by blight, but he usually plants supermarket potatoes rather than seed potatoes. The blight passed onto ours, but only a couple of spots. I dug them up anyway. On his from first signs to no leaves took around 4 days!
At the other allotment most plots now have bad blight, leaves are gone or almost gone. Surprisingly I only have a few spots on my Bartlett potatoes next to a neighbours plot, where his blighted potatoes are only a narrow path away from mine. I am wondering if the Bartletts are know to be fairly resistant.
I have removed infected leaves and plan to go back tomorrow.
I have got photos of blight now, so I am wondering if it would be useful to post them, as I now a few weeks ago thre were lots of people thinking they had blight when it was earlies dying back or Mg deficiency.
Please do, my Tom's are going down with something, I fear it's blight so would like to know what to look for.
-
Brow spots without yellowing expanding rapidly on both stems and leaves (and fruits).
I've got it on som,e tomatos... they burn tomorrow....
Add Oxford to the list :(
-
Hi Folks , 1st post at the site - couldn't find an intro thread (yet).
Hastings East Sussex can be added to the list , my tomatoes are currently being decimated by blight , its truely awful :'(
Potatoes have been fine thus far , just some pink fur apples and a row of non descript supermarket ones i threw in the ground to dig up .
-
Charlotte's a lovely potato but I won't be planting it again because of the susceptibility to blight.
Glad I got mine out yesterday then... :)
Sorry Tiger, forgot to say "Welcome to A4A" I don't think there is a "Welcome"/intro thread as such... :-\
-
I think I may have the early signs of late blight on one of my tomatoes. I'll know for sure in a couple of days.
-
chrisscross
abingdons on the list too struck the cherries but beefs are ok at the moment
BURN<BABY<BURN thats if i can light a fire ??? ???
-
Total wipe out of tomatoes and potatoes on east side of allotments very little on the west.
Conclusion it did not arrive by wind. It did not come from Volunteers - there were none on pristine site. So it must have arrived with seed potatoes. Two batches on different allotments seem to be the source. Unfortuneately I am down wind of both.
Think some of them came from portugal.
-
chrisscross
abingdons on the list too struck the cherries but beefs are ok at the moment
BURN<BABY<BURN thats if i can light a fire ??? ???
I half filled my incinerator with broken up pallet wood, some bbq lighter cubes, give that a squirt of lighter gel to link the cubes to a hole then fill the top with tomato foliage, put the top on and light it
chrisc
-
Total wipe out of tomatoes and potatoes on east side of allotments very little on the west.
Conclusion it did not arrive by wind. It did not come from Volunteers - there were none on pristine site. So it must have arrived with seed potatoes. Two batches on different allotments seem to be the source. Unfortuneately I am down wind of both.
Think some of them came from portugal.
I think we need to be careful about this one. I don't know what the situation is here, but apparently in the States, seed is accepted as long as less than 1% of the tubers are carrying blight. The result is, it's a known source of the disease.
-
Couldn't work out how to post the photos of blight, but if you want to see them I have uploaded them onto my blog
http://purplexoo.livejournal.com/ (http://purplexoo.livejournal.com/)
-
booooooo we joined the blight club today on our spuds. They were fine on Sunday, but definately have blight now. I have chopped the tops off and hope we have caught it early enough so the spuds will be okay.
-
Can blight affect plants other than spuds/toms?
I have some salvias nearby to my growbag toms and their leaves are showing similar signs of blight. Plus, on my allotment the French beans are close the affected toms and they too are looking dodgy.
-
Shouldn't do... salvias and French beans are probably just sulking if it's as cold and wet for you as it is for me... :-\
-
We are surrounded by Blight Alerts today.
-
Mine ok Touch wood Tim :-\
-
Just had a SMS and email from B/watch for SO22 and SO23. First we've had this year (no full smith period till today) although there is already blight on the site. >:( >:( >:( >:(
-
Just had a SMS and email from B/watch for SO22 and SO23. First we've had this year (no full smith period till today) although there is already blight on the site. >:( >:( >:( >:(
If you already had blight then it had stayed there since last summer probably....
BTW blight can afflict Deadly and Woody nightshade and they could provide a wild resevoir for the disease, though not one that anyone would miss I wouldn't have thought....
chrisc
-
Our areas are GL7, 54 & 56.
OX 7 & 18.
-
I'll take myself off the blight list, 48hrs on there is no serious progression, so the foliar disease is not blight. My plants are far from happy, but it ain't late blight. I've had some mould of some nature this year, not grey mold, not fast progressing, but takes a leaf eventually, just seems to have upped its tempo a little.
-
North Sussex here - left hand plot facing North, lost all my Sweet Million plants, right hand plot not 10 yards away, the BBC Dig In Gardener's Delight, not a trace.....yet ???
Nothing on the tats either.
Linda
-
BTW blight can afflict Deadly and Woody nightshade and they could provide a wild resevoir for the disease, though not one that anyone would miss I wouldn't have thought....
chrisc
I used to have woody nightshade flourishing in my hedge. With the annual outbreaks of blight, it's long gone.
-
In a chat elsewhere about powdery mildew, the following info came up:
You can control mildew with a spray of 1/3 or 1/4 milk (skim works fine) to water. Easy spray, obviously non-toxic on food plants and herbs. Powdered milk is a cheaper way if you have a lot to do. It seems to kill early blight on tomatoes, botrytis blight on peonies, black spot and rust on roses and?other unknown fungus diseases. And of course initially it was found to be effective in killing powdery mildew.
"It seems to kill early blight on tomatoes" - any thoughts anyone?
-
Too late was the cry... maybe give it a go next year... :'(
-
my greenhouse at the allotment has succumbed to the blight, but my outdoor tom's are still all clear!? (other side of a raspberry hedge) The tom's at home in glasshouse are still clear, but we don't usually get blight at home, 'cos no surrounding spud growers to infect the tom's.