"Stewart" wrote


I think she/you have done well. We are the only gardeners on our allotment
site still with tomatoes the rest have lost theirs to blight including the
one that also grows blight resistant varieties and sprays.
Despite using Bordeaux Mixture our tomatoes have suffered badly, over half
of our Blight Resistant varieties have died**yet we still have some "Black
Russian" and "Cherry" ones growing well with fruit slowly going red.
Picked
the first red cherry ones yesterday.
** Some died of Blight but three large plants just died, no sign of
blight,
one day OK, the next they had wilted. Perhaps it got the roots.

Location Cambridge.

2 or 3 different varieties planted (mostly from car boot, eg
Moneymaker) ~4 months ago.
Lots of small (~ 1/2 to 2/3 full size), but no sign of red.
There's not been many bright sunny days.

Shame, this year I did a better job vs last year when I just used
earth in a 6" high concrete planter tray - and had great results.
This year I actually put in ~50% compost.

Is there still time to turn red ?
Or should I cut them off (branches with say 6 toms) and leave in
kitchen window ?

How to identify blight ???
I keep cutting off a few bottom leaves which are a bit yellow with
brown spots.
I hope that's not blight.


They get distinct black patches on leaves and if you are really unlucky on
stems. Sometimes you can cut these off into green stuff and it won't spread
as I have been doing with the Cherry and Black Russian but normally it
quickly takes over the whole plant and kills it. I spray with Bordeaux
Mixture and think that is the reason why I still have some tomatoes. Looks
like the reason the three blight resistant ones of ours simply wilted and
died was because a mole undermined the roots, would you believe it!
Spoke to another chap from a different allotment site and he said he was the
only one left with tomatoes on his site so we are lucky to have got this
far.
--
Regards. Bob Hobden.
Posted to this Newsgroup from the W of London, UK