Topic: Potato foliage

[Crash]

Do you compost it or not? We do have a skip on site at the mo so I can easily use that. I haven't got any sign of blight.
Thanks for the replies that I know you will give.
Crash

[Crash]

Sorry ment to add that I dug up aprox 12' today and got 18lbs of beautiful big spuds. ;D

[Trixiebelle]

Hi Crash!

I was told by my neighbour NOT to compost potato leaves or tomato leaves.

Don't know whether the potato bit's right or not or why. Would be interested to hear what everyone else has to say  :)

[asbean]

We always compost the haulms (but not the roots, otherwise we'll have baby spuds for ever more).  One year we had blight, we burnt them that year.  :)

[Carls3168]

Ive always been told to bin or burn it.... better safe then sorry, and if youve got a skip there no need for 10 trips to the tip either!  :)

[isbister]

I've never composted potato leaves either - I don't really know why not - I think it may be a superstition

[Fork]

Tomato compost can be made from old tomato plants, together with soil and manure. Tomatoes have a narcissistic predilection for growing on their own rotted remains

This info was found on Google.I remeber reading some time ago.

Composting potato haulms is supposedly not a good thing but you could burn them and put the remains in the compost bin.

[cornykev]

Only the roots don't get composted, I leave mine to wilt down for a few weeks before I put them in, or the bins get full to quick and in that time I have other compost mixtures to mix in.  ;D ;D ;D

[isbister]

I don't compost potato peelings either - I still think it's a family superstition. My grandfather burnt his potato tops and mashed the peelings down to feed to his chickens

[Old bird]

I don't compost potato peelings either - I still think it's a family superstition. My grandfather burnt his potato tops and mashed the peelings down to feed to his chickens

Gosh that brings back memories of 50 years ago - the lovely smell of boiled potato peelings with growers mash over them for the girls breakfast! - I think it was the growers mash that smelt good - Memories!

I compost my potato haulms but probably will live to regret it!  I will take them to the tip now!

 ;D

 :D

[pye]

We always compost the haulms (but not the roots, otherwise we'll have baby spuds for ever more).  One year we had blight, we burnt them that year.  :)

Same here. Someone (Robert B?) posted here that blight can only survive in living tissue, so if there's no sign of blight in they go.

[Crash]

Many thanks... I knew I'd get a load of replies. :)