Could fleece protect toms/potatoes from blight ?

[Woofster]

Thinking ahead a bit, I am wondering if covering toms and spuds with fleece would offer any protection from blight or does it seep through it and get to them anyway ?

[Nicos]

Nope- it would indeed seep through Woofster.
Best way is to spray with Bordeaux mixture.

We'll be starting using it pretty soon -infact probably next week-and every 2 weeks after that.
We used to start using it in July but the last couple of years have been so warm and damp that we've been doing it earlier in an effort to resist it.

Why not test your theory with a few plants though- and let us know how they get on???? ( you never know- they may still get it, but more mildly....???)

Having said that.....my greenhouse tomatoes escaped blight last year, but they were completely sheltered from the rain!

[Snadger]

As far as I know, blight is a fungal problem which is spread by microscopic spores in the air? If so, it would easily pass through fleece!

In fact because the fleece would impede the movement of air around the plant and retain moisture to some degree, it would probably promote blight rather than repel it! I may stand corrected here though as it's only a theory!

[Duronal]

If only getting rid of blight was that easy! Unfortunately Snadger is right, blight is caused by spores which germinate on wet leaves in warm temperatures. I'm trying a different growing method this year by making sure that i pinch off all save three leaf branches to try and reduce wet surface area and promote good air circulation.

I found an article online a while back describing how you could train tomatoes into a fan/espalier shape....the author used to claim that the results meant that the plant dried much quicker than a normal cordon and he suffered considerably less blight. The other option of course would be to errect a cover to keep the rain off in the first place So my three branch wonders are doing well so far under they're little cover but i have to say i've not got the patience or space to try the espalier approach.

Good luck with finding a good method.


D

[Woofster]

Thank you, Nicos, Snadger, and Duronal for confirming what I already suspected. I had not thought about the effect of covering the plants in promoting conditions for blight to thrive. I shall be spraying with Bordeaux mixture shortly.