Having recieved some freebie samples to try after last years blight destroyed out tommies I did 6 hanging baskets around the plot and sad to see all of them today with their heads hung low as the stems were stricken with black blight,now im all for trying "blight resist" varieties b ut it seems our efforts were in vane.
I hope if anybody else has this variety on the go they survive for you this season.
Im hisssed off with seeing the tommy crop desimated each day and our "sanctuary" GH has 9 plants left so im muthering em best I can ....we,ll see !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!... ???
GazNjude
So heart breaking isn't it :'(
I have to admit I never try to grow my own toms any more.
I do usually grow spuds but haven't this year due to an unexpected house move....sadly all the potatoes at my allotment site have signs of blight xjane
Blight is so awful isn't it, as it wipes the entire crop out and you work so hard planting and earthing up your spuds
It's awful even after years of growing tomatoes and potatoes. Blight is always a really awful event in the garden calendar and it happens all too often.
All the Toms are now wiped out on our site and the spuds are going the same way, some of us have already had to throw out Spuds that are in storage. :'(
It's heartbreaking, sorry to hear that. I remember a couple of years ago throwing out that summers crop while still eating good tuburs from the year before ???
Up to now we have got away with it. :-X
Spent yesterday morning removing the blight affected tomatoes in the greenhouses. We tried to keep the door and vents closed ths year until a fellow plot holder said we were creating perect blight conditions. Last week's high temperature made us open up and then the blight struck. Have already removed the potaoto haulms but not lifted the potaotoes. Will they be ok to eat or should the spuds-little that there are- be thrown too? :'(
Leave them for at least two weeks before lifting the spuds and they may be ok to save- just keep checking as some will have been affected. If need to eat them ok to lift.
Shame about your toms- bit of a no-win situation there :(
I have some Losetto at the allotment and blight has struck the potatoes.Fingers crossed that the tomatoes survive to give me something but i don't hold out much hope.
It is surprising that more has not been done to find a remedy for blight ??? ???
You can get blight warnings sent to you by email and on mobile phones. I got the warnings and sprayed , my crop is clean but most others nearby have blight.
Quote from: antipodes on July 30, 2012, 14:58:00
It is surprising that more has not been done to find a remedy for blight ??? ???
I had the blight warnings and sprayed but unfortunately it wasn't enough :(
I have blight on the PFA's in my garden and go round most evenings and cut of the affected leaves etc to get as much time as poss. But rain expected tomorrow again and that will set it off properly. i have sprayed but rain washes it right off. So far outdoor toms seem ok.......
Dug up some really good big Charlottes today, but rows and rows of them have blight marks. I intend to leave the greenish haulms to grow on as much as possible in the hope that the potatoes will increase in size before the blight affects the potatoes.
I just wonder why you suggest leaving them a couple of days before lifting. I like to get the potatoes up as quick as possible before the spores that will be on the soil surface gets washed down to the potatoes.I am not thinking you are wrong but just curious.
Quote from: pumpkinlover on July 30, 2012, 06:26:56
Leave them for at least two weeks before lifting the spuds and they may be ok to save- just keep checking as some will have been affected. If need to eat them ok to lift.
Shame about your toms- bit of a no-win situation there :(
I had understood that there was less risk of contamination of the tubur that way, if the haulm has been removed quickly.
I'd happily bow to youre experience laurie if you know different. It could be another old wives tale, though it did seem to make sense to me. :-\
No problem, I do not know better but have always thought that the sooner the potatoes are removed from the area the better. I did find this year that spraying with Dithane as soon as I got my first blight warning certanly seemed to prevent my crop going down with all surrounding crops.
Quote from: laurieuk on July 31, 2012, 10:37:39
No problem, I do not know better but have always thought that the sooner the potatoes are removed from the area the better. I did find this year that spraying with Dithane as soon as I got my first blight warning certanly seemed to prevent my crop going down with all surrounding crops.
Maybe that answers my question. I wouldn't use something stroinger than bordeaux mixture. But these sprays are prevention, i am talking about a cure once the plants are affected.
I expect scientists are on the case as we speak, there must be a fortune in it for whoever comes up with a cure.
Quote from: pumpkinlover on July 30, 2012, 22:30:59
I had understood that there was less risk of contamination of the tubur that way, if the haulm has been removed quickly.
I'd happily bow to youre experience laurie if you know different. It could be another old wives tale, though it did seem to make sense to me. :-\
Hmm..my understanding is that once the haulms are cut off above the ground..the risk of infection is not there anymore or is less...one hopes ::). The blight travels through potatoes top growth. Leaving the potatoes into ground will allow the skins to toughen for storage...BUT..if the blight has already reach the tubers, leaving them into ground won't help anymore...at least if they are dug up, any blight can be seen in early stages and the spuds can be still used before they are totally ruined.
For not knowing what happens under ground..I tend to dig blight effected spuds up sooner than later. Though if there is not obvious sings of blight, my spuds can stay in ground until autumn..I'm not in hurry to extra jobs when I'm busy with so many other things anyway..
If you are leaving the potatoes in the ground you need to be certain there is NO foliage left on the surface to allow spores from that to wash down to the tubers. Bordeux mixture does tend to get washed off whereas dithane with me works better but it is only a preventive not a cure it is like mildew you can prevent but not cure.
I have just looked at the Garden Organic members page on blight and they suggest leaving for 2-3 weeks after -as you say Laurie!
The reasoning is like Goodlife says- it hardens off the skin so less vulnerable to picking up the infection, and the blight spores will have died off as they only survive on living tissue.
I choose not to use sprays, but have no problem with anyone who does! The Italians all use the blue sprays on our sites, you can spot thier plots easily!! I just want a few polytunnels - dream on!!!!