Potatoe/toms blight

[steveuk]

Well finally all this wet weather has won the day, my late spuds and toms i planted, have sucumbed to the blight, not even prentive spraying worked :(

this is my first year growing, so bit dispondent , but all ways next year.

Spoke to the regulars, and they say this is first time in 10 years that they have suffered.

[steveuk]

[cocopops]

I have alot of sympathy for you.  It's my first year too and mine have done the same thing.  I live in a hamlet in Brittany (France) and we asked the neighbouring farmer to look at our spuds as the leaves have turned to a pulp.  She said that they were 'mort' and so were hers due to the rain.  She told us to take all the foliage off and the spuds will grow anyway.  It's worth a try but at least the brassicas seem happy.

[steveuk]

i will try that, but i think maybe my lates are not strong enough, the leafage is not very high, if i cut them would it still produce do you think?
thanks

[manicscousers]

so sorry to hear about that, steve..luckily, it's not a typical year anywhere, our mains decided it was dying off time so we dug the lot, they're not too bad..just not as many as we hoped for...could you grow any spuds for christmas, under some cover, maybe?

[steveuk]

thanks, give it ago

[Kepouros]

Before you do anything you will regret, just stop and think for a minute.  If potatoes could grow underground without any topgrowth left on do you seriously think that professional growers would spend small fortunes on expensive fungicides, then dress up in space suits to spray against blight, or risk loss of a valuable crop if they were unsuccessful?  Of course not - they would simply mow all the tops off in late June and go off to Majorca until September.

If you cut off all the haulm, then photosynthesis will stop, and, except in the unlikely event of new shoots appearing from underground leaf axils, no further growth of the tubers will occur and the roots will slowly die off.

[kitten]

Hi steve, i think i've got the same problem - we haven't been able to get to the lottie for about a fortnight.  Last time we were there we lifted our first ever early spuds - and blooming delicious they were too  ;) but...

We went there yesterday to find almost all of the plants brown and crumpled.  I can't decide if it's blight or just drowning, but either way, not holding out any hope of finding anything edible underground.  To say we're disappointed, is an understatement  :'(