In message , Peter Richards
writes
Hi Steve,

On Fri, 10 Oct 2003 18:17 +0100 (BST), (Steve
Harris) wrote:

In article ,
(Peter Richards) wrote:

Our new tomato plants are showing signs of dark brown and light purple
patches on the leaves, obviously blight.

This is a very silly time of year to be bothering about new tomato
plants unless you are a long way from the UK.

I forgot to mention that I live in Australia, and before I get flamed
for posting on a UK newsgroup, here is my rationale:

It might have been sensible to point this out earlier.

1. I searched through the newsgroups for "organic", and this one
certainly had the most postings, therefore this was the best NG to
post my question.

2. Tomatoes are, .... well, tomatoes, it doesn't matter where they
are grown (UK or Oz), and no doubt in the UK, tomato blight would be a
problem also, therefore it was this NG I was seeking an answer.

Actually you only really have a serious problem with blight if you plant
directly into the ground here. The UK is usually cold enough in summer
that tomatoes grown outdoors do not crop very well* so grow bags in a
greenhouse or ring culture in sterile soil are quite common.
(* this year was an exception)

3. Even if I lived in the UK, this would not be a 'silly' time of the
year to plant tomatoes (i.e. I may have a hothouse).

At 50-55 degrees north you have to be kidding. An established tomato
plant might just survive if you had money to burn heating the
glasshouse, but a new seedling would be hard pressed to see enough
daylight to stay alive. Artificial lighting would also be needed.

Growing them in summer in a greenhouse isn't all that cost effective
either. You get plenty of tomatoes, but at exactly the same time as the
price falls through the floor. Unusual cultivars are worthwhile.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown