Is this blight

[ameno]

It has been very cold here in Cheshire at night and in the day so again, I really don't think it can be blight which is a Summer fungus.

It's only a summer disease in so far as it starts in the summer. It will keep going right up until you get frosts or else it runs out of living host plants (it can't survive long without a living host).
The fungus needs a few hours at 10c or more in order for the spores to germinate, which isn't that high. And once the fungus is growing and the plant is infected, it can survive far lower than that, at least for a time.
On my allotment we've avoided blight for most of the summer, and it only started in earnest at the start of October, and has been steadily spreading through people's outdoor tomatoes for the last few weeks.

The only reason blight doesn't usually start earlier than mid-summer is due to the nature of its life-cycle. It can only live for an extended period of time on living tissue. Tomato plants and potato top growth cannot survive the winter, so the fungus usually overwinters on infected potato tubers. These then start to grow in the spring and very quickly the leaves become infected, too, since ti spread from the infected tuber. These early infected potatoes then spread the infection via spores to other tomato or potato plants.

Also, growing tomatoes undercover is no guarantee of protection. It certainly reduces the chances, and in most years you either won't get blight at all or won't get it until very late, but they can still become infected under cover. The spores can drift in through the open windows and doors.
Last year was a bad year for blight, and everyone on my allotment had infected tomatoes, even those grown in greenhouses or polytunnels.

[Marb67]

Well I cant believe that blight would last this long as we have had frosts here. I even protected my plants with epsom salts earlier in the season. Such a shame as so many potential toms that would have given a harvest. I have cut off all the leaves, i infected fruit and stems and picked the near ripe fruits that don't look infected. They cant get blight when pulled off and taken indoors at least. After such a depressing season of various pests that neem oil didn't cure (thrips, flea beetles, leaf minor, aphids etc) I thought at least my toms were a success. Even my runner beans have stopped producing. Why do I bother!

[greenishfing]

I am really sorry that you've got blight Marb. I know how bad it feels when it happens. I just wanted to add that even though you've picked the unripe tomatoes that appear healthy keep inspecting them as I've had apparently healthy ones that have started to show symptoms after they've been picked. This is also why I grow blight resistant ones now.

[Nicos]

Agreed gf.
I would suggest you take all the edible ones now whatever their colour and preserve or eat them very soon. They are still edible in that state. If you leave them on the plants they will all turn brown and taste yuk and need disposing of.

Its very disheartening marb. But at least forewarned you can still eat those green, unaffected as yet, toms.
Here are a few ideas if you enjoy cooking….
https://insanelygoodrecipes.com/green-tomato-recipes/

[ameno]

They cant get blight when pulled off and taken indoors at least.

Sadly, they can.
The fruits may already have blight spores on them, maybe even germinating blight spores, and may show infection within a few days or a week. Keep a careful eye on the stalks as well, as they are an easy infection point, which will then spread to the rest of the fruit.
As suggested above, I would cook or preserve them now, even green. I make green tomato soup with mine.

I should also mention that the fruit turning brown is actually the late stages of the infection, and fruits can be infected long before they turn brown. The early stages of fruit infection are subtle and easy to miss, the main ones being a slight yellow-ish discoloration on part of the fruit, and a slightly dimpled/pitted skin.
All infected fruit tastes disgusting, even at this early stage, so should be discarded. They are fine to compost, as blight spores are short-lived and cannot survive more than a few weeks without a living host.

[Muddy_Boots]

Just been out to inspect my growing young potato plants in my garden and they have no sign of any blight at all. I will check them is daylight tomorrow but under the security lights they all look green and healthy.

[Marb67]

I washed all the fruit and put them in a bowl and some have started to get black patches and a bit manky. Not one to waste food, are they still ok to use in cooking ? Still cant belive that blight can be around in Autumn. Must be this so called climate change.

[ameno]

I washed all the fruit and put them in a bowl and some have started to get black patches and a bit manky. Not one to waste food, are they still ok to use in cooking ? Still cant belive that blight can be around in Autumn. Must be this so called climate change.

All blighted fruit taste foul. I don't know whether or not they would make you ill or not (I wouldn't want to risk it, personally), but regardless of that they taste horrible and cooking won't cure that.

Also, blight has always been an issue in the autumn. It simply hangs around from the summer. This is nothing new or unusual. If you've never gotten blight in October before then you have just been lucky up until now, that's all.