Is this tomato blight???! HELP!

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi all,

Was wondering of some of the experts on here could advise....am growing tomatos/1 x aubergine plant/3 types of chillis + peppers in large deep plastic pots in my plastic greenhouse (!)...It's opened every day to let air ai...etc...

Due to my over-zelous (!) placing of SIX full pots on each flimsy shelf (!) I've had some collapsing issues & have lost some plants (I'm so silly...6 full pots on one flimsy shelf??!....dohhh...!).

I replaced one of my tomato olants with a market bought pot plant tomato called 'shirley'...it was a bit battered when i bought it & is sitting amidst all the other plants on the base of the greenhouse..

Now today I noticed a small slightly 'darker' patch (not black but looked 'greyish')on the stem (at the top) & one shrivelled leaf....rest of plant & other tomatos & plants in g/house all fine. Took it out to look at it in the light & one stem on closer examination fell off once touched....no fruits set yet -in fact 1st lot of flowers appearing just a few milimetres above the 'grey' bit...which I've felt & feels firm-is not weak in any way (the stem may have fallen off due to alot being in g/house & also plant not in the best of nick when bought but has grown a great deal!)...took it out of g/house straight away & it's upwind of greenhouse now...

Just for info none of my tom plants are fruiting yet or indeed flowering....

I read on the web its normally due to long periods of wet/warm weather-which we've not had & they're all in shop bought compost..

My questions...

1-Does it sound like blight???!

2-Will it affect other plants/fruits (I've no potatos or root crops)

3-What further signs now its removed & greenhouse safely zipped up should I look for??

I'm new to this gardening lark & LOVE it but don't want to throw this plant ulness I have to or put other plants in danger...any ideas??!

Primrose

It's a bit early for tomato blight but it can occur in wet or humid conditions. If you Google "photographs of tomato blight" you will probably be able to find some examples of what blight looks like. Generally small patches of black on either stem of leaves are the first sign of the disease and once it takes hold it can spread to other tomatoes very rapidly, although I've not know aubergines, peppers or chillies to be affected.
If it IS blight, try removing the affected leaves and destroying them. In wet/humid weather I normally spray my tomatoes with Dithane (it comes in powdered sachets to which you add water), which has in the past always managed to keep the disease at bay.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Primrose...thanks for the quick reply! have done some googling & the spots on leaves etc for early blight are not there...I wonder if the plant has just been 'bruised' by rough handling??? The google piccys show BLACK bits on stem-this just looks light grey & stems/flowers above this are fine.....! I'm probably over-reacting...(!)

misskool

Aubergines are of the same family as potato and tomatoes so they will catch blight. But as most aubergines are grown in greenhouses/polytunnels, they are not as well known to catch it.

DEBTMONKEY1A

If it IS blight I assume it'll get worse daily? How long should I leave it away from zipped greenhouse to monitor it....if indeed it does deteriorate at all??? Googling given me quite a bit of hope that it's not blight so fingers crossed...(!)

Primrose

Debtmonkey - you're right to be vigilant and over cautious as blight can wipe out a whole crop of tomatoes in about 48 hours. People who grow tomatoes on allotments are especially vulnerable with so many other plants around which allows the disease to spread more rapidly, especially if growers are not spraying against it. Nobody near me seems to grow tomatoes so I suspect that gives me a little more protection but from the beginning of July I do inspect my plants daily, especially if we've had wet and humid conditions. .
Tomatoes can get other marks on leaves from scorching, or rough handling and as yet I don't think much of the country has had the wet/humid conditions which causes blight to trigger so quickly. There's a website called Blightwatch where you can sign up to be alerted if "Smith periods" or something similarly called have occurred. These are weather periods where conditions have been in place for sufficient time for blight to be a likely occurrence. The site is aimed mainly at big agricultural growers of potatoes and tomatoes (same family so spores spread from one to the other) but individual growers/amateur gardeners can sign up for it too. You have to give yourself a user name and remember your password, because once you've signed up, you'll get warnings in successive years.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Thanks Primrose! All my food crops (except lettuce, leaves etc) are in plastic buckets in a zipped greenhouse....if no deterioration in say 48 hours do you think it's safe to move it back in to greenhouse??

Lotus-eater

In this weather, no greenhouse should be shut, night or day. I wouldn't put it back in yet.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi Lotus eater....I do open it during the afternoon...I live 500 ft up in the pennines & its always cooler here-yesterday for example the maximum temperature in the shade was 24.5-other parts of the country-especially the south & east-were much hotter...its always cooler up here!

misskool

you need it for ventilation too. Closing the doors make it too humid for some plants.

DEBTMONKEY1A

Hi guys......yes always open (ulness v.cold) in afternoon....if temp inside g/house goes too high (above 30 c) will always open it...

So how long should I leave it outside to see if it worsens?