Topic: Potato blight in news

[goodlife]

What next...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2218187/Amateur-gardeners-accused-fuelling-national-potato-shortage-spreading-dangerous-fungal-blight.html

[Morris]

B****y cheek. I think the comments following the article say it all.

[manicscousers]

This is from the Potato Council who encourage schools to grow their own spuds by sending them a kit 

[galina]

Is this the first step of us going down the US route here?  Gardeners blamed for 'harboring' pests and diseases.  Californian gardeners have to de-blossom their citrus trees in order to protect the Californian orange growers.  Gardeners in many areas are not permitted to grow currants, because they could potentially provide winter shelter for something else (sorry have forgotten what exactly it was something 'pine').  And when it comes to rain water harvesting, there are severe 'zoning' restrictions in many areas along with no greenhouses permitted and definitely no growing in 'tires' etc etc.

Over there the farming lobby has gained huge influence over what gardeners can and cannot do.  I do not like the sound of this one at all.

[Toshofthe Wuffingas]

Yuck! I just had to look at a Daily Mail website! Their obsession with young girls verges on the Jimmy Savile!

*bleaches brain*

[gwynnethmary]

And I don't grow my own to "learn more about the origins of food"!  I grow my own because it tastes good, it hasn't been sprayed with chemicals, and I enjoy the satisfaction I get from working outside and seeing results for my labour.

[tomatoada]

And I don't grow my own to "learn more about the origins of food"!  I grow my own because it tastes good, it hasn't been sprayed with chemicals, and I enjoy the satisfaction I get from working outside and seeing results for my labour.

I agree and it keeps me fit.  I am glad the daily Mail published this.

[Kea]

 
Well tough for them!!! They're not stopping me. What about the seed potato growers they'd go out of business. We'd lose interesting and heritage varieties commercial growers never grow reducing the gene pool and preventing the breeding of new disease resistant varieties!!!!

[kt.]

What a load of codswallop.  Here it is on MSN today:

http://news.uk.msn.com/blog/news-bite-blogpost.aspx?post=0fcbf15e-1520-45a0-b9ed-f1af3fe9ebbe&_nwpt=1+

[goodlife]

From The Grocer:

As well as “a lack of understanding of what late blight is, and how small infections can have far-reaching effects on commercial crops”, Ball said there was also “a lack of effective control available to allotment holders.                ..................
“People should be encouraged to grow their own vegetables to learn about the origins of their food, but the blight risk is real, and it would be preferable if people bought healthy, well-produced potatoes from their retailer, rather than grow their own.”

Lack of effective controls available!!!! Fungicides? ...what about 'Organic commercial growers'? What do they use so they don't get 'blamed' for spreading blight?!

Basically all this NEWS is down to single line.... rather than grow you own, BUY your potatoes from retailer.

Sounds like the chap from Potato council doesn't know what he is talking about..

The Council has also recruited blight monitors’ to check on late blight development in commercial crops as well as allotment areas.

= by the time 'monitor' finds blight on crop and alarms have gone around..the blight has been on air and affected the crops already!!! Yes, they do alarm for the 'favourable conditions'..but that doesn't mean the blight is around yet. Didn't the 'original' potato blight arrive to Britain from mainland Europe by the winds ?!...even if allotment/garden growers would stop growing potatoes, it would never stop blight appearing in commercial crops..
Like farmers are able to 'nip the blight into bud' in every corner of their hectares....they do their fungicide 'blasts' and hope for best that it works..and when it does, just before the crop is ready for harvest, they 'blast' another chemical on the tops to kill them off so the tops are not on their way and block the machines up. THAT IS REALITY OF THE COMMERCIAL GROWING!!!!

This is second year I haven't had blight on my potatoes..in fact I have still few plants growing ..tops are now started to die naturally down..we've had 'blight alerts' on the area all summer! So I can say from my behalf...'none of farmers crops were killed by blight from my taties!'          Rant over 

[Froglegs]

The greedy farmers after a bit of compensation.

[daveyboi]

Looking at both the potato council website and the blight watch site I can not see any hint of us being told to give up growing potatoes.

However Blight watch are wanting to recruit monitors for allotment sites see ...

http://www.potato.org.uk/publications/gardeners-advice-potato-blight

[Gordonmull]

While farmers routinely douse crops in fungicides to kill off the spores, gardeners tend to avoid using such chemicals.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Apologies to organic gardeners now. What controls? Give me access to industry fungicides and I'll be a happy man. Part of me wants to get my pesticide licence and sell a carrot to my mother in law to justify growing for commercial gain and get access to the arsenal.

Note also that TESCO and SAINSBURYS are talking about upping their price. I came across a nice little sign in ASSDA (deliberate, I hate that place) saying that despite the poor year for potatoes they were committed to driving their price down. DOWN? With the current price of potatoes in the supermarkets, I'm actually questioning whether it's worth the effort of growing next year, despite the fact that prices should have been elevated this year.

All in all I don't give a stuff if prices will go up in midwinter. My stored maincrop will see me through. If more people grew their own there would be more food stability, not less. If amateurs had access to some of the armoury of the professional grower, it would improve more. (Again apologies to the hippies...erm...organic growers  )

[Aden Roller]

Personally I think we should consider suing the local farmers for not disposing of blight infested potato foliage correctly and allowing spores to blow onto our allotments.

At the first signs when mine are hit I cut off the tops immediately and dispose of them not leave them for a few days hoping the sprays will keep it under control.

This year's crop was lousy by comparison with other years as they had to be decapitated nearly 4 weeks earlier than usual. 

A normal year's crop keeps us in spuds until the end of February.


Blinking cheek!!!

[Froglegs]

Personally I think we should consider suing the local farmers for not disposing of blight infested potato foliage correctly and allowing spores to blow onto our allotments.

At the first signs when mine are hit I cut off the tops immediately and dispose of them not leave them for a few days hoping the sprays will keep it under control.



Blinking cheek!!!

I agree