B.C. and "The Blight"

[caddis]

Is anyone on the coast of the pnw growing 'maters outside without any cover? Everyone in my neck'o'the woods has to grow under plastic or the plants get trashed by one of the blights. Heirlooms seem especially susceptable.(sp) Also 'taters are affected.

Sucks major ass.

Fungi based compost tea may help?

http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/1997/B/199701209.html

Take care,

caddis

[caddis]

more blight reading.....

http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/cropprot/lateblighthg.htm

[grasshopper]

Sucks major ass.




lol yeppers
thats why i quit growing them


fwiw

[c-ray]

a soil rich in minerals especially calcium and silicon should help to strengthen the plant and skins of the tomatoes, granite dust would be helpful here, and it's probably a good idea to reduce the reliance on N inputs and offset this by sowing some pre-treated clover seeds like white clover and crimson clover next to the tomato rows to provide a healthier source of N...nitrates are overused in modern agriculture and tend to over stimulate plants

[Schip]

do you know if it's late blight or early blight? Late blight usually comes in mid-September, early blight comes... earlier. I'm working on a LB-resistant line of tomato but I don't have enoughs seeds to distribute yet. 'Legend' and 'Stupice' seem to have some level of resistance but they will still get the disease eventually.

most of the times the plants are infected by spores splashing up from the ground. If you can mulch the plants with a good, live compost this can help.

You might want to try trichoderma, it is a fungus that eats other fungi. This is what is in Advanced Nutrient's 'piranha'. I am sure there are other trichoderma preps out there though.

Also cherry tomatoes seem to be more resistant in general than larger beefsteak types.

[country boy]

Perhaps this is off topic, but there is also a 'blight' affecting dogwoods in the South.
it's spread from The Carolinas to most other southern states...

cb

[caddis]

...so the guys with letters after their names seem to think.

http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/1997/B/199701209.html

"There is hope Grasshopper" (in my best oriental accent) Between periods of last nights puck I came across a few pages of speculation on the effectiveness of compost teas on the blight. Also copper seems to have positive results, but more reading is required on its impact on the soil organisms. It gives me hope...

http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/lateblight.html

c-ray, we'll see about the rock powders...

schip, I don't have either yet. Check out the bc gov link above, they say you can get either blight at any time of the season if conditions are right.

Take care, caddis

[The Cannarchist]

600ppm of seawater in a foliar spray......voila!No blight.

[CottonBalls]

600ppm of seawater in a foliar spray......voila!No blight.

I get that without any interraction....saltwater spray = no good for plants.
Anything outdoors here and I have to worry about PM and rootrot due to the high moisture/salinity in the air (heavy dew every single morning, and it's salty to boot).