Tomato blight - what to do with pots, canes etc?

tripod2000

Can't praise Koralik tomatoes enough. I'm one of the only people with tomatoes this year at the allotments. The blight attacks tomatoes that split so I know it's around but the plant it's self doesn't seem to get it or allow it to travel from fruit to fruit.

frivolous_fay

I think I have been struck for the first time this year. Prolific, tall, (too tall really, should have chopped them back way before 5 ft+) healthy plants.
This last weekend was wet and I didn't check on them. I went out this evening and 60% of the plants are withered and greying. Can't believe how quickly it happened! I picked the remaining reds and I will come back for the green soon if I can find something worth doing with them.

Can any of the compost be salvaged? I have two quite large tomato sacks... not to mention two potato sacks of compost close by.

Primrose

fay - am not sure whether it would be wise to re-use your blighted tomato compost for regrowing tomatoes in again next year as there seems to be doubt as about blight spores remaining in it. Having said that, one year I lost all my tomato plants to blight. I pulled them up and put the foliage in the dustbin but I did grow tomatoes in the same location the following year and they were healthy so I don't know what you make of that. If you absolutely need to reuse it for tomatoes, I'd try giving it a good soak with diluted Jeyes Fluid or some kind of garden fungicide which might help to sterilise the compost (although it won't do much good to any worms in it!). I'd empty any blighted container compost out and spread it on the lawn or somewhere where you won't be growing tomatoes next year if possible.

rosie383

Fay, if mine were anything to go by, I would get out there today and pick what you can of your green tomatoes as they will rot very quickly. And wash them as soon as you bring them in, cos they will be brown by tomorrow if you don't. I didn't and ended up binning half of them. Made chutney with the rest and it is delicious. I made it spicy with a couple of green chillis, and tasted the scrapings from the pot. Yum!

jollymummy

We have a small plastic polytunnel at the allotment. We've been away for a few days and went up last night, every tomato plant had got blight and died. Hubby planted a few spuds in the greenhouse and they look pretty yucky too. Thankfully the tomato plants had just about finished. Can blight jump from tomatoes to potatoes or vice versa? I've pulled all the plants up and dumped them at the side of the greenhouse for now, but I'm unsure how to dipose of them.
Our allotment is really flooded too, so that's the next thing to deal with !!!

rosie383

According to my vegetable and herb expert book, there are 2 different types of blight. Google them to see the difference. My tomatoes looked like it was potato blight that they got, rather than tomato blight, so i guess it does cross over. Being a novice, I am happy to be corrected.

Lotus-eater

There are two types of blight, early and late. Late is the one that we commonly talk about when blight is concerned.
Both types can affect tomatoes and potatoes, both types can jump from one to another.

It can be called both tomato blight and potato blight.

Mojisola

This is a good basic lesson on blight - http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=217