Blight?

[Paulottie]

A very unnecessary comment and not correct.

Blight is a fungal infection of potatoes and tomatoes. There are a couple of strains that attack at different times of the year. The spores arrive with rain so they are mainly prevalent in warm wet conditions. The problem is normally worse in the south and west of the country and is rare in the north.

The first signs are brown spots on the leaves (usually with fungal 'halo on underside of leaf) this will quickly spread to the stems with black patches appearing.... Then to the fruit in tomatoes or with spuds the haulm will die and then the spores will be washed into the soil where they will cause the tubers to begin to rot to a slimey smelly mess. There is no cure but some protection is afforded by copper fungicide (organically approved.) This is normally applied as 'Burgundy or Bordeaux (incl. lime) mixture (the preparations originated in the vineyards for other fungal probs). The problem is perpetuated by diseased material and thus all infected plants should be burnt immediately and never composted.

here is a link
Royal Horticultural Society - Gardening Advice: Potato Blight

There is also a web site that tracks its progress each year.

[Headfry]

Thanks Paulottie, I had blight fro the first time ever last year, have heard of it but knew nothing about it (veg growing 20yrs, i have been lucky!) Had to ask here on the vine as I had not got a clue what was wrong with my tomatoes!
thanks again
HF

[SueA]

Paulottie, I think the comment about blight being rarer in the north is not the case now. We have blight fairly regularly here in the Manchester area, it's probably due to all the lovely rain we get (!) & the warmer temperatures in general nowadays ( another global warming effect?) Last year was awful because of the very wet summer & I lost most of my tomatoes to it & only managed to save a few which were small plants I'd still got undercover.
I believe growing tomatoes in a greenhouse offers a lot of protection but last year some people even found it on those too. I don't have a greenhouse so have to take my chances & only grow early potatoes in pots outdoors & have managed to harvest them usually before blight strikes.

[brooklynodog]

Paulottie, I think the comment about blight being rarer in the north is not the case now. We have blight fairly regularly here in the Manchester area, it's probably due to all the lovely rain we get (!) & the warmer temperatures in general nowadays ( another global warming effect?) Last year was awful because of the very wet summer & I lost most of my tomatoes to it & only managed to save a few which were small plants I'd still got undercover.
I believe growing tomatoes in a greenhouse offers a lot of protection but last year some people even found it on those too. I don't have a greenhouse so have to take my chances & only grow early potatoes in pots outdoors & have managed to harvest them usually before blight strikes.

I lost my entire crop of toms, all in a G/house

[vegtable newbie!]

Thank you all for the lovely comments which i received.

sue
xx

[Sanjo]

Hello vegetable Newbie. I must be thick (or totally innocent). I saw the original comment but assumed it was repartee since a lot of joking goes on on this site. Apparently not!! Still, by now you will have realised that replies like the hurtful one are very rare. I am about to post my own question since some of these answers on blight have made me think of my own spuds in sacks. Best Wishes and welcome to the club. Sanjo