Kitchen Garden Forum

We have probably discussed this topic before so forgive a senior moment, but is there anything one can do to save the lives of tomatoes picked from a blighted plant? Yes , some of my plants are showing signs now, despite being sprayed, mostly on lengths of the main stem,but also on a few truss stems, including the Ferline blight resistant variety.

I can't t remember whether soaking the unripe tomatoes in any kind of sterilising fluid allowed them to ripen before the inevitable signs of blight start to appear.

Anybody else faced with the same dilemma?

I've not had blight on mine, but I think that if you use the fermenting the seed in a jar method to clean your seeds before rinsing and drying this should kill off pathogens.

Thanks PP. i was actually thinking of ways of saving the tomatoes to be able to eat them as soon as they had ripened and delaying any effects of blight on the plant getting to individual "clean" tomatoes.

Sorry Primrose I was in seed saving mode I've used Milton sterilising tablets to wash/soak scabby looking apples in the past and that works to stop them deteriorating. I'd give it a try with your tomatoes.

We now have blight on our allotment, my plants seem to have been infected over night, now with black spots on the stems and leaves all curled and brown. I've picked off all fruit red and green with no signs of any blackening and laid them out in the greenhouse. I wondered if the green would be all right to make chutney with and the red, will make more soup to freeze, the rest will eat and give away before they to succumb.

Beryl.

Beryl. I think you will have to be very quick and use up the tomatoes from your blighted plants pretty much immediately to be on the safe side. . I do taste samples of mine before I process them and so far they seem to be fine. But as you say, the blight on a tomato can appear almost overnight . I picked all.mine at the weekend. A few came from plants which were showing signs of blight. I soaked them in water for a couple of hours with some crushed Camden Tablets (a winemaking sterilising agent) and so far they are looking ok but I will probably process some more of them tomorrow.

Yes, thanks Primrose I think I am going to be busy the next few days. With a lorry load of manure due at the week-end to, I will have my work cut out.

Beryl

IF your toms are only just beginning to show possible signs of blight on leaves cut off the affected leaf stem areas
If the main growth stem is affected it may be too late to save the fruit.

Remove all affected debris from the plot, or burn it. Do not use it for compost.
Affected Green toms which have been picked usually show signs of going black within a matter of days of picking and should be destroyed.

If the main stems are not showing signs of blight but leaves are I watch for blight signs on stem and remove all toms as soon as signs appear and use them for pasta sauce or chutney

Well that last post of mine certainly tempted fate,

made that comment yesterday after having checked the allotment on Tuesday.
Today toms were blighted to point of having to dispose of all fruit and plants.


Worst of all, Have grown Sarpo Mira potatoes for a number of years and they have never had blight......................................... until now !!!!

Oh that,s such a blow Pa Snip. You sow and nurture them all year and than they just go downhill so suddenly that there is little you can do to retrieve the situation. I,ve had a reasonable crop before blight arrived but have been leaving unripe tomatoes on plants just two o three days too long in the hope of them ripenng, snd then blight has suddenly struck and slthough I've picked them and soaked them in a sterilising solution, every mornng I check the trays on which they're stored and a few more have gone downhill overnight.

Bad luck that both your tomatoes and potatoes have been affected. That's a real double whammy .

Hi Primrose

Never had blight act so quickly before. My neighbours tomatoes also went down literally overnight>
My spuds only have the haulms affected at the moment, snag is that my treatment is sapping my energy so I'm done in after digging just a few plants out.

Got 13lb off of three Sarpo Mira today, have to keep an eye on them to see how they store. I might have got them out the ground in time. Only another 24 plants to dig out