Blight and marestail

 This morning I was told that blight has arrived in the allotment, I have cut away excess leaves on the tomatoes and made this potion to hopefully stop this from catching my crop.

This weed thrives in our heavy clay soil as it has saved an entire potato crop from the dreaded blight.

Horsetail has powerful antifungal properties that are effective on blight and other fungal infections (in both humans and plants!)

Here’s the recipe we used:

1. In a large glass or stainless steel pot, mix 1/8 cup of dried horsetail leaves in 4 1/2 litres of unchlorinated water

2. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 1/2 hr.

3. Cool, strain, bottle and label. The infusion will keep for a month which is long enough for you to keep reapplying to your crop. Any left overs can be used as a wonderful hair rinse.

4. To use, dilute the 1 part horsetail concentrate to 5-10 parts unchlorinated water. Spray infected plants once every week or two in dry weather or daily if it is raining.

end of August and one more day of strong sunshine forecasted

As the US is battling with hurricane Gert, I am expecting lots of rain and wind in a week or so, so now the weather is hot for another day, I decided to turn a cardboard box into a solar drier so that the tomatoes I harvested yesterday with the from Spade to Plate group can be turned into sundried tomatoes.
 Some very large tomatoes from the back garden. Next year, I need to grow more red, blight resisting cherry pear tomatoes (had too many yellow ones, albeit sweet and delicious) a few red ones would have been nicer for the gaspacho and sun dried tomatoes.

sundrying red and yellow tomatoes with salt and basil. in 11.55 am

Just made a sundrier for the tomatoes, the apples are drying on the washing up rack

Selection of tomatoes to be dried