Talkback: Tomato and potato blight - Talkback

08/09/2010 at 18:40

The tomatoes in our greenhouse were destroyed by blight last week. This is the first time ever, that we have had blight. Last weekend was spent making all sorts of chutney from the green tomatoes, and we currently have more jars than most supermarkets. Would have been a bumper crop.

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08/09/2010 at 22:14

My outdoor tomatoes have had a touch of blight this year.The last two years the blight was worse, so I think I have got away lightly this year.I too have been making chutney with the green tomatoes this week.I love this time of year.

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09/09/2010 at 10:42

No blight at all on my outside tomatoes after two blighty years - gloriana!

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09/09/2010 at 15:32

I've still got Cara growing. Masses of new stems came after the drought conditions broke. not a sign of blight yet.

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09/09/2010 at 16:00

i have lots of green toms, could i have your recipe for chutney please? Bev

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09/09/2010 at 18:23

After the debacle with blight in the last two years in Bristol I'm pleased to report none and very good yields of potatoes and tomatoes. I probably will not have any green ones as they all seem to be ripening well on the plants outside but for people who do - have you seen the film "Fried Green Tomatoes" about a cafe which does just that?

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09/09/2010 at 19:07

I started my Tom's later this year, and so far I've got plenty of ripening fruit, with (fingers crossed) no blight yet. We'll have to wait to see how the spuds have fared.

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10/09/2010 at 22:32

a lot of my toms are still green,a lot red also,not a bit of blight despite the conditions,but did remove a lot of foliage for circulation of air.x

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11/09/2010 at 09:53

We managed to have just a little potato blight on one of 36 new allottments and this was quickly taken out and destroyed before it got going. Tomato blight struck 2 weeks ago on all tomatoes growing on sight. All where quickly destroyed With regard to the query on hanging tomatoes.I grew 3 Tom Thumb tumbling in a hanging bag at home. These have done exceptionally well, and are still yielding. Had one and a half kilos and about a kilo still to come.

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11/09/2010 at 18:46

I can honestly say that the only blight we had on our tomatoes was on one plant in the greenhouse. Always a big nasty brown rotting patch apprears on the underside of the tomato and gets bigger. I've now destroyed this plant and all the others seem fine. The outside ones are perfect albeit green! No blight on the spuds but what a pathetic crop! Just not enough rain this summer.

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12/09/2010 at 20:30

We've had problems with blight in our part of Gloucestershire for the past few years. However after the very hard winter I had a hunch it would be worth giving a main crop of spuds a go and I've just harvested the most fantastic crop of King Edwards and the Tomato plants have been blight free. I'm sure this is, in part, due to the hard winter. It's an ill wind....

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13/09/2010 at 15:41

I grow Shirley and Gardeners Delight 3 to a growbag in ring culture in greenhouse.Never had a problem with blight.I have a drip feed system which keeps them ticking over.I water and feed every day.I have automatic vents,also a small solar fan.I remove lower leaves for ventilation and light.I hope this is of some help.

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15/09/2010 at 16:27

Apart from all my tomatoes being a little late I have had very good crops from several different varieties in the polytunnel.However I have a problem with my shirleys which were grown from f1 seed! The skins are tough and completely devoid of any "shine" making the fruit look extremely unpalatable! All my other varieties have been excellent.. Can anyone throw any light on the problem?

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15/09/2010 at 20:23

I live in Mylor, Cornwall, and have suffered terrible blight in my potatoes and tomatoes, as I believe have the potato farmers in the surrounding fields. Green tomato chutney and teeny tasty potatoes it is for me this year!

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17/09/2010 at 10:02

I still have a large amount of outdoor tomatoes, they are still fairly small and green will they still ripen or is it to late

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19/09/2010 at 01:20

I'm in Northants. My tomato crop has been excellent; plenty of tasty, high quality fruits. I'm growing Black Cherry, Gardener's Delight, Gold Medal (multicoloured beefskeak) and a cooking tom called 'Lettuce Leaf'; latter two from Real Seeds. Apart for a few black spots on my tomato leaves, that I destroyed quickly, I've had no trouble with blight this year. I'm growing outdoors under plastic covers to keep the rain off, and picking at first sign of ripening. I think the dry summer and cold winter have helped suppress blight, but it's still around.

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19/09/2010 at 17:11

My tomatoes have been destroyed by blight this year and my potatoes have faired any better. Next year I will keep my tomatoes in doors all the time.

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20/09/2010 at 09:19

I have been amazed at how little blight there seems to have been this year, despite the horribly wet weather, but it does keep drying out inbetween. Some now though, sadly! PG

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20/09/2010 at 09:20

amazingly late here too, despite the weather, and I've had fewer questions about it than usual...but it has just arrived on the outdoor tomatoes in the last few days PG

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20/09/2010 at 12:55

My tomatoes were attacked by blight over the weekend. We destroyed all the affected plants and picked all the tomatoes. Can we use blighted toms as the flesh under the skin seems ok?