Hi all - I usually buy small tomatoe plants but the last couple of years they've been wiped out by blight - we seem to suffer badly in devon.
I see that there are some blight resistant seed out there - is there enough time to sow in the next week after I order the seeds or do they need a longer growing period?
Hi,
I have only just sown my tomato seeds so no, you are not too late.
I've grown Ferline in the past as it is supposed to be blight-resistant but it
still got blight. I don't know about any of the newer b-r varieties, maybe they are better. I think Ferline was one of the first to be developed.
Which are you going to grow?
I grew Fantasio for 3 years:
* 2006 - good crop (probably because it was a good summer) - blight arrived about mid-Sept approx. 2 weeks after other plot holders got it
* 2007 (bad year for blight) - they succumbed in July, ie no crop
* 2008 not wonderful growth or crop - just about managed to keep the blight at bay. Tornado and Tamina were much better.
In terms of reliability I have found Tamina to be the best for outdoor growth. It has reasonable, though not outstanding flavour.
As for Fantasio, I have given up on it and I am quite cynical about claims of blight resistance on any tomato at the moment.
Note that I spray periodically with copper fungicide and check / remove any dodgy foliage every couple of days.
this is what i did last year to keep the dreaded blight at bay long enough to get a crop:
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,44646.msg446655.html#msg446655 (http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,44646.msg446655.html#msg446655)
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,44646.msg446821.html#msg446821 (http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,44646.msg446821.html#msg446821)
these following post sort of spelt out the results:
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,45373.msg457238.html#msg457238 (http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,45373.msg457238.html#msg457238)
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,46603.msg467268.html#msg467268 (http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,46603.msg467268.html#msg467268)
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,46707.msg468722.html#msg468722 (http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,46707.msg468722.html#msg468722)