Dreaded Tomato Blight - Page 3

I'd rather be famous for something else - but we are just a stone's throw from the John Innes Centre at Colney 

I think I'll continue as I am at the moment removing every spoiled leaf as soon as it's spotted  - they're as far away from the others as I can physically get them - but if it gets even slightly more rampant they'll be bagged and binned quick as a wink - but that way I may get a tomato or three off them yet - and given the size of Marmandes that's not to be sneezed at!

Fair 'nuff. Which Marmandes are you growing? The modern Marmande isn't, unfortunately, much of a patch on the original French heirloom. Somewhere along the way I think some tweaking might have happened. The old Rouge de Marmande was a glorious tom.

Not the Heirloom ones , just Suttons' .... as you say not like the original but I do think the original probably needs more of a Provencal climate than we can provide here most years - as you say  there's probably been some tweaking. 

So far no signs of anything on the other three, or on any of the Red Alerts - fngers still crossed - which accoubts for typng errords 

Thanks for your help 

Update - one more blighted leaflet removed in last 24 hours - otherwise all appear healthy, albeit with three plants with black blotches on the stems 

If you can grow the Suttons' version of Marmande you could grow the original Rouge de Marmande. The difficulty would be finding the genuine seeds.

Google reveals lots of sources in Australia - strange that they don't appear to be available over here - I wonder if my Tasmanian cousins can get their hands on some for me 

Tasmania? *shudders*

Never been there myself but the photos look good - I understand some attitudes are a little 'behind the times'?  Perhaps they'll have heirloom tomatoes then?

Funny place, Tasmania. Progressive in some ways - it was the birthplace of the Greens in Australia and remains to the forefront in terms of conservation, etc - but certain parts of the island are best avoided. Very small, isolated communities without much in the way of, um, genetic input from outside. If you get my drift.

Ah, well my coz went there from South Wales around 1970 - no wonder he was grabbed swiftly by a local Tasmanian lass with whom he has gone on to found a dynasty

Just what the place needed, an injection of Welsh genes.

Well, two days on and no more signs of blight (fingers very crossed) - still with black blotches on a couple of stems - on the third one the blotch  had been higher up where one of the stems had bifurcated, so I cut that piece off.  I now have three quite healthy looking (apart from the aforementioned two black blotches) Marmandes in pots at one end of the garden, and three more very healthy looking Marmandes in pots, and 7 Red Alerts, at the other end of the garden, all busily setting fruit  

I'm washing my hands after touching them!

There's no doubting your commitment, Dove. Or your sparkling clean hands.

Any updates on your tommies Dove?

Fingers still crossed here.

Hi Leggi, thanks for keeping those fingers crossed - it must be working, they're still alive and looking healthy with no more blotchy leaves for the past 10 days or so.  They're still flowering and setting fruit, at the same sort of rate as the three unaffected plants on the other side of the garden.    I am bemused but very pleased - I just wish we could have some warmer weather so the fruits stand a chance of ripening - or there'll be a lot of green tomato chutney cooked in this kitchen 

How are your toms?

Green tomato chutney sounds delicious 

The rest of my tommies have so far been unaffected, they seem to particularly like growing by the side of my front garden, I think the light must be better there. We haven't had a large crop and most are like yours, still green, but we have picked more than some other years.

It's good to hear your plants have survived and are growing well.