In message , Bob Hobden
writes

"Tumbleweed" wrote in message after me

((snip))
As others have said, if it is "Tomato Blight" (and that's the same
disease
as Potato Blight) then any Toms that have it already should be pulled up
and
burnt, there is no organic cure for that disease.

It's pretty difficult to control once it gets established even with no
holds barred nasty chemicals. Preventative measured help a bit.

plants by spraying with "Bordeaux Mixture" which is a mixture of Copper
sulphate and Lime. Whilst not used by strict organic purists it does
appear
in organic catalogues and is used by some, especially if they have to
grow
their crop outside. Just wash the fruit well before using.


LOL. Flame coming :-) I'd really like to understand on what basis anyone
can
call such a toxic mixture of chemicals 'organic'. Whats 'organic' about
it,
precisely, other than the bizzarre fact its in an 'organic' catalogue for
historical resaons? Is that the definition of organic now?

Organic(TM) means whatever its acolytes want it to mean. Mainly it is a
slick marketing slogan to sell stuff for higher margins to the worried
well.

And ...'Just wash the fruit well before using'? What about all those ads
decrying pesticides and complaining 'why should I have to wash chemicals
off
my food before I eat it'?


Why did I have you in the frame for that flame? :-)

My Oxford English says... Organic... produced without artificial fertilizers
or pesticides.

How about Rotenone or Nicotine then - both natural and deadly. But these
days not considered to be Organic(TM) by the Soil Association.

From that it appears to be the word artificial that is crucial. Well Lime
isn't artificial really and nor is Copper sulphate so that's OK then?

Copper sulphate is artificial and nothing like a natural product. It is
every bit the result of modern industrial chemistry. Build up of copper
from spraying in the soils of wine growing regions is a cause for
concern too.

Or how about naturally occurring arsenic and lead compounds do you
really want them scattered around? There are incidentally plenty of
places where lead levels far exceed safe concentrations - doesn't bother
the plants all that much. One orchid reserve is on very toxic lead spoil
heaps.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown