Save your tomatoes from the dreaded late blight

The tomato is the star of the greenhouse. We guide the plants gracefully along a tomato spiral upwards, fertilise them, thinning them and, above all, give them lots of love! Warm & humid weather are the conditions in which late blight, also known as Phytophthora, starts to thrive. Once it has found its way to your kitchen garden, chances are that your tomato crop is ready for the bin. This is why late blight is very feared by vegetable gardeners. Here are a few tips to prevent this fungal plague!

What can you do preventively?

🍅 Ensure sufficient planting distance

Prevent the tomato plants from forming a jungle and leave enough space between them. Fungi and other diseases thrive very well in a tangle of leaves and tomato plants are fast growers, so you can take this into account when planting.

🍅 Remove the axillary shoots and prune regularly

It is advisable to regularly thaw the plants and remove large leaves, even if you have left enough distance between the plants. This way you will not be surprised when brown spots appear between the foliage. Don't do this? Then all sorts of fungi and pests can easily hide between the foliage and it is often already too late when you spot them!

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🍅 Check, check, those who do well will learn

Regularly check your greenhouse and kitchen garden. This is not only useful for spotting diseases and unwanted insects, but also nice to see all the plants growing and blooming!

🍅 Keep them dry

Late blight only strikes when there is a combination of moisture & heat. If you place the tomato plants in the greenhouse, they are less likely to suffer from it greenhouse, they are less likely to suffer as they are protected from the rain. You can also build a roof or shelter above the plants.

🍅 Sufficiently ventilated

Are you planting the tomatoes in the greenhouse? Then make sure there is sufficient ventilation! A screen door allows air into the conservatory but prevents garden animals (such as cats) from coming in to sunbathe or do their business. Sufficient skylights are also a must! With an automatic window opener you do not have to walk to the conservatory every time to open the skylights, but the windows open and close automatically when the temperature rises. A welcome convenience!

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🍅 Move the potato plants

Leave enough space between the tomato and potato plants so that they cannot contaminate each other.

Late blight has already struck?

Has late blight already found its way into your greenhouse or kitchen garden, and do you see the first brown spots appearing on the leaves?

Cut off the affected leaves immediately and disinfect the pruning shears so that the disease cannot be transferred to other plants. Treat all tomato plants immediately with Cuprex Garden to prevent further infestation. This is an antifungal paste that can be applied preventively. This product forms a layer on the leaves so that further fungal germination is prevented.

Has the pest already affected the stem?

Then unfortunately there is nothing left for you but to throw away the whole plant. Unfortunately, you will then also lose your tomato harvest. You can still pick the green tomatoes and let them ripen indoors, but unfortunately a lot of the flavour will be lost and often they are already rotting.