beat the blight?

[queen of the cobs]

I lost all my outdoor tomatoes last year to blight and wondered if there were some way to cover them to protect them? I was thinking of getting some clear plastic sheeting to make a sort of plastic greenhouse - would this work?

thanks.

[muckdiva]

Hi there
I'm going to try Bob Flowerdew's trick of putting outdoor toms under a 'tent' made of a plastic sheet. It's constructed so the roots of the plants benefit from rain but the leaves are protected somewhat from the blight spores. Worth a try - sorry I don't have a picture of the construction but it's his book called 'The No Work Garden' which you should be able to borrow from a library.

[ClayGarden]

This is my first year growing tomatoes, and quite frankley this terrifies me, after the time thats invested in them.

[davefromthechipie]

I lost all my outdoor tomatoes last year to blight and wondered if there were some way to cover them to protect them? I was thinking of getting some clear plastic sheeting to make a sort of plastic greenhouse - would this work?

thanks.

well yes and no they will still get it as its airborne and you cant not open vents ,doors in a poly/ G/H as the heat, no air will kill the plants >< Yes with the right kit = cash ... filters and so on . still under plastic it can be controlled And still get a good crop last years toms outside not under poly got killed I lost loads :/ I dont think you can cure blight only hold it back

[ClayGarden]

Does blight just attack every tomato in the UK then? Is an outdoor plant never successful? and if so how come they are so popular to grow if they always fail?

[davefromthechipie]

Does blight just attack every tomato in the UK then? Is an outdoor plant never successful? and if so how come they are so popular to grow if they always fail?

No the last place i lived i never got it . problem is when near farms potato farms >< I dont know the ins and outs of the virus it 'but,, its the rain then sun keeps it alive thats why you should not water the leafs

[ClayGarden]

No the last place i lived i never got it . problem is when near farms potato farms >< I dont know the ins and outs of the virus it 'but,, its the rain then sun keeps it alive thats why you should not water the leafs

Ah right thanks. I had read about not watering leaves, but presumed it was about scorching them.

[paul.saxon@hotmail.com]

I propagated 10 tomatoe seeds in feb and stuck them out in my home made coldframe leaving 1 in my kitchen and 1 in my living room on window cill. The ones in coldframe are going yellow on tips of some of leaves- is this blight?

[davefromthechipie]

I propagated 10 tomatoe seeds in feb and stuck them out in my home made coldframe leaving 1 in my kitchen and 1 in my living room on window cill. The ones in coldframe are going yellow on tips of some of leaves- is this blight?

nope black markings on leafs then stems is blight . the yellowing could be down to the weather or non feeding .Alot of us where i live have this atm and is down to the hot and cold spells

[ClayGarden]

by the way paul, not a good idea to put your email on a forum. Your'll shortly get spammed by the spambots forever more.

[paul.saxon@hotmail.com]

thanks for that, got loads of other more stupid questions- i've planted loads of stuff i have no idea about! Weather is a bit cracked at the moment. I've had polytunnels blowing away-grass seed blown away then flooded into little soggy pools, been a bit of a disaster for my first year of gardening!

[paul.saxon@hotmail.com]

yeah i set that up wrong-how do i change it???

[ClayGarden]

I tried to send you an email throught here, and it said you dont accept them. I guess your fooling those bots

[ClayGarden]

yeah i set that up wrong-how do i change it???

may need to pm admin on the site i reckon. let them know how you really dont want your email advertised. Its your UserName you'll need changing. Probably best to get account just closed if thats easier for them.

[Paulottie]

Paul you need to PM a moderator or Ben to change your site name and they will do it for you.

Re plastic tents for Toms. I have tried it before and it worked very well but then that was a very Hot dry summer anyway. but it does work I think...kind of umbrella arrangement eventually found a chicken wire frame helped give structure. I did find it was a bit unstable/noisy in the wind though and needed quite a lot of faffing about. Another year I made a leanto on a greenhouse that was simpler to set up and fab.

I found Ferline were a bit resistant but unluckily ran out of seeds this year.

Most years I have some success with outdoor Toms. Last year was an absolute disaster. I had three proper toms and a bowlfull of cherry ones.

You can spray with Burgundy/Bordeaux mixture.(copper sulphate mixtures) that normally staves it of when the warm spore carrying rains come. This is normally in June but VERY early last year in the south. It is prevention NOT cure once you have blight it is impossible to stop it. Another tip is never to spray the leaves when watering.