Kitchen Garden Forum

Big article in The Independent on Sunday[i][/i] yesterday, reporting on research by the US Department of Agriculture, saying that spraying tomatoes and potatoes with salicylic acid - the active ingredient in aspirin - primes the plants against microbial and insect attack, including blight. Pof. Rebecca Brown at the University of Rhode Island recommends adding 250-500mg of aspirin to a gallon of water, and spraying two or three times a month "before the first signs of disease". Organic gardeners, she suggests, could use a solution derived from freshly-cut willow, as willows are naturally high in salicylic acid. It's not saying this is a total remedy to blight, but trials apparently showed a 47% reduction.

Interesting Ken!

When it is nearing blight time I might do a bit of a trial, as it's a nice cheap alternative to the other spray I use. The other thing is all these simpler, more natural products are being shown to impact on a lot of human conditions so why not plants?

Westi

I. might give this a try too but since I"m a feet & inches person can somebody please explain to me how many aspirin tablets this amount represents. I have previous used a Dithane spray but believe this may no longer be available?

Correct Primrose, Dithane is no longer legally available.

hi Primrose, there should be a xxxmg label on the pack, this is per tablet. so just dissolve the amout to make it up to 500mg, probaby one or two. i suspect disprin is the one to try, as it is designed to readily dissolve in water.

Primrose wrote:I. might give this a try too but since I"m a feet & inches person can somebody please explain to me how many aspirin tablets this amount represents.

Well, it looks like you're in good company with the University of Rhode Island: 500mg in 1 gallon? Not so much avoirdupois as sois-disant.