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Hi, one of my tomato plants has some black on its lower leaves - it is in a grow bag - in a plastic growbag 'house', is it too early for blight or should I be taking it out pdq?

Thanks

That sounds normal to me. (Look it up in Hessayon, or someone will be along in a mo to tell you exactly which deficiency it is.)

Blight comes when it's warm & humid. If you're worried go onto the Blightwatch website: put in your postcode  and it gives you up-to-date records & advice: www.blightwatch.co.uk

You can also try http://www.potato.org.uk/department/knowledge_transfer/fight_against_blight/blight_incidents.html?podlet_id=88&sd=01&sm=04&ed=09&em=06 - showing a suspected outbreak in Elgin, Scotland at this moment, but nowhere else

The tomato is vulnerable to a number of diseases black or dark  leaf spots can be caused by fungi that are parasites on your tomato plants. The two most common diseases are early blight and Septoria leaf spot which is often mistaken for blight. Spots caused by early blight can get as large as an inch in diameter and will have a bullseye appearance. Septoria leaf spots are dark at first and then become more gray in the center as they age. Both of these disease will cause the leaves of the plant to fall off prematurely. These fungi are mostly a problem during prolonged periods of wet weather.

Thank you for your replies - I have taken off the affected leaves and will keep an eye on the situation!