That is all that remains of my "Costoluto Fiorentino" tomato plant. Despite my efforts to save it, it finally succumbed to the blight. I had been cutting off infected leaves one by one, which slowed the rate of the disease's development, but in the end it got into the plant's stem, at which point the battle is lost. All you can do is cut down the plant and get rid of it - definitely don't put it in your compost bin!
I saved all the fruits of any significant size:
They are still very green, and may not ripen, but I think it's worth a try, because these are very handsome fruits and many of them would probably have grown pretty big. I gave them a good wash with very dilute washing-up liquid, to get rid of any fungal spores they might have been harbouring.
I shall be inspecting these tomatoes very carefully, at least once a day (probably more, knowing me), looking out for any tell-tale soft brown patches, like this:
Once a fruit shows symptoms like that, there is no saving it. The best thing to do is throw it away as soon as possible so that it doesn't infect other fruit.
This post is a bit depressing for me, so I'm going to end by focussing on something a lot better...
 |
| "Maskotka" (round) and "Montello" (plum-shaped) |
In gardening, it's definitely a case of "Win some; lose some"!
Blight hasn't hit us yet but it has been very windy so no doubt some of the spores will soon find us. We need it to stay dry for a while to try and hold it at bay!
ReplyDeleteOh, that's too bad - that was so quick. In years when blight is rampant, I've not had it progress to that point until early September. But I suppose considering how wet you were early on in the season, I shouldn't be surprised. One of my plants is showing signs of early blight and I just removed all of the blighty leaves on it a few days ago. So far, the other plants, especially those in the other beds, are looking fine so I have my fingers crossed that I won't have to battle blight, at least in 2 of the 3 beds, once again this year.
ReplyDeleteLook on the bright side right? I think those tomatoes that went wrong have a certain aesthetic charm!
ReplyDeleteSorry, I don't understand. The tomatoes didn't go wrong, their parent plant was hit by blight.
DeleteIf those tomatoes don't ripen there is always green tomato chutney or some kind of salsa
ReplyDeleteBlight here, too. for some new "heat-resistant" tomatoes tomatoes I tried. I think it should be called "blight-mildew syndrome" because the damage looks identical but is called something else here. White fly and red spider mite now in eggplant and cucumber. 'Tis the season!
ReplyDeleteSuch a shame Mark at least you do have some that made it. Would you consider a greenhouse. I think my garden is slightly smaller than yours and with a bit of jiggerypokery we fitted a reasonably large one in. 10" by 8" I think it is. The potatoes tend to be hit by blight outside but the undercover tomatoes always miss it.
ReplyDelete