Feeling fed up

[Nicos]

My one and only apple has gone!
I've looked on the ground , under plants incase it rolled under something but something/someone has pinched it
I imagine the wind could have blown it off and a passing hedgehog/fox or something could possibly have eaten it, but I'm really fed up about that.
So much so I attacked my espaliered apple trees with a pair of secateurs to tidy it up....and guess what??????...I found TWO teeny weeny little apples about the size of a large grape.
That has lifted my spirits ....but the darned frost has a lot to answer for too.

[The Pepper Man]

I am suffering a severe pandemic of late blight at my allotment. It has absolutely devastated the crops and spread like wildfire to everyone's tomatoes and potatoes.

It's so severe, that walking around the allotment and checking, I would say 95% of all ground tomatoes have been destroyed and rotted away due to it. About 4-5% are infected, but still holding on. And about 1% of all tomatoes have resisted the disease.

Even those that are well staked and ventilated have been annihilated by the fungus. It appears there is no escaping it this season. There's one guy, a few plots over from me, who has lost approximately 100 potato plants to late blight during the past week. And all of his heirloom tomatoes have been destroyed too, much like myself. I have never encountered anything like this in my several years of growing toms.

Fortunately, I don't have any blight in my garden and the tomatoes there are fine. For now at least...

[Snoop Puss]

^That's a sympathy like, Pepper Man, not a like like. You must be all devastated on your site. Commiserations.

[bikermike]

Gosh! That's awful chilliman.

Hope you get to eat the few remaining. Is it worth saving the seeds from them for next year?

[The Pepper Man]

^That's a sympathy like, Pepper Man, not a like like. You must be all devastated on your site. Commiserations.

Thanks, Snoop.

This is my 3rd year growing on this plot. I have never seen blight affect tomato plants in this spot, full stop. The previous 2 seasons, my tomato plants withered away around late October/early November, after a few frosts and cooler daytime temps. At no point has blight really affected them in the past, to my knowledge at least. The same goes for my garden tomatoes.

But this year the blight has reared it's ugly head. Everybody has been hit here. Although greenhouse toms seem to be okay though. Well mine are at least. As are the toms in the other greenhouses nearby. Anyone know the logic or reasoning in that? As to why Blight doesn't spread to greenhouse toms as easily?

[bikermike]

It's a spore isn't it? So it's simple probabilities - it's less likely to blow in.

[Nicos]

Thing is PM , that it's now in your soil, so likely to return each year given the correct humidity/temperatures.
We had no blight here for the first 3years, then it came back each year...except for last year and this( so far!!!!)...but they have been exceptionally dry summers for us.

We think that watering our UK greenhouse from the waterbutt eventually introduced it to our greenhouse. Could have been the wind though.

[Penellype]

I am suffering a severe pandemic of late blight at my allotment. It has absolutely devastated the crops and spread like wildfire to everyone's tomatoes and potatoes.

It's so severe, that walking around the allotment and checking, I would say 95% of all ground tomatoes have been destroyed and rotted away due to it. About 4-5% are infected, but still holding on. And about 1% of all tomatoes have resisted the disease.

Even those that are well staked and ventilated have been annihilated by the fungus. It appears there is no escaping it this season. There's one guy, a few plots over from me, who has lost approximately 100 potato plants to late blight during the past week. And all of his heirloom tomatoes have been destroyed too, much like myself. I have never encountered anything like this in my several years of growing toms.

Fortunately, I don't have any blight in my garden and the tomatoes there are fine. For now at least...

How awful for you. This year has been ideal growing conditions for blight with warm and humid periods about a week or so apart. There really isn't much you can do except be careful not to spread it to your garden on your hands, clothes, boots etc. I keep a separate pair of boots for the allotment, and if blight is around I deal with the place that doesn't have it first.

[The Pepper Man]

Thanks for the comments guys. I have just got back from the allotment after removing another 3 tomato plants that the blight had spread to. Unfortunately it now appears to be setting in on the Gigantamo plants as well, despite their resilience against it, after being surrounded by infected plants.

Blight casualties are...

- 3 x San Marzano
- 2 x Cherokee Purple
- 2 x Brandywine
- 2 x Roma
- 2 x Shirley F1
- 1 x Big Beef
- 1 x Black Russian
- 1 x Sungold

The one's surviving and fighting it off...

- 2 x Fantasio F1
- 2 x Gigantamo F1
- 1 x Green Zebra
- 1 x Unknown hybrid seed (probably Shirley F1 cross)

[Scarlet]

I wont grow late toms outside for this reason.
Last year was the only year I have experienced for sometime that blight didn't hit late Summer.
I grow in my greenhouse and my porch....though I often start basket toms or bush toms in pots that can go outside and will give their main flush of toms early.

[Kirk]

My results this year have again been, well, pathetic. Really am going to question it all.
Start out fair then seem to hit a time warp and do no further development for about 4 months then autumn appears and they dutifully come to the end of their time. And self compost. Half never passed the time warp stage, they composted.

Serious question: Are tomatoes red? For about the last 2 years mine have managed green, with the odd crazy one going red.

Will I think I may look into what hydroponics may produce - cannot be worse and certainly has to be more fun. Main thought is what is good for hydroponics isn't what I tend to want. Root veg are I suspect not applicable.

Bought 50 saffron crocus. Going to try them. Different "crop", if they flower but may be too late. Not helped by still need to develop the bed for them. Part of tomorrows jobs.

At least the Robin gets assorted bugs and wigglers when I turn over the soil. Although jumping 6 inches in front of me can be off putting.

[toomanytommytoes]

Serious question: Are tomatoes red? For about the last 2 years mine have managed green, with the odd crazy one going red.

They didn't even ripen in last year's ridiculous summer? What varieties do you grow? Early season types can ripen a month or more sooner than lates. Bush varieties pretty much always ripen well here (NW England), even outdoors.

[Snoop Puss]

Bought 50 saffron crocus. Going to try them. Different "crop", if they flower but may be too late. Not helped by still need to develop the bed for them. Part of tomorrows jobs.

You should be in time to plant them where you are, I'd have thought. There are people on here who grow saffron. If in doubt, you might find some information using the search facility. Otherwise, ask away.