Blight!

[Laura Hillier]

Hi Everyone,

As we are hurtling towards summer at an alarming rate there is something that we all have to look out for, dare we utter its name...blight. What ingenious techniques do you use to keep your tomatoes safe from harm? How do you shield your spuds from attack?

Answers may be edited and published in the July issue of Grow Your Own


Laura

[kathycam]

Blight seems to be rampant at my allotment- so last year (my first one there) I didn't grow any tomatoes there. I grew a few on my balcony and a patch of communal garden, and they did okay. This year I might try a few in my polytunnel. Will grow some tomatillas as well- which obviously are different- but don't get blight.

[lottie dolly]

heard of using a brew of horsetail watered down,is a help,as i have an amount of this from last years brew,i will be trying this one,it acts as a feed and an antiseptic,

[Mr Bones]

I've treated myself to a range of the Sarpo seed spuds. All the old lads on the lotty site keep saying don't bother with main crop taters, you'll only get blight. Be interesting to see how these do. So far I've not mentioned what I'm growing.

[Veggielot]

I put raised beds in my greenhouse for my tomatoes, last year, with a mix of top soil and bought and homemade compost and so far no problems, prior to that used grow bags. My potatoes I tend to go with either first or second early potatoes to try and avoid the worst of any blight.

[Two_Sheds]

As we are hurtling towards summer at an alarming rate

Crikey. I had to check the date there. I thought it was an April Fool

[spanish_gardener]

As a prevention, I spray with herbal teas or Burgundy once a week. It contains 10 grs. of copper sulphate and 12 grs. of baking soda, in 1 l. of water.

[spanish_gardener]

heard of using a brew of horsetail watered down,is a help,as i have an amount of this from last years brew,i will be trying this one,it acts as a feed and an antiseptic,

I know someone who sumerge the whole plant in a bucket of water for a few weeks.

[Alison]

I don't spray anything on my plot and don't want to contaminate my soil with copper so that is not an option. I didn't find the Sarpo spuds very tasty so try and mainly choose varieties that are naturally resistant. Also by growing small amounts of various varieties I spread the risk. Re toms, I find them much more prone to blight than spuds and feel growing them outside is too much of a cross contamination risk so now only grow in my tunnel where they have much better protection

[rustylady]

As a prevention, I spray with herbal teas or Burgundy once a week. It contains 10 grs. of copper sulphate and 12 grs. of baking soda, in 1 l. of water.

Burgundy? Do you mean Bordeaux mixture?

[Potstubsdustbins]

Burgundy? Do you mean Bordeaux mixture?

Damn I have just dashed down to the vintner to buy extra stocks, guess I'll have to drink it now.

Potty

[spanish_gardener]

I don't spray anything on my plot and don't want to contaminate my soil with copper so that is not an option. I didn't find the Sarpo spuds very tasty so try and mainly choose varieties that are naturally resistant. Also by growing small amounts of various varieties I spread the risk. Re toms, I find them much more prone to blight than spuds and feel growing them outside is too much of a cross contamination risk so now only grow in my tunnel where they have much better protection

I do not like to spray my plot with chemicals, but when you share a space with schools and etc. which sow stuff and they rarely come back until the next year, it is the only way to grow something.

[spanish_gardener]

Burgundy? Do you mean Bordeaux mixture?

It is similar to the Bordeaux mixture, but it is not the same.

Burgundy mixture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Burgundy mixture, named after the French district where it was first used to treat grapes and vines, is a mixture of copper sulfate and sodium carbonate. This mixture, which can have an overall copper concentration within the range of 1% through 20%, is used as a fungicidal spray for trees and small fruits.

Similar to the Bordeaux Mixture, one of the earliest fungicides in use, Burgundy Mixture, also known as “Sal soda Bordeaux,” is used as a fungus preventative applicant on plants before fungi have appeared. Bordeaux Mixture contains copper sulfate, CuSO4, and hydrated lime, Ca(OH)2, while Burgundy Mixture contains copper sulfate, CuSO4, and sodium carbonate, Na2CO3. First used around 1885, Burgundy Mixture has since been replaced by synthetic organic compounds, or by compounds that contain copper in a non-reactive, chelated form. This helps to prevent the accumulation of high levels of copper in sediments surrounding the plants.

[jacob]

There is no protection except growing undercover and spraying... Not going to spray, so that's toms in the GH and a few outside as a shot to nothing. I'll have to live with small main crop spuds. It hits here like clockwork Aug 1st +/- week. Whatever kind of blight it is it kills spuds quickly, but doesn't damage the potatoes themselves, but is slower on the tomatoes.

[Paulieb]

The last 2 summers I've not had a single tomato from outdoor grown crops, so this year will just be tomatoes in the greenhouse, as its just something else that can pick up the blight.

However I am growing lots of spuds, some Sarpo Mira, and other supposedly slightly resistant spuds like Cara, Orla, Sante and Valor.

So I guess the proof will be in the pudding when it comes to harvest time. I'm not really expecting none of them to get blight, but will be interesting to see the results when they're all grown in the same conditions.