Blight??

[Westi]

As they are exclusive to the forum, maybe we need a name to reflect that. Play on KG initials or mash of regulars names!

Sweet little Westi did make me chuckle though OH! Glad it's about a tomato & not the real Westi - it would be blatant mis-advertising! Tiny Treats is cute as well Robo!

Maybe we need the Mudketeer's to join in? They seem up for a challenge & a laugh!

Westi

[robo]

I came to the reluctant conclusion that it was blight on my tomatoes due to finding blisters on the fruit, I could not bring myself to pulling them all up but did pull a few and discarded a lot of fruit the ones left I pulled of all the leaves that showed signs of brown rot and a few trusses as well, I did an internet search to see if I could find anything worth doing ,I found someone who suggested spraying with a mixture of dried milk powder and water a teaspoon to a litre ,luckily I had some in the shed and about a cup full of detol which I included in the mix I did not think it could do any harm as this was a last resort, I've sprayed everyday four four days it's not stopped the blight but certainly slowed it down I've even got new growth on the tops of most plants,today I will have to buy more detol

[Westi]

Interesting Robo!

Keep us up to date on the progress, so long as they get you through to ripe fruit I'd say worth a shot & a pretty cheap alternative to copper mix which varies a lot in price, I found mine in the £1 shop so OK there but much more expensive at Garden Centres. I wonder how it would do as a preventative, not just an after treatment?

I'll do the blight resistant toms & you can target the blight treatment! We've cornered the market!

Westi

[robo]

My tomatoes are looking a bit bare very few leaves left on them but plenty new growth, I mixed a fresh batch this morning pumped the spray to pressurize it when it exploded the bang was heard four plots away I had to use the water can which is interesting as I applied more than I did with the spray bottle it might have better results

[Westi]

Well today I got my 2nd blight watch e-mail! The first was at the beginning of the season when nothing was in to get blight & now when nothing is left to get blight - except my "Special Toms"! Personally I don't think the humidity was high enough today but will put the Toms to the test regardless - surely official notification is validation of blight resistance!

Just to show the finished result of these cherry toms, here's a pic! They are all the same red as they have been on a sunny window sill for a couple of days. They aren't over sweet, but not too acidic either, skin not too thick to bite through & doesn't stay glued to the top of your mouth, but enough to stop splitting. Pretty much DIY in the growing stakes, they rely on the weather or a weekly hose & no feed, they self sow & get on with it, however would be interesting to see someone experiment with pampering them as some get a good size, so potential there to get a bit bigger.

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Westi

[robo]

Just to keep you all updated , my tomatoes now seem to be blight free I sprayed four times over a week each time I removed any diseased leaves and fruit and there was a lot I would say I lost around 50% but now I've got fresh growth and I have been de suckering for over a week the top halves of my plants now look healthy, the last time I tried to spray the bottle exploded leaning me no option than to use the watering can this seemed to work better than spraying

[Primrose]

I've lost one Tumbling yellow tomato plant in the ground to blight but it had virtually finished fruiting anyway and its adjacent neighbour (a red tumbler) seems unaffected. Fingers crossed all my outdoor cordons are doing well and my Ferlines in particular are producing larger fruit than I recall them bearing last summer.

[PLUMPUDDING]

Mine don't have blight but the tops were dying down so I've lifted them all. I'm very impressed with the Picasso - 27 KG from 12 seed potatoes. There are some very large bakers and only a small amount t of slug damage.

[Westi]

Today I sorted my Cara's I dug last weekend as showing signs of blight! Very disappointing - full of slugs holes & still some little slugs living in the holes! I put pellets in the trenches & torn up newspaper as had read that helps, but they have had a total feast! More hints & tips needed methinks! They were a beaut size but not when only 1/2 a spud could be salvaged!

Fingers crossed for the tomatoes (KG1 maybe for the trial)? You will have to talk / write me through the seed saving of toms though? Should I start now with the ripe ones or wait until end of season so they are fully exposed to any late blight is first question!

Westi

[PLUMPUDDING]

If you're saving tomato seed I would select a couple of the best size fruits and pick them when they are nice and ripe. Scrape the seeds into a small jam jar and put water in. Shake it well after three or four days and the seeds should sink to the bottom. It can ferment or get mould on top but this won't hurt them. When they've sunk drain them into a fine sieve and rub them around under the tap to clean them, then tip them onto a saucer and allow them to dry thoroughly before putting into an envelope to store. I find the little dinner money envelopes handy, or Wilkinson sometimes have special printed envelopes designed for the job.

[Primrose]

Just to keep you all updated , my tomatoes now seem to be blight free I sprayed four times over a week each time I removed any diseased leaves and fruit and there was a lot I would say I lost around 50% but now I've got fresh growth and I have been de suckering for over a week the top halves of my plants now look healthy, the last time I tried to spray the bottle exploded leaning me no option than to use the watering can this seemed to work better than spraying

My proper pump spray packed up last year and I also had to resort to using those small hand held sprays, or an empty household cleaning liquid bottle, which I find very hard going, and difficult to get enough of the spray out to cover a large number of tomato plant foliage , so the spray head on a watering can may indeed give a more generous cover of protection, although I suspect a lot more of the mixture gets used in the process.

[Westi]

Well Blight Watch was right, my neighbour lost most her tomatoes in her plastic greenhouse. They went like mine with a total collapse and she was only down 2 days ago & it all looked fine.

My KG1 is dong fine, but it has been touched by blight, there are some dark marks on the stems, but leaves & fruit are fine. Took a huge amount of it's toms home today, nearly a kilo (915 grams) & there are masses more to come & I've spotted 3 new seedlings about 10 inches high making a late dash for it.


Westi

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[Westi]

Well the update on KG1 is they do indeed have blight but tomatoes continue ripening beautifully, and don't seem affected. So what we have is no leaves and lots of tomatoes. Another wee plant that popped up later and is only 6 inches or so high is completely unaffected and has it's first toms as well. This is one tomato that just likes producing it seems!

Westi

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[Primrose]

Westi
one or two of my Tumbling red and yellow tomato plants have started to go like this too now but the fruit seems unaffected. They have been producing ripe tomatoes since early July so are part of my guarantee of some kind of crop even if blight strikes later in the season. They are not marketed as blight resistant plants yet in every year when blight has struck that I've grown them they've continued to give me a crop.

[Westi]

Primrose looking at the habit of these they could have originated from a tumbling tomato as well.

When little they are upright & perky then they get the trusses on & it bends the stems down. Maybe KG1 isn't unique, maybe the seed guys haven't figured it out, but saving seeds for anyone interested anyway as they are at least 5th generation to be exposed to blight & definitely not pampered & although nothing beats the first tomato when you loose the rest of the crop the last of the season is pretty tasty as well!

Westi