Early September is the time to act: the lower leaves of the tomato plants must be removed

September is the month when we have plenty of tomatoes in the garden that need protecting from blight. This disease is already beginning to run rampant in many gardens. It would be a shame to leave the plants to fend for themselves. We can look after them in a very simple way. All we need to do is remove the lower leaves, which the mould itself attacks first. Over time, we may be left with nothing but the fruit on the plant, but that doesn’t matter at all.

Pruning and pinching back tomatoes: a necessity

Pinching back tomatoes is something that needs to be addressed throughout the season. If you neglected it at the start of the season, there’s very little you can do to make up for it now. The bushes are likely to be very overgrown and full of mildew. As for pruning the plant, the ideal time to do this is during August. If you haven’t pruned them yet, be sure to do so now. All the plant’s energy will then go exclusively into the fruit and nowhere else.

Photo: Radek Stepan

It’s not just mouldy leaves that need removing

That’s right. If mould starts to appear on the leaves, they definitely cannot be left on the plant. It’s quite easy to spot. The leaves gradually turn yellow and then brown. If we leave them be, the mould will spread to the plants themselves and eventually to the fruit. If we remove the lower leaves, or even the leaves one level higher, we won’t be doing any harm. The tomato plant won’t miss them, and it won’t restrict its growth or fruiting in any way.

Tip: Coeur de Boef tomatoes. We tried the bulls heart.

Once mould is present in the stems and fruit, it’s usually too late

If the blight has already spread directly to the tomato stems themselves, you can be sure that it will gradually affect the fruit as well, rendering them inedible. If, for the time being, the blight is only on the side stems, or on the branches where the tomatoes have already set fruit, you can also carefully remove them. This will prevent the mould from spreading further to the fruit, at least for a while.

Source: Author

Photo: Radek Stepan