PurpleTree Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 My tomatoes were looking really promising, loads of fruit on them, but then one of the plants keeled over in the wind and rain and revealed all the fruit had gone brown. Pics on my blog here http://welshpurpletree.wordpress.com/2009/08/27/tomato-disaster/ Is there anything I can do? I've got about 8 plants all together, some look worse than others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 its blight I'm affraid bin or burn them do not compost them if they all lok like the photos they are all past saving. any plants that are only slightly affected you migh salvage as long as it not in the stems remove all the blighted leaves and fruit leaves right back to the stem bin or burn then remove all the leaves except the top 3 or 4 if they're in the greenhouse dont close it up day or night you need to keep the humidity right down all this will only slow blight down so you might get a few toms to ripen but i think from your photos it to late you can spray witn diathane 945 if you cath it early enough. presonally i'd rather loose the crop P.S you're not alone I'v spent the last 2 days talking about grow veg most of the time talking blight on toms,spuds and peppers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTree Posted September 1, 2009 Author Share Posted September 1, 2009 They are all in the front garden, straight in the ground. I'm so disappointed. Is there anything I could've done to avoid it? I read that maybe I should've thinned the leaves out? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 no blight can only be controlled after it 'blooms' it need temps as low as 20 degres C but 80 or 90% humdity and it can take a plant out in as little as 3 days it doesn't like high temps or very dry conditions ie low humidity Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAJ Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 At first signs you can cut off affected areas of the plant and spray, put once it has spread as far as the tomatoes just get them out ASAP and do not compost any thing affected. Blight also gets potatoes so keep an eye on them if you grow them as well. Tracy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 blight usally takes spuds first then tomatoes then really bad years like this one peppers and chilles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted September 1, 2009 Share Posted September 1, 2009 It's air borne so not much you can do to prevent it apart from removing and burning the damaged plants. You can spray earlier with Bordeaux mixture - which is a copper fungicide and "acceptable" in the organic world. I don't spray (although I have some Bordeaux standing by still unused) - and the blight has occurred later this year. In previous years I have cut off the stems and new shoots appear from the base (I tend to plant them above the first set of leaves) - just in time for a few tomatoes before the end of the season - they also seem to be much stronger plants second time around. But I'm not too upset, we have had quite a glut and so lots have been roasted and frozen - much better than last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sjp Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Koojie it depends on were you live it struck 3 weeks earlier here than last year begining off July with 2 exeptions all our spuds on the allotment were finest by the first week of August Axona and Cara being the only 2 still going all the outside toms are long since gone mine at home will be by the weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PurpleTree Posted September 2, 2009 Author Share Posted September 2, 2009 Thanks for your replies everyone. Looks like I'll be digging up some tomato plants on the weekend. It seems such a shame. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted September 2, 2009 Share Posted September 2, 2009 Luckily OH dug up the spuds before they went down with it. We never grow maincrop, the latest are second earlies because of blight and us being on the organic route, so don't really want to spray if we can help it. We had some huge monster spuds this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henny penny Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Koojie- when you say you roasted and froze your tomatoes- do mean you roasted some and froze others or do you roast them and then freeze them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickencam Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 This year I have roasted loads of them for about an hour depending on size, then let them cool overnight in the oven. They have then been blended with basil and frozen. They are really sweet and great to use as a sauce base and it saves all the peeling etc and gets rid of some of the moisture content. I cut them into even sized pieces usually halves or quarters depending on size, drizzle them with olive oil and a little salt and pepper then roast, in my oven at about 170 degrees for about an hour. as they cool they do cause a lot of condensation in the oven which needs mopping up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 My toms were washed and cut into quarters (except for the small ones - half suffices). Pop into a large roasting tin then crush some garlic cloves (we used our little ones) - doesn't have to be done properly, just squashed with the knife - and scatter them over the top. Next lots of pepper - we scrunched the pepper mill over the lot - or just do a little - you can always add more when using later on. Last of all "dribble" olive oil over the lot. Pop into a nice warm oven - I think we did it on gas mark 6 (I need to check with his lordship because I can't remember - I think it varies everytime we do it ). Let them roast until some of the toms have singed or they become soft. Then we put the lot through the passata machine - much easier than using a sieve. This time last year someone on here introduced me to the delights of having such a terrific gadget, but I can't remember who. The bits need to be put through a couple of times but that leaves you with a lovely puree. We put them in our recycled takeaway boxes - just the right size. Some are put into ice cube trays for adding to soup. All in the freezer when cool. Yummmmm. Mine came from here - Seeds of Italy, but I have looked on the website and they don't seem to do it for here anymore - unless I'm looking at the wrong one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 All of my lovely tomatoes went exactly the same way I was gutted, I took so much care over them and they were fine one day and 3 days later after awful weather they all looked just like yours. The whole lot went straight in the bin Makes me wonder if it's worth trying next year or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valkyrie Posted September 13, 2009 Share Posted September 13, 2009 Try and sow them around New Year - that's when we usually do. They need gentle heat and you have to watch for the really cold days. I put them in a heated propagator in the greenhouse, and if it gets cold, I cover them with old towels - very cold nights I will put the heater on - but I try not to as it costs a fortune with the electricity in there. By doing that they should be fruiting earlier, so you can harvest lots before the blight - which is apparently July time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
