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6 DIY Ways to Protect Your Tomatoes against Potato Blight

Managing to grow large and healthy tomatoes is by all means a well-deserved reason to feel proud, as this plant is very fussy and calls for a lot of attention. They are sensitive to temperature fluctuations and other weather conditions. They are also vulnerable to several diseases. One of the worst ones is potato bliss which is a fungus-caused disease attacking only tomatoes and potatoes. At first some grey-green stains appear on the leaves, Then they go brownish. Finally the blight spreads onto the rest of the plant as well as the neighboring specimen. It is really difficult to fight it, so once again prevention seems to be the best solution.

How to prevent potato blight?

#1 Never plant tomatoes near potatoes. The pathologic spores first infest potatoes and then quickly spread to tomatoes.

#2 While watering tomatoes make sure that you don’t sprinkle any water on their leaves.

#3 Choose a spot which is far from any water tanks/ reservoirs. It would be great if the area was on a slightly lower level (depression) as such location is favorable due to better fog condensation.

#4 Make sure the distance between seedlings is appropriate (they can’t touch each other). This will ensure a lot of sun and there will be no excess moisture accumulated.

#5 When the fruit begins to form, remove the bottom leaves.

#6 Make sure you select a variety which is more responsible to potato blight than others. While your tomatoes’ health can never be taken for granted, the risk can always be minimized somehow. Some of the earliest varieties fruit before the disease appears in the neighborhood.

#7 Keep watching the plants as they grow and immediately remove any infected parts. You’d better burn them straightaway so that the spores wouldn’t spread. Never plant any tomatoes or potatoes in the place where the infected specimen grew. There is a risk that the spores will survive the winter and attack again once the spring arrives.

#8 If you grow your tomatoes in a greenhouse or a high tunnel, make sure they get enough air – make sure the space is aired on regular basis.

#9 Another interesting idea is to stick a copper wire into the stalk once the first fruit appears. The copper ions will spread over the entire plant and fight the dangerous spores. Remember that the wire can’t be coated!

Natural spray herbicides

 

#1 Get some baking soda. Pour a spoonful into a liter of water and spray your tomatoes with the mixture. Please note that you can only do that in the morning – this will protect the leaves against the impact of the sun. Repeat that every two weeks and after each rainfall.

#2 Fermented horsetail tea (yes, it doesn’t sound good). You need 100 grams of dried horsetail or 500 grams of the fresh plant. Put it in 5 liters of water and let it rest (preferably on a shady place) for 3-4 weeks. When the leaves begin to come off the stalks, that will wean the mixture is ready. Use it in 1:5 ratio and spray your tomatoes with it. The silicon it contains will strengthen your plants. You can prepare a similar agent using nettle.

 

#3 A garlic extract. Slice 3 – cloves of garlic, put that into water and leave in a warm place for a way. After 24 hours the agent will be ready. Just dilute it in 1:1 ratio and spray on your seedlings.

#4 To prepare another kind of anti-blight spray you can use baking yeast. Just dissolve a block of yeast in 10 liters of water. Give it an hour and get down to work. You can apply such a mixture once a week.


#5 In fact there are plenty of similar recipes. Other ingredients include onion, nettle or milk.

As far is growing tomatoes is concerned, it is prevention that works best. Natural sprays should be applied well before the disease appears as it can spread very quickly. And once it attacks our plants, there will be no choice but to fall back on synthetic agents.

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