Couple of questions...

[Gordonmull]

Hi folks

I've been meaning to ask a couple of things. I didn't want to spam with loads of new threads, so I thought I'd stick it all into one. Best approach, who knows? :)

Well, the most predominant one is blight. It's finally struck on my Orange Current tomatoes. Great big black bits surrounded in yellow. I've removed affected foliage and I gather that attempting to spray in this weather would just be a waste of spray. I still have Nicola 2nd earlies in the ground. Should I pull them or am I being knee-jerky? Doesn't look like there's any infection on them, nor the other tomato varieties.

Another is my raspberry. It's flowering, started last week, in it's second year since I bought the plant. No idea what variety but I don't think it's an autumn flowering one because it's flowering on last year's growth. The flowers do not look like rasp flowers. I'd have never thought that this was even in the rose family by the flowers. The petals seem to point in to the centre of the flower, like opposite to where the should be pointing. Tiny petals, too. They then fall off, and the calyx closes again. Sorry camera not working or I'd get a picture. Weird, to me, anyway. Is this normal?

More - bolting chard. Any use for it or do I haul and replant?

And...finally - rotting onions. I'm pretty sure it's not white rot since they are in a garden recently converted from lawn and the only other cultivated patch has been a flower bed for at least 15 years. Most plants are doing great. Nice, foot-sized leaves, starting to bulb up a wee teensy bit. Some are still small, and the small ones seem to frequently just rot at the roots. Inspection reveals a white mould groing on the base of the plant. I'm putting it down to the damp conditions but i'd appreciate any input. I seriously hope it's not the dreaded rot but i'm not overly concerned. The civic amenity compost I dug in does worry me a bit at the back of my head though.

Well, anyone that's read that lot through, thanks for your patience and if you can give me some advice I'd really appreciate it.

Cheers

Gord

[Gordonmull]

[chriscross1966]

BLight: I'd spray anyway and hope for a few dry hours to set it. REmove and burn the affected material, place them straight into a bag as you pull them out and don't carry the stuff around your plot more than you have to . Out, bagged taken and burnt with as little faffing as possible.... A few years ago I lost all my outdoor tomatoes and yet my potatoes, mere feet away and including some very susceptible varieties lie PFA, were unaffected.

Raspberry:
Flowering on last years growth is Summer fruiting, not autumn. Autumn fruit on this years growth and are somewhat later to bear than the summer ones. Thoe flowers don't sound normal though.If it's a young plant you might be served by removing the flowers and giving it another year,,,

Chard, duuno, don't grow it.

Onions, probably downy mildew. White rot is distinctive, there's white stuff all round the root plate adn the roots, in extreme cases the plant will pull off the root plate as you pull it... Once you've seen  it you won't mistake it for anything else and there are tons of fungal problems for onions to get, but white rot can't be mistaken for any of them.... If it's downy mildew then suggest you grow Santero (spring planted from seed sown in January/Feb indoors) or Tuffball (autumn planted from seed sown around now)....

[ed dibbles]

Blight: yes remove affected leaves, if everything else is unaffected you may be lucky and they won't be touched by it though a precautionary spray may be agood idea.

If we get dry weather it will help control blight spread.

Chard: discard old plants and sow some more. Now is an excellent time to get a row or two in. (if the seedheads of the old plants are mature enough you can use these for sowing - chard seed is so easy to save - no need to keep buying more ;))

[Gordonmull]

Cheers guys.

That removes the nagging doubt on the onions then, thanks.

Oh good a freaky raspberry vine. Most of the flowers have closed up now, but I'll remove them tomorrow.

I'm only growing a few chard plants. I think that pack of seed will last me a good few years yet, but I'll remember that for when it runs out. In saying that, I've never seen beet family flowers before, so i might sow into wee pots and let the flowers open before planting out.

I'll spray tomorrow, weather permitting. It looks like it's going to be another stinker of a day if the forecast is right.

[Gordonmull]

Just a quick update on the raspberries.

I forgot about removing the flowers and the closed buds reopened with the smallest raspberries, smaller than wild ones and about the same in flavour. Then I noticed a plant label underneath a rock where i'd obviously stashed it last year. "Produces very small fruit" says the label. It isn't kidding. No mention of variety, though.

Need 'em big and sweet for winemaking  :) Anyone suggest a nice variety to go for? I've looked in the local garden centre, B&Q etc. but hesitant to buy without a recommendation as they're quite dear.

[Buster54]

I would search on-line rather than garden centres as you may find them cheaper,I just found 30 Raspberry Malling Jewel a hardy Scottish certified raspberry for £23.97 (80p per cane)including P&P with 15 free tulip bulbs,not that you would want 30 as they will almost double in the second year

[antipodes]

I'm only growing a few chard plants. I think that pack of seed will last me a good few years yet, but I'll remember that for when it runs out. In saying that, I've never seen beet family flowers before, so i might sow into wee pots and let the flowers open before planting out.

The chard plant will suddenly throw out a tall stem with small leaves off it (you can still eat them if you wish). Then a long bushy flower head will appear, rather like a lettuce flower head. The seeds will form on that once the flower has died. I have never tried savng chard seed, although one plant did go to seed itself this year, perhaps I will have baby chard plants in that spot in spring, as that sometimes happens!