Tom's and Potatoes, how far apart

[nilly71]

I've heard and read that tomatoes should be kept apart from potatoes because of blight.
How far should they be apart?

Neil

[nilly71]

[goodlife]

Ok..I'll have ago answering this....I might be wrong...but I'm trying to think the obvious while typing...
Ok...I don't think that there is issue with distance and blight as such...as blight is airborn..it will spread anyway..no matter how far or near..
I can't quite "put my finger on it" but it has something to do toms and potatoes being close relations....not only they share blight but propably same other problems too..hm..eelworm..that's one they can share...something else..It will come...I'll have dive into some books and get back to this...Now you have sent me onto a mission...I'll have solve this.. ;D

[goodlife]

OK...here we go..
Potatoes and toms belong to same rotation group so other than giving them enough space that one doesn't over shadow other and supply of nutrient and water doesn't become problem they can be grown "together"..yes you are going get double whammy when blight arrives as they both get it but otherwise not problems..
Now as they belong to same rotation group if you were to plant potatoes first year and second year having tomatoes in same ground..that may become problem as potato ellworm will attack root of the toms too...I'm sure there is other "health" issues too....
So there you are..anybody feel free to expand the answer... ;D

[nilly71]

Thanks for the reply, but I bet it's got you wondering now ;D

From what I have seen on the TV the potatoes are to blame, they apparantly get the blight then if tomatoes are close by the spores pass on to them.

I wonder if anyone on here has had good/bad years of tomato blight depending on the distance from the potatoes, that's if they have potatoes.

My plot is at the end of the allotment and approx 1/2 of it is surrounded by trees. Last year the tom's were approx 5' away from the potatoes and got a lot of damage but other plots had hardly any, but I didn't take any notice of the distance they were away from the potatoes.


Neil

[goodlife]

Oh I get in greenhouse anyway...there is potatoes growing in every lottie and after potatoes get it, wind will blow it in..and you have to keep windows open.. ::) Potatoes will get the blight wether there is toms near or not..The spores are in ground dormant untill weather and soil conditions change favourable for them to multiply..

[Robert_Brenchley]

The spores aren't in the ground, they're in accidentals and farmers' outgrade piles. Get rid of your accidentals and we're halfway there! It starts with spuds because they have tubers which survive from one year to the next.

[Tee Gee]

This is my slant on it and it basically says the same as others have said!

This fungal disease is seen as brown, watery lesions which rapidly spread on to the leaves and stems, or as a brown discolouration of the fruit.

This can rapidly becomes a foul smelling slimy mess.

Prompt removal of infected foliage / fruit can often save the crop.

The fungus produced from wind spread spores penetrates into the host tissue, infected tissues soon dies.

Wet conditions are needed for their production and for infection to occur, i.e. t he fungus is spread by wind and rain and infects the foliage, then moves to the tubers / fruit.

Spores can over winter in dead plant tissue or infected potato tubers left in the ground and initiate infections the next season.

Potatoes are usually infected before tomatoes.

Spray with a suitable fungicide before symptoms occur.

n.b. Spraying will not prevent infection, but may slow it down and save the crop.

The fungus can be seed borne, so do not save seed from infected fruit and destroy all infected plants and do not compost!!!



Regarding distances apart I don't think it really matters.

Think of it this way you might put them as far apart as you can then you find you are upwind of someone else on the plot who is affected then you find the spores from their plot affects yours!

Club root can spread a bit the same way e.g. you might be clear of it.

Then you walk on to a neighboring plot who has it then walk back to yours and carry the disease back on your boots!

My view.............don't lose any sleep over it.

This is an old chestnut with me and I still think watering or not as the case may plays it part!

[davyw1]

The tomato and the potato are of the same family only the tomato is more susceptible to disease it has a enough problems dealing with other soil born diseases and if late blight strikes then you can loose the lot in two days. Even smoking near them can cause mosaic tobacco disease.  If you or some one else is spraying weed killer and it gets the slightest whiff that's been carried on the wind it will affect them.
As TEE GEE says don,t loose any sleep about it.

[Geoff H]

"Spores can over winter in dead plant tissue or infected potato tubers left in the ground and initiate infections the next season."
The first bit is wrong. The spores cannot survive on dead plant tissue, only living tissue such as overwintered tubers. There is no need to burn affected foliage as used to be the case. It can be composted and it will not affect the following year's crops as it is dead tissue by then.

[nilly71]

Thanks for the replies, and i'm not bothered about it but just wondered what others thought were.

Neil

[chriscross1966]

Last year I lost all my outdoor tomatoes to blight (and burnt them as soon as I realised) . THe potatoes which were next to them were basically unaffected, as far as I could tell they might have had the beginnings of blight when they went senescent but equally it might just have been old age..... I seem to remember eating the last of the PFA's in March, didn't lose a tuber to rot..... So in my experience tomatoes are more susceptible..... I tend to grow toms in pots and spuds in the ground but I mix what comes from the tomatoes into the ground the spuds have come out of, lime it and put brassicas in.....

chrisc

[davyw1]

"Spores can over winter in dead plant tissue or infected potato tubers left in the ground and initiate infections the next season."
The first bit is wrong. The spores cannot survive on dead plant tissue, only living tissue such as overwintered tubers. There is no need to burn affected foliage as used to be the case. It can be composted and it will not affect the following year's crops as it is dead tissue by then.

I agree with what you say apart from not burning affected foliage from the time you get blight to the time the foliage is dead the spores are still active and will spread to what ever it can infect so all foliage should be burnt as soon as it has been removed to prevent this.

[nilly71]

Are you saying to burn the good foliage as well, or can that be composted?

Neil

[Geoff H]

By the time the foliage is easily burnable it will dead anyway, cause it is dry so defeats the object - otherwise you get a horribly smokey fire and most allotments won't allow that. You could bury it, that would stop the spores spreading and then it all dies and rots down. Affected potatoes - dig them even though it is a horrible job and bag them and get them well off the site.

[davyw1]

By the time the foliage is easily burnable it will dead anyway, cause it is dry so defeats the object - otherwise you get a horribly smokey fire and most allotments won't allow that. You could bury it, that would stop the spores spreading and then it all dies and rots down. Affected potatoes - dig them even though it is a horrible job and bag them and get them well off the site.

Composting is safe i agree, but burning is 100% safe. I don,t think any allotment association would object to a fire because of the circumstances and also a kilned fire gives off very little smoke
If you bag up and take any infected potatoes away from the allotment where is a safe place to dispose of them i certainly don,t think binning them to go to land fill is one of them.
Last year on this forum there was so many people complaining of having blight was it caused by the farmers field or self inflicted through bad garden hygiene..