Sadly, this trial is closing early. I came back from holiday on Sunday to find well watered but dying/dead plants, with the tell-tale signs of an advanced case of blight. I was afraid this might be the case after hearing others tell of devastated crops and patio planter disappointment. The conditions seem to have been perfect for it. It could have started at any point over the two weeks I was in Italy, so potentially these plants have been ravaged by blight for 2 weeks. Had I been at home I might have staved off the inevitable end by removing the earliest affected plants.
This has all come too early to draw any conclusions about the efficacy of my jerry-rigged watering reservoir system. I got a total of one solitary cherry tom to ripen before going off on hols. Here’s what I would do differently next time.
- don’t bother growing tomatoes as they always get blight
- forget about this and grow tomatoes anyway
- add feed to the reservoir system from the start, the plants in the grow-bag group seemed to be responding well to the feed incorporated into the grow-bags by the manufacturer
- wrap the “reservoirs” (the plastic tubs) to prevent or limit build up of algae. I think I could use weed matting for this, to block out the light the algae need to grow.
- get some new, clean capiliary matting
- maybe get some bigger pots to compensate for lack of root room compared to the growbags
- start the plants off even sooner in the year for an earlier, blight-beating crop
In all seriousness I now strongly doubt the value of growing tomatoes outdoors – I have always got blight eventually, although usually much later on after a half-decent crop. I might put my reservoir system in the greenhouse, perhaps just a few tubs, I think I just about have space for three if I sacrifice a bit of shelf space.
Whilst I am annoyed about the trial, I am mostly peeved about the lack of tomatoes which are always fabulous off the plant and the source of a good chunk of my annual supply of chutney. Sorry apples, the burden is now all on you!
I’ll be back soon, with more garden and propagation shenanigans.
The Propagator 
I am sorry o see such a sad sight. I gave up growing tomatoes for that reason, and devoted the greenhouse space to pelargoniums, they now have white fly!
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It’s a battle ground. I’m glad I don’t earn my living this way, or have to feed my family this way! I’ll get over it.
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I’ve mentioned this in a tweet. OK, I haven’t grown tomatoes this or last year because the greenhouse had other things to do. But prior to that, I’ve never had blight in tomatoes. I put this down to
(a) not using growbags – this puts the plants at the customary 3 to a bag too close together. I grew in pots and kept the plants spaced out at about 2’6″ between them;
(b) spraying twice a week with my camomile tea solution (4 tea bags to a litre of boiling water, steep for about 30 minutes, remove bags, when cooled put into a hand sprayer. Spray plants thoroughly twice a week – a litre is enough for 2 sprays x 4-5 plants). Camomile controls aphids etc., and, at that strength, I’ve found it also acts a a fungicide.Make sure it’s 100% camomile tea bags though.
Of course this is probably illegal under EU laws. Which is why I deny having ever said this. My account has been hacked.
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I shan’t tell. Last year i grew two plants per bag for that reason. Threw caution to the wind this year. Next year I might do big pots and just a few plants. Grafted maybe.
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Well that stinks…. but with true gardener optimism failure has only inspired you to go bigger next year!
I wonder how much protection would be necessary to avoid the blight spores. Do you think a row cover fabric would cut back on air circulation enough to protect them? The ghostly white forms might be less than attractive, but if it works it’s a much better option than giving up greenhouse space.
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Possibly yes. Not sure how porous this are. Worth investigating though, thanks!
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I totally agree with Mark, it can be so demoralising, but some years it just goes wrong and other years we end up with tonnes. August has been so damp and dreary the last few years, I’m wondering if we need to shift our sowing time times forward to make more of the heat we get in May-July.
Anyway, I’ve written a blog post back at ya, to try and cheer you up x
https://growlottygrow.com/2017/08/22/dont-let-the-blight-grind-you-down-the-garden-a-metaphor/
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Thanks! I read your poem earlier on. I’m over it now, chilli relish instead of tomato chutney! Next year I will be setting them off earlier for exactly the reason you say, aim for fruit in June or July latest, and I’ll try some blight resistant varieties that folks have suggested, maybe even grafted plants. All a learning experience. Thanks again.
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I have been growing tomatoes outdoors for many years. Most years they get blight at some stage (this year it was later than usual), but I always get some sort of a crop – this year’s has been excellent. Sometimes I feel tempted to give up, but every year I start again with new determination, simply because the reward is so attractive. There are quite a few blight-resistant toms available these days, such as Mountain Magic and Crimson Crush (though I think they have a long way to go still before they are truly blight-survivable!).
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Thanks Mark, appreciate the encouraging advice. I’ll go again next year as unlike the ritual, and the smell of the leaves. And maybe I’ll get some toms too!
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