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Tomato blight advice

SmallcopperSmallcopper Posts: 34
in Fruit & veg
Hello everyone,

Hoping someone could please give me some advice as to whether this looks like blight on my tomatoes? I've only grown tomatoes once before and they didn't get it last year, so I'm not entirely sure what it looks like.

I disposed of one plant yesterday evening that I saw had more black patches on the stems and curled leaves, so I think it might have spread to the others. All my tomatoes are still green so I don't know whether it's safer to pick them now rather than wait and lose altogether?

Many thanks in advance!

(Sorry the second picture isn't that great - it was hard to capture in the sun - it's the bit on the stem just below the tomatoes that has gone brown)


Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes- it's been very common this year unfortunately. You can still harvest the tomatoes, and bring them indoors to ripen.
    Dispose of the foliage in your council collection bin if you have one. Safer than putting it on a compost heap.  :)  
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • SmallcopperSmallcopper Posts: 34
    Thank you @Fairygirl for confirming my suspicions! I'll bring them in and see what happens - otherwise will be making lots of green tomato chutney again! Really hoped to get some ripe ones this year (last year didn't ripen either as I think I started a bit late), but there's always next year!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Indeed. 
    I feel a bit guilty because I'm harvesting large amounts of the little cherry tom I've grown this year. I grow undercover, as we don't have a suitable climate, and it helps enormously. No one nearby grows them anyway, which is another advantage. 
    Maybe it's worth thinking about too.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • Allotment BoyAllotment Boy Posts: 6,774
    The weather really has been against us this year. Some of my fellow plotholders had blight as early as June this year. Lots of people on the forum have talked about having to rip out most or all of their plants. You can try some of the blight resistant ones, but they tend to have tougher skins. As @Fairygirl says maybe try growing under protection,  helps with blight and ripening. 
    AB Still learning

  • SmallcopperSmallcopper Posts: 34
    Yes, I'd seen some of the other threads on the forum about blight, and hoped I might get away with it... alas not! I live fairly near RHS Harlow Carr and when I went earlier today they had some amazing huge tomatoes in a greenhouse! One day when I have the space... 

    What kind of cherry tomatoes do you grow @Fairygirl? Mine are 'Red Cherry' which I actually got with GW magazine, and they were much larger than I expected! My neighbour has some plants with very little yellow and red tomatoes which have ripened. I should have a closer look at their plants and warn them...

    Maybe next year I'll shop around for some different varieties to try!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I normally grow Sungold @Smallcopper, which are good,  and I've grown Sweet Millions, but I didn't find those great at all. Germination wasn't great on them either. 
    This year, I've grown Piccolo, which is a commercial variety. I saved seed from a packet my daughter bought at work, and they've been splendid. this was what she picked yesterday

    I only have three plants in the growhouse, and one which was from side shoots which I keep in the house at night. It's certainly been good value doing them   ;)
    We use them for making bruschetta which we love.
    You can always start a thread asking for suggestions. Lots of tomato growers on the forum. If you look in the search function at the top of the page, you might get some old threads about varieties too  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • EmerionEmerion Posts: 599
    If you are able to try growing them under cover, be careful to water only the soil, getting no water at all on the plants. I followed this advice last year and this year and it’s the first time that I’ve had no blight all season, even with non-blight-resistant varieties ( tastier), and there was a lot of blight around here. My Charlotte potatoes were ruined. Apparently blight can’t survive on dry leaves and stems. Growing tomatoes outside is a calculated risk, depending on the weather in your area. I’m in west Wales and only tried toms outside once, it was a massacre what with the blight and the slugs. 
    Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.


  • SmallcopperSmallcopper Posts: 34
    Those look great @Fairygirl ! Thank you for the suggestion, yes - I'll definitely do some more research for next year.

    Thank you too @Emerion. I didn't know that about blight not surviving on dry leaves and stems.. I'm sorry about your potatoes. 

    Not sure if we had enough sun/heat for my tomatoes to ripen outdoors, even if they hadn't got blight (West Yorkshire). Maybe I should have started them indoors earlier so they were bigger when planted out..  Something to try next year anyway!
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'd have thought Yorkshire could be iffy for growing them outdoors   :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • SmallcopperSmallcopper Posts: 34
    Yes, you're right! Two years of no success isn't promising.. but I do enjoy growing them though!
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