Kitchen Garden Forum

I was reading back through an earlier thread on Tomato Trials and noticed that Caliente Mustard, had been grown in the soil as it had been specially bred to have significant fumigant properties and once in contact with moist soil the chopped plant material breaks down to release biologically active compounds that help to suppress weeds, root rot, nematodes (eelworm) and Veritcillium wilt. Is there any evidence that if this is grown in outdoor soil where tomatoes are grown it could help lessen any damage from tomato blight spores? I try to alternate the location for growing my tomatoes in alternate years and wonder whether growing Caliente Mustard over the winter would help control wilt, which I've suffered from on a couple of plants this year.

Hi Primrose,
The answer is no because the blight is not in the Tomato but in the Potato. This may sound daft but the blight mycelium is hosted by the potato over winter. You will not get blight from the Tomato itself although once into your toms the spores will proliferate but these spores originate from a potato not a tomato.
Caliente Mustard is a soil fumigant but not a fungicde which is what would be needed to kill blight.
JB.

Thanks for the explanation Johnboy. It's good to have a "professional" on here who can usually provide the answers that we amateurs are often searching for. Are you able to provide a little more information about wilt and any treatments. It find it almost as frustrating a tomato disease as blight despite the fact that plant often doesn't completely die on you but just sits there forlornly looking neither dead nor alive, and sometimes even soldiers on bearing a few pathetic fruits.

Hi Primrose,
There is a very good explanation on the use of Caliente Mustard on this website:

http://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profiles02 ... ustard.asp

JB.