Tomato Trouble

[Sue]

Hi
I seem doomed with tomatoes. Last year it was blossom end rot and this year the plants look awful and a lot of the green fruits have chocolate brown splodges on.
Is this the dreaded blight?
These are outdoor tomatoes, a number of varieties, Dombito, The Amateur etc.
I planted so many as was looking forward to a bumper crop but failed again.

The only ones that seem relatively OK are Gartenperle and Latah, both tiny tomatoes, which with the drought last year were the only two that did well then. Are tiny tomatoes different to the biggies?
Lots of questions, need some answers so next year I can get to grips with tomato growing!
Sue

[Cutecumber]

It may well be blight - I am just getting it and I am not far from you.

The small tomatoes are often unaffected when the biggies get it - in my experience, Big Boy (rather like Dombito) are the first and worst affected, and I've never had it on Tumbler or Sungold.

So far, the alleged blight-resistant Ferline is unaffected - bit of a shame I only grew one plant, then!!

Blight is a big problem if you are not prepared to spray your crops with chemicals. Some years are worse than others, but it is very prevalent this year. The earlier you can get your tomatoes to crop, the better, as the risk is greater towards the end of the summer.

Remember that blossom end rot is not a disease but a manifestation of growing conditions - it is something that you can work on reducing through continued trial and error.

[momol]

Hi Sue,
All my 30 heirloom tomatoes plants are all gone since 3 weeks ago, they were all outside. I notice that the bigger ones ( beefsteaks ) gets blight first, the list goes as follow : Marmande,Pink Brandy Wine, San Marzano, Japanese black trifele, small roma like fruit ( don't remember the name )& Black Cherry.
It is extremely fast how it spread, and within 2 weeks, they are all infected beyond help. But my one and only patio tomato seems to be doing ok but they don't have contact with rain drop too. Next year I will only grow them at the protected site ( free from direct rain drops ).
We are learning, it will always be next year...and hopefully we will do better

Momol

[Cutecumber]

Oh that's such a shame, Momol.

It doesn't bode well for me at all - each day there are a few more infected leaves. My best hope is that the tomatoes are in four separate locations around the house and garden - maybe some will escape!

[Sue]

Thankyou for the replies, not good news, but somewhat comforting to know I'm not the only one in this particular boat.
Guess they'll all have to come up and shall invest in more small tomatoes and that Ferline next year.
I know the blossom end rot is a problem of growing, unfortunately I was only getting up to the allotment every three days so they dried out then got watered, not good.
This year, I manage every other day so perhaps I might not have got the dreaded BER, got blight instead.
Sue

[bramble]

I had to pull up and destroy 50 heirloom toms last week. has to be the worst year ever for tomato growing. Like Momol said, we learn a little every year and hope to get a chance to put it into practice next year.

[momol]

[QUOTE=Cutecumber;124857]Oh that's such a shame, Momol.

It doesn't bode well for me at all - each day there are a few more infected leaves. My best hope is that the tomatoes are in four separate ...

It is such a shame and pretty up setting It was my first ever tomatoes blight, it is really unforgettable one.
I manage to pick 3.5 kg immature tomatoes and went to pickle them all ( taste not bad at all , simpy with : pickling vinegar/wine vinegar, sugar,a bit of salt, a bit of whole black pepper korel,several dried hot chillies and several leaves of sweet bay and let it sit in the fridge for 2 to 3 weeks, yumm... sweet, sour and spicy ).

I am sorry to hear yours experience, trust me,I know how it felt !

Like I said, we are learning( it is for me ) , and hopefully we will do better for the next one...

Be happy...

Momol

[momol]

Thankyou for the replies, not good news, ... unfortunately I was only getting up to the allotment every three days so they dried out then got watered, not good.
This year, I manage every other day so perhaps I might not have got the dreaded BER, got blight instead....
Sue

Hi sue,
I had experience with blossom end rot last year, I managed to sort it out by setting some thick mulch around the main stem of the plant( reaching 2.5 inch thick or more ). I watered and wet the ground first and then use some old news paper to mulch ( you will have to wet the news papers) then some compost soil on top of the it and at the top layer, I used some dried straw to get to an inch or more thickness. After mulching, I repeat some more watering so that everything stay together ( wind can't blow it away )
It should be thick enough to prevent water evaporations, plus it cools the soil. Hope it help,

Momol

[Sue]

Thanks Momol
I'll def try that, got to try harder next year, but no doubt there will be a whole load of other weather problems thrown at us.
Sue

[momol]

Hi Sue,

You could applied the same method to squashes, melon, potatoes... it works great for mine.
The only problem is when it get too much water like lately when it rains for days with no end , the root of the plant could rot So, watch for the nasty rain !
Yes,weather nowadays has been so unpredictable and extreem... lets take it as a challenge, and do our best, don't let it beat us...


Cheers,
Momol