Topic: blight hits north east hampshire!

[adrianhumph]

 Hi all,
             Anybody in north east hants or west surrey look out for blight  :'( It has struck at my allotment in the last 2 days, haulms are now off my picasso, i know there is a good crop of spuds there, just hope i am early enough taking off the tops. I have seen the idea of removing the affected foliage & spraying the rest, but I don`t believe it will work. What do you think. Could we get Dan to have a blight watch section?
                                  Adrian.

                                                             

[Kepouros]

I am always interested when I am told that a system which I have been operating successfully for several years won`t work, especially when the person who tells me doesn`t even appear to have tried it himself.

Perhaps you would be so kind as to look again at my posting in "Life After Blight" on the Edible Plants Board, and point out to me in what way, in your considered opinion, the system is not working.

Professional growers rely on a similar system (except that they do not defoliate by hand) to maintain their plants through a blight attack.  They seem to think it works.

[veggie perin]

Hi Adrian, must have been strong winds over last couple of days as 'the blight has blown all the way up to Ayrshire, first time I've seen it...very sad to see, hope I save my spuds....veggie :'(

[Bionic Wellies]

Sod it!  I looked at my tomato plants over the weekend & was fairly sure that they had been infected but was hoping that I was wrong - looks like a bit of pruning and buring required.

(Ahhhhh - just remembered that they are next to my spuds - they didn't seem infected)

Ah well !

[selwyn-smith]

North Surrey here.
Blight has got potatoes, tomatoes, and my onions have given up the ghost to grey powdery mildew.  My three main staples wiped out over one week.
 Nothing is doing well this year. Feel like giving up!

[tilts]

come on...think again...don't give up.

[Bionic Wellies]

I'm with Selwyn-smith - I feel like giving up too - but that happens every year and I continue anyway  :-\

By the time I got hold of some chemicals for the blight (2 days) it had spread thoughout all of the crop and all I could do was cut them down and burn! - So no outside toms (apart from the ones in the earth boxes at home which seem to have escaped the blight ... and when I lift the spuds they are a decent size but whether they store or not is another matter.

One thing and another it hasn't been a great gardening year - yet!  -- but my bees seem to be doing OK - Yay!