Tomato blight from 2009

[ducks4you]

I just got my January/February copy of "Hobby Farms" and was reading about blight. They suggested pulling out any "volunteers" (from 2009 fruit that dropped,) that grow up in 2010. Is there anything else that should be done to kill off blight in next year's garden?

 

[lesa]

It seems that some of the blight is airborne- not much you can do about that. Usually, winter will kill off the blight around here (zone 4), not sure about zone 6. Some blight is in the ground and you can avoid it by applying mulch under the plants. This way when the rain hits the dirt, it doesn't hit the leaves of your tomatoes. I think starting your own seeds is a good idea too. This way you don't end up with somebody else problem... Good luck!

 

[journey11]

Mulch, like Lesa said, helps alot. I use layers of wet newpaper and cover with a thick layer of straw.

Another good idea is to rotate your tomato plot every year. This includes other plants in the same family -- potatoes, peppers, eggplants and tobacco, which will have similar susceptibility for certain diseases. Rotation will help prevent the bad organisms from building up a stronghold in your soil.

 

[Greenthumb18]

Yeah i hope this blight won't become a major issue next year, but i agree rotating your tomatoes is a good way to prevent this and also mulch.

 

[bills]

No blight in 2009 for me, thankfully..

I had a blight wipe out my entire crop two summers ago. I tore up the plants and any litter, and tossed them in the garbage. The first year after that, I did all my tomato's in the greenhouse.

This past summer I had several plants outdoors, mainly under the overhang of my garden sheds, in pots. I did use soil from my garden. They grew wonderful. I had more plants then space under the overhang, so I took a chance and planted two plants directly in the garden, fairly close to where the plants that got wiped out by the blight were. They grew healthy, and produced well, with no sign of the blight.

It may have had something to do with our long freeze we had last winter, perhaps it killed any spores. That and the fact we had a wonderfully hot dry spring and summer, could be why I saw no signs of the blight returning..

I I got better production this year from the outside plants, then the greenhouse plants.

 

[Yaklady]

I read that same article. I asked hubby about it, because we had really bad luck with our tomatoes this year. He insists that it was not bllight, though. I'm new to gardening, so I hope he's right. We just moved onto our farm this past Summer, and had to plant our garden in a hurry. As a result, it was not the greatest. We're hoping to do it much bigger and better this year. I'm already looking at seed catalogs, and tomatoes are at the top of the priority list.

 

[Hattie the Hen]

Hi Yaklady

It's a bit slow here at the moment but soon we will get going again.

After the holidays we will be reading all the tempting seed catalogues & comparing notes about what we intend to plant.

I'm in the UK & we are covered in snow, as is most of Europe. It is unusual for my area to have such cold weather before Christmas so it has caused chaos..!!!!!

Have a great Christmas & New Year & I look forward to reading your posts on TEG.

:rose Hattie :rose

 

[ducks4you]

Yaklady!!

 

[lesa]

Welcome Yaklady!! This is a great forum, lots of fun, and lots to learn!!

 

[vfem]

Yak!

Remember blight will reside in your soil. Its very important to keep it off your fresh new plants next by using some kind of mulch or liners under your new plants.

I am also rotating my crops so no tomatoes, potatoes or likewise will end up in the bed that had blight for me last summer!

I was VERY lucky to catch it early and save 90% of my plants. It was a TERRIBLE year everywhere for it.

Good luck (I would keep a fugicide on hand next year JUST in case something pops up and doesn't look right early on)!