prevent tomato late blight & green tomatoes

13 years ago

What works for you to prevent late blight on your lovely tomatoes that aren't yet ripened due to our cool summer?

Last month while at the farmer's market in Friday Harbor, WA on San Juan Island a guy had bushels of ripe tomatoes, which prompted me to inquire as I had only had a few cherry tomatoes by that rainy 2nd Saturday of August. He said - greenhouses! Cover your tomatoes or you'll get late blight.

Then I went to the Master Gardeners table to inquire & they said that 1st it wasn't late & 2nd just cover up your tomatoes with plastic okay to touch plants, use some bamboo stakes to help hold it up if you'd like. Mulch to prevent the splashing up.

Is that the trick?

I haven't seen blight yet here. My dad had one tomato with it in his container garden nearby in Kent.

Should I be worried with this drizzle we've had this week? Should I be throwing up the plastic menagerie? I hesitate to create a flapping plastic mess out there.

We have 2 tomatoes showing color & the rest are all frog green. Beautiful, but not going to make me happy if they don't ripen. Anyone have a good recipe for green tomato relish? I have the Ball Canning book recipe using:

green tomatoes

cabbage

green peppers

onion

salt

brown sugar

mustard & celery seed

horseradish

vinegar

Is the taste worth the trouble? What foods are served with it?

Bringing in green tomatoes, wrapping in paper, packing in boxes, checking daily for ripening is my usual method for handling the inevitable unripened that are at least showing color. I am thinking that I'll still have some of the green hardballs come October & need to make relish I guess.

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Comments (7)

jean001
13 years ago
You asked "Should I be worried with this drizzle we've had this week? "

No. Must have more than moisture. Temperatures are currently too cool
Embothrium
13 years ago
In Friday Harbor you would be best to grow tomato plants and other warm season vegetables in frames, throughout the entire season. Any time it is going to be below tropical temperatures (50s) at night these should be covered.

Tomato plants are right at home where night temperatures are in the 90s. Puget Sound seldom has day temperatures in the 90s.

Last time I grew tomato plants, some 'Sunglo', it was on Camano Island. Just as I had the first nice set starting to ripen it became damp and chilly and they blighted right down. This was in August, in an open, uncovered bed.
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I think I've got it on the border of Hartford/Litchfield counties. The Glacier tomatoes are about finished anyway, will pull them this weekend, but I see stem lesions on the Bloody Butchers next to them. Do the spots scrape off with a fingernail, or do they go deeper into the tissue? Not seeing sporulation. Might not be LB since I can scrape the discoloration off pretty easily, but the garden is looking pretty bad after 2" of rain on Sat and a couple of nights below 45. The only plants really hanging in there are the Sudduth BWs, and since there aren't that many left of any size, harvest will pretty much be over next week. BKs are about done for (lots of dying leaves though no stem lesions), Speckled Romans are falling off the plants (though plants don't look too bad, these are supposed to be Ind. but I wonder since there don't seem to be any new fruit forming), cherry tom stems look really bad (exactly like the picture on usablight website) and aren't scraping off as easily so I'll probably be pulling everything but BB this weekend. My second planting in another area is looking good, but I really should have suckered and strung them up (vertical string) better, lots of green tomatoes of all varieties, again maybe no time for BWs to ripen but might get some Bloody Butchers and Black Krims over the next month if the weather cooperates. And the few potato plants still alive look great! Been awful lately for fungal diseases though - I pulled almost all my pumpkins last weekend b/c of downy mildew (the cukes went long ago), the zukes are on their last legs so will be pulling those as well this w/e, but my second planting of yellow straightneck and my gourds are getting it, I don't even know if I'll get anything off of them. Time to just pull all the annuals I guess and start putting the perennials (berries) to bed for the winter...
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First, I admire your incredible efforts and dedication -- what an undertaking. Second, you have my sincere sympathy. The rapidity of this disease is overwhelming. I've attached a link of an updated 8/10/2009 Cornell University Late Blight FAQ that may answer some questions for you. On a personal note and much, much smaller scale, I've noticed that harvested green tomatoes from plants that had deteriorated to the point of lesions on leaves AND stems have yielded rotting tomatoes (they will remain green for several days, and then begin wrinkling/browning/rotting near the top.) In another separate garden, I harvested green tomatoes from plants that had one or two infected leaves. They are ripening and show no signs of rotting. I know ...not necessarily statistically reliable information, just my experience. By the way, the tomatoes were also separated. I'll be interested to read others' advice, and good luck! BTW, read carefully about disposal. Take care -- Cathy in SWPA Here is a link that might be useful: Updated Cornell University 8/10/2009
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pdxwindjammer
13 years ago
I used the recipe on allrecipes.com for green tomato relish but I added some really hot peppers. Canned a bunch of it and gave a lot as gifts. It was an absolute hit and I am going to have plenty of green tomatoes to make more this year!
olive_grower
13 years ago
I am in oregon in the willamette valley. I anticipate many green tomatoes that will need rescuing from the cold soon. I was told by a friend that you can uproot your plants,hang them upside-down in a warm place and the tomatoes will ripen on the plant. I am going to try it as soon as the temperatures go down. I would like to hear from anyone who has tried this.
thesecretofjoy
13 years ago
olive grower, I have done that. I works!
hemnancy
13 years ago
The tomatoes have been dribbling in one to a few at a time, but today I was able to pick my first basket, only 2/3 full, 16" across by 5" deep. Last year I picked a basket every few days. But I did have 90 plants instead of 24. I finished my pvc pipe tomato house and covered it with plastic the day before the end of summer rains started. But to prevent it from being blown away like last year I ran the plastic to the ground so it has basically no ventilation. I'm seeing more mold, especially at the stem end or in cracks. I don't know if opening the plastic up a little on a sunny day might help that... I know I am going to devote more space and time to other vegetables that are not so picky, like beans, cucumbers, squash, and greens.

I've seen a couple of other local gardens recently that had very large and lush plants with very few tomatoes set on, or lots of tomatoes but very few ripe. It's a tough year.

Here is a link that might be useful: my tomato house
hallerlake
13 years ago
I've got some umbrella cloches I've put over my cherry tomatoes. I don't know if it's going to work, but I figured it can't hurt. I'll let you know.

prevent tomato late blight & green tomatoes

Comments (7)

jean001

Embothrium

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