Kitchen Garden Forum

I see that resistant varieties of tomato are available (so hope to not suffer next year), and that the blight is actually potato-borne, and comes about generally through wind drift - so old foliage should be burned.

Should old TOMATO foliage be burned, as is recommended for the potato, or can it be composted?

And what about affected tomato fruit - hard to burn - can they be composted after a low exposure to microwaving, perhaps? Not the kind of thing to put into the local Council's compost collection, either?

And what about the soil in the greenhouse where the offence took place - change the soil - leave it couple of years?

All guidance much welcomed, in the hope of avoiding a heartbreaking 2010 tomato time.

You've got my deepest sympathies - blight on the tomatoes can be heart breaking.

Just to get the debate going, you're right to say that blight is carried on the wind. It actually needs high humidity levels to get working.

Personally I wouldn't put blight-affected plants or tomatoes on my compost heap. On the other hand, I would put them in with green waste for the council, on the basis that they are able to heat their heaps up to a temperature that ought to kill all such diseases. I would also think it should be OK to plant tomatoes in your greenhouse borders again next year. Otherwise try really big pots, which is how I grow mine.

(Supplementary question for anyone joining in. I grew tomatoes in the borders for about three years and then, following recommended practice, switched to pots. I've been using the pots for at least 15 years. Do you reckon I could give the borders a go again now? I was thinking of doing that next year.)

There. The experts will probably shoot me down in flames now!