UK Blight Alert: Help others to try and prevent it

[Cheezy]

Following 3M's post on blight in Brittany, I am amazed that in the UK i've not heard more occurence.

The conditions are perfect warm and wet.
Pippa Greenwood agree's :
http://www.pippagreenwood.com/potato-blight-alert/
Traditionally the blight comes from the S.W and travels across the country it is spread by rain droplets. There is a UK Blight Alert service for potato growers, ( and you can register for this : http://blight.potato.org.uk/).
The idea is to time your anti fungal treatment (For us home growers that's Bordeaux mix which can be washed off in the rain ) just before it's necessary.

I thought we could announce when we see it in our plots and perhaps spot it's progress, help others nearby avoid it's effects.

C

[Millymollymandy]

That's interesting, ours came whilst having a lot of SW winds. My toms in pots are OK though (for the moment!)

The wierd thing is that I'm the only person in our hamlet to have had blight on either toms or spuds!!! I'm sure it's in my soil rather than coming on the wind (doesn't come here with rain necessarily).

[old tree man]

thanks for that Cheezy
I'm only 20 miles from you i'll check my tattie progress.

[witchstorm]

I think we've got it on ours but the neighbours don't have it on theirs ?

[ina]

I think we've got it on ours but the neighbours don't have it on theirs ?

Different varieties? Last year one of mine was totally destroyed (Milva, supposedly blight resistant), while the ones right next to it (Pink Fir Apple - supposedly not resistant!) were only mildly affected...

[witchstorm]

I shall have to ask them what theirs are, we always seem to get it!

[Cheezy]

I don't believe it!

Checking my outdoor toms in pots this morning and guess what bloody blight on the new variety i'm trying : cour de blu luckily it's the only one out of 9 that are against a south facing wall, all the other variety's seem OK. (rest are in the greenhouse)

So down to B&Q to buy some clear roof sheet , and quickly build a shelter to keep off the rain that we're forecast tonight (torrential with S.W winds!). Then a quick spray of bordeux mix.

I've also sprayed the bush variety (red alert), which again seem OK currently, so it looks like the Cour de Blu are very suseptble.

Keep an eye out Old Tree Man, it's defo in the air!.

[Millymollymandy]

I asked this before somewhere else, but do you really like spraying the actual fruit with B. Mix and seeing your toms turn blue? Seeing as how rain doesn't wash it away (we use it on our fruit trees at half strength and they can stay blue for ages) it just doesn't appeal to me somehow.

Next year we are going to construct some kind of plastic covered roof over the toms. Round this way people grow them inside plastic tomato bags but I can't fathom out how that could work in terms of having to pinch out the side shoots and tying them in which I have to do about every 3 days, plus I imagine they would sweat like crazy and how would the insects get inside?

[old tree man]

Keep an eye out Old Tree Man, it's defo in the air!.[/quote]
eye's at full watch, i'm hoping because our allotment is near the coast the sea breeze will keep things right

[Cheezy]

I asked this before somewhere else, but do you really like spraying the actual fruit with B. Mix and seeing your toms turn blue? Seeing as how rain doesn't wash it away (we use it on our fruit trees at half strength and they can stay blue for ages) it just doesn't appeal to me somehow.

Next year we are going to construct some kind of plastic covered roof over the toms. Round this way people grow them inside plastic tomato bags but I can't fathom out how that could work in terms of having to pinch out the side shoots and tying them in which I have to do about every 3 days, plus I imagine they would sweat like crazy and how would the insects get inside?

3M, the Bordeux powder I have you dilute in water to make a slurry approx 10%(it does not dissolve), then spray it on . It dry's powdery white with a slight blue tint. Thats because it's got copper sulphate in it.Which although is not "organic" it is inorganic ie a natural mineral. It is poisous to humans as pure copper sulphate. However the mixture only lasts about 3 weeks before it's washed off. It is not absorbed by the plant or fruit, it just sits as a coating protecting the plant from the blight. When you wash the fruit it comes completely off. If it's that or no tommies, then I go for Bordeux.

