The last few years I’ve grown tomatoes, they’ve come down with the blight (kind of the tomato equivalent of bubonic plague). What to do?
I had dinner with some Italian friends, and we had a rousing discussion of how to prevent/cure tomato blight, which dissolved into conflicting “true stories” involving home remedies and nylon stockings.
So I checked out the BC Ministry of Agriculture website, which provides some answers to your questions about tomato blight and offers some good advice:
– Grow tomatoes in a warm, dry, sunny area. If you have had blight previously, move to a different area if possible, or replace the upper soil layer since “oospores” will carry over in soil.
– Water only underneath the plants, not the leaves or fruit. Drip irrigation is preferable to watering with a hose, to reduce water splash. Don’t overfertilize or overwater.
– Grow on a light sandy soil if possible or cover soil with a white plastic mulch to increase soil and air temperatures around the plants and reduce humidity.
– Growing plants under an overhang or a clear plastic shelter will help prevent spores from being deposited on plants by wind and rain. But plants must be covered before infection has occured. Covering the plants after they are infected may raise humidity and make the disease worse.
steve matlock says
I live in Washington State and have found this to work well:
Around 15 September (or earlier if it’s very cold and damp) pull out the entire plant, including roots.
hang the plant up in the garage or shed so the roots are at the top.
The green tomatoes will ripen on the vine as the plant slowly dries out.
I’ve had terrible luck with tomatoes here, but ever since doing this I get tomatoes through November.
Leroy Cheuvront says
I have had the blight and have stopped it from distroying my tomato plants. All you have to do is mix 2 ounches of clorox to a gallon of water and drown the plant from top to bottom, it will not kill the plant . I do it every seven days and the blight has not returned .
c thompson says
that seems like a great remendy
do you spray early or late
thanks