potatoes/blight

[tomatoada]

This year my potatoes had blight and gave such a poor crop they were not worth growing.  I am thinking of growing some in 2008 on a different part of my allotment.  Will blight still affect them?  Is it a seasonal thing and depends what weather we have?  

[tomatoada]

[laurieuk]

Yes blight is a seasonal thing and the spread depends on the weather it does not carry over in the soil. They used to give blight warnings with the weather forecast when the humidity etc. was right for the spread. If you do get it remove the foliage immediately, this will stop it going down into the tubers. Once it is on the foliage no more good is done by the foliage.

[saddad]

It will carry over in any volunteers, tubers that you didn't get out that grow up in the wrong place this year... they should be grubbed up straight away... it only really spreads when temp and humidity are high enough.. airborn spores..
:(

[Jeannine]

It can hang about in old foliage  and plant refuse so burn tops rather than compost them, and it can be on tubers so don't use supermarket ones, saving you own  is iffy too if blight was around. I agree with Saddad absolutely re air borne and weather. As it also  happens with Toms and can be held over on seeds, be careful saving you seeds.  Always ferment your seeds rather than just dry them .

Blight loves heavy