If I get time I'll post a picture of my creation, dead simple, made from spare bits of wood and a bit of corrugated clear roof sheet which cost £5. It's 2.4 m long and 0.5m wide and holds 9 tommie plants in flower buckets (free) which are 10L

[Millymollymandy]

Thanks Cheezy, we only use half strength anyway by mixing it with skimmed milk. I've seen it last on fruit trees for months though through loads of rain so I was concerned that it wouldn't wash off the tomatoes.

Anyway we have just been discussing (OH and me) buying a greenhouse! It would come in really handy and the summers of late in Brittany haven't exactly been very hot so they are unlikely to bake in there like when I lived the other side of France and my greenhouse was unusable in summer because it was about 50C in there!

Have just picked my first few G Delight today and one Red Pear cherry which I'm about to try with my dinner.

[starchild]

I've treated this successfully in the past with horsetail; at least it helps me make friends with this bloomin' weed a bit

I've written the recipe I used on my site:

http://littlegreenblog.com/green-home/g ... to-blight/

[Cheezy]

Thanks Cheezy, we only use half strength anyway by mixing it with skimmed milk. I've seen it last on fruit trees for months though through loads of rain so I was concerned that it wouldn't wash off the tomatoes.

Anyway we have just been discussing (OH and me) buying a greenhouse! It would come in really handy and the summers of late in Brittany haven't exactly been very hot so they are unlikely to bake in there like when I lived the other side of France and my greenhouse was unusable in summer because it was about 50C in there!

Have just picked my first few G Delight today and one Red Pear cherry which I'm about to try with my dinner.

I think the fact the locals use it at half strength and mix it with milk, probably accounts for the deeper colour, but also the improved water resistance. Quite clever that, as if it's allowed to dry the casein in the milk plus the inorganic content of the B mix, will end up with effectively a casein paint which is very old school eco paint, breathable and some water resistance.
This would be environmentally better than having to keep on adding B mix every 3 weeks, with it just washing off in to the soil.

If your worried about your greenhouse getting too hot, you could get a poly tunnel with the opaque film, or buy shading for the greenhouse....or spray your glass with a lime wash mix to white it out.

Starchild, I'll look into the marestail, i'd be interested if it works. Two things why dried out before you boil it, I have loads of the stuff nice and fresh!. Also I wonder if the French trick of using a milk base would as described above bind it to the plant better.

[Millymollymandy]

I've decided against the greenhouse having googled them and the cheapest polycarbonate ones here start at around €600 and they are just way too low for growing tomatoes - basically my husband could barely get in one and stand up. Need to spend at least €2K to get a halfway decent sized one and then of course I'd forgotten we have to apply for permission to erect one from the Mairie - loads of plans needed and about 5 copies of everything......

so if you could post a photo of that roofed tomato cage thingy that you've got rigged up I'd love to have a look!

No idea what the locals do here but that tip was in a gardening magazine as a way to cut down on the usage of the B. Mix which does build up in the soil after a while, and yes I think that the milk helps with the adhering to the bark/leaves. So for spraying toms leave the milk out then I imagine! (they could taste a bit sour!!! )

[Cheezy]

so if you could post a photo of that roofed tomato cage thingy that you've got rigged up I'd love to have a look!

Well it's nothing too special 3M , it took about 2 hours to knock up on Saturday. The tomatoes are in 10L flower buckets that I got free from themarket. I drill5 holes in them then fill them with compost, place tomato plant in and a bamboo cane as a support. Because they are deep it is fairly self supporting. I put them in a plastic tray which makes it easier to water.



These are on a south facing kitchen wall. I then made a square frame out of spare wood 2.4m x 0.5m. On to this I nailed clear corrugated roof sheet (approx £5, plus £2 for the special nails ) which came in a sheet 2.4 m x 0.65m. I cut this to 0.51m so it has a drip edge, and you over lap the sheet by one ridge, it turns out exactly 4 of these pannels makes a 2.4 m length.


I then attached this to the wall with a simple metal strap (off cut from timber joist holder: see I knew they'd come in handy!)



Then I attached two bits of wood either end as legs, short enough to creat a slope on the roof



Bob's your uncle, it really isn't that complicated (there's 6 srews hold it up, for easy unscrewing once winter sets in!). The key are the flower buckets as it makes the tomato plants self supporting with the cane. After that you could errect any sort of shelter over the top of them.

Seems to be working it raises the temp as well with the sheltering, and also means my B mix isn't being washed off!.