Sorry, Catherine, I didn't see any specific reference to Late Blight in terms of your article. It just says "tomato blight".
Anyway, Late Blight is no different to any of the other fungal diseases in the way it is transmitted. It's just a different pathogen. The only difference is the ugliness of the outcome. So, in terms of prevention or minimisation of the effects, anything relevant to fungal diseases in general relates to Late Blight.
Well, let me clarify that. The traditional preventive sprays - copper-based - can be effective against the common fungal infections but much less so against Late Blight. The other fundamental difference, of course, is Late Blight's destructive properties. It can destroy a plant within a week so there's usually little that can be done to save the plant once infected. Dove [posting above] had all the classic symptoms of Late Blight but managed to save her plants. A triumph of tomato care!
I'm sorry but the RHS is promolgating a furphy. Toms in greenhouses are not less likely to suffer Late Blight. If the pathogen is around, the plants - outdoors or in a greenhouse - can be affected, and the greenhouse incubator effects I mentioned earlier can and will come into play. I'm sure Monty Don isn't the only one who will question the RHS' advice.
I came back from holiday at the end of August to find all my outdoor tomato plants had blight. What's worse is I hadn't yet harvested any tomatoes. It was my first year growing tomatoes and there has been a lot of helpful advice on the forum on how to avoid blight. I will be trying again next year, planting further apart, being careful with watering, and removing lower leaves to improve air circulation. Fingers crossed!
I only grew one variety this year - Marmande - it is my absolute favourite. I am still eating the last few now having managed to ripen them indoors (old method, put on newspaper in a warm,sunny window). I grow from seed indoors and put them outside in a very sheltered garden when it is warm enough. They come back indoors, inside the patio doors, when it gets too cool.
Pleased to say I had no blight. I never spray them or anything else I eat but I do plant tagetes in their pots and it seems to work as I never have white fly either.
Can highly recommend Maskotka cherry type tomato for good flavour. Grown in greenhouse and out this year. While the outside ones did get blight it didn't seem to effect all the tomatoes. Only a few were quickly disposed of. Those in the greenhouse were completely unaffected and I was still picking ripe fruit well into October.
Seed available from T&M and some other online seed suppliers
I can only repeat that I have never had blight of any sort in the greenhouse, but I have had it outside, late blight 3 times between 2000 and 2008, also potato blight. I stopped growing potatoes for a few years, but in the last 3 years I've grown only early potatoes and I've grown tagetes or French marigolds with the tomatoes and there has been no tomato blight outside either, or whitefly. I've never grown potatoes near the green house door and the greenhouse is always well ventilated. I never water the tomato leaves in the greenhouse, but the outdoor ones get rained on. So I think the RHS does have some gounds for their advice. When June has been wet and warm the tomatoes have sometimes had brown patches on the leaves and I've either picked the leaves off or sprayed with a fungicide, but they recovered. With later blight the plants die quickly.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
no blight at all this year, outside or in greenhouse. Massive yields of moneymaker (bit bland tasting) also Sungold which was gorgeous. Outside toms this year were put in large pots and not grobags, also those in greenhouse, much better and retained water really well. Our 10 yr old grandson grew the moneymakers from seedsticks which he got at an eco-centre in Wales last year. You push the matchstick like sticks in the compost (the seeds are stuck to the ends) voila - seedlings thru very quickly, wish there were more available like this (only £1 per packet by the way) we grew marigolds as usual and put them around the base of tomato plants, I never spray my plants, only water mist the leaves sometimes, no chemicals whatsoever and as I say no bugs or blight, don't know why
Since increasing ventilation in my greenhouse, removing any leaves with the slightest hint of blight or other fungal diseases, and being careful to water only in the mornings and when absolutely necessary, I've had several years of tomato growing success. In my opinion, keeping the leaves dry and preventing condensation in the greenhouse is the best one can reasonably do. All fungal diseases like late blight love wet and humid conditions, so just do your best to produce exactly the opposite wherever you grow tomatoes.
A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
I must have been one of the lucky ones as I did not suffer from blight. My favourite tomato that I grow each year from seed is Tamina an early ripening potatoe leaved variety. It is a strong grower and very productive with medium sized tomatoes of good flavour.I have tried other varieties including the cherry type but stil prefer Tamina both for cropping and reliability.I grow them in my greenhouse although I understand they can be grown outside. Although I grow them straight into the soil I also put a Growpot (usually used with growbags) around each plant and gradually fill the centre with soil and remove the bottom leaves of each plant. This I find makes a stronger plant and makes watering simple.
Posts
Sorry, Catherine, I didn't see any specific reference to Late Blight in terms of your article. It just says "tomato blight".
Anyway, Late Blight is no different to any of the other fungal diseases in the way it is transmitted. It's just a different pathogen. The only difference is the ugliness of the outcome. So, in terms of prevention or minimisation of the effects, anything relevant to fungal diseases in general relates to Late Blight.
Well, let me clarify that. The traditional preventive sprays - copper-based - can be effective against the common fungal infections but much less so against Late Blight. The other fundamental difference, of course, is Late Blight's destructive properties. It can destroy a plant within a week so there's usually little that can be done to save the plant once infected. Dove [posting above] had all the classic symptoms of Late Blight but managed to save her plants. A triumph of tomato care!
I'm sorry but the RHS is promolgating a furphy. Toms in greenhouses are not less likely to suffer Late Blight. If the pathogen is around, the plants - outdoors or in a greenhouse - can be affected, and the greenhouse incubator effects I mentioned earlier can and will come into play. I'm sure Monty Don isn't the only one who will question the RHS' advice.
I came back from holiday at the end of August to find all my outdoor tomato plants had blight. What's worse is I hadn't yet harvested any tomatoes. It was my first year growing tomatoes and there has been a lot of helpful advice on the forum on how to avoid blight. I will be trying again next year, planting further apart, being careful with watering, and removing lower leaves to improve air circulation. Fingers crossed!
I only grew one variety this year - Marmande - it is my absolute favourite. I am still eating the last few now having managed to ripen them indoors (old method, put on newspaper in a warm,sunny window). I grow from seed indoors and put them outside in a very sheltered garden when it is warm enough. They come back indoors, inside the patio doors, when it gets too cool.
Pleased to say I had no blight. I never spray them or anything else I eat but I do plant tagetes in their pots and it seems to work as I never have white fly either.
Can highly recommend Maskotka cherry type tomato for good flavour. Grown in greenhouse and out this year. While the outside ones did get blight it didn't seem to effect all the tomatoes. Only a few were quickly disposed of. Those in the greenhouse were completely unaffected and I was still picking ripe fruit well into October.
Seed available from T&M and some other online seed suppliers
I can only repeat that I have never had blight of any sort in the greenhouse, but I have had it outside, late blight 3 times between 2000 and 2008, also potato blight. I stopped growing potatoes for a few years, but in the last 3 years I've grown only early potatoes and I've grown tagetes or French marigolds with the tomatoes and there has been no tomato blight outside either, or whitefly. I've never grown potatoes near the green house door and the greenhouse is always well ventilated. I never water the tomato leaves in the greenhouse, but the outdoor ones get rained on. So I think the RHS does have some gounds for their advice. When June has been wet and warm the tomatoes have sometimes had brown patches on the leaves and I've either picked the leaves off or sprayed with a fungicide, but they recovered. With later blight the plants die quickly.
no blight at all this year, outside or in greenhouse. Massive yields of moneymaker (bit bland tasting) also Sungold which was gorgeous. Outside toms this year were put in large pots and not grobags, also those in greenhouse, much better and retained water really well. Our 10 yr old grandson grew the moneymakers from seedsticks which he got at an eco-centre in Wales last year. You push the matchstick like sticks in the compost (the seeds are stuck to the ends) voila - seedlings thru very quickly, wish there were more available like this (only £1 per packet by the way) we grew marigolds as usual and put them around the base of tomato plants, I never spray my plants, only water mist the leaves sometimes, no chemicals whatsoever and as I say no bugs or blight, don't know why
Since increasing ventilation in my greenhouse, removing any leaves with the slightest hint of blight or other fungal diseases, and being careful to water only in the mornings and when absolutely necessary, I've had several years of tomato growing success. In my opinion, keeping the leaves dry and preventing condensation in the greenhouse is the best one can reasonably do. All fungal diseases like late blight love wet and humid conditions, so just do your best to produce exactly the opposite wherever you grow tomatoes.
Growing in a greenhouse I have not had bight.
Best variety for cooking in a meat sauce has been Brandywine which had very few seeds.
I must have been one of the lucky ones as I did not suffer from blight. My favourite tomato that I grow each year from seed is Tamina an early ripening potatoe leaved variety. It is a strong grower and very productive with medium sized tomatoes of good flavour.I have tried other varieties including the cherry type but stil prefer Tamina both for cropping and reliability.I grow them in my greenhouse although I understand they can be grown outside. Although I grow them straight into the soil I also put a Growpot (usually used with growbags) around each plant and gradually fill the centre with soil and remove the bottom leaves of each plant. This I find makes a stronger plant and makes watering simple.
We grow Ferline and Legend from Thomson and Morgan quite successfuly, we tried spraying with Bordeaux mixtutre on the others with partial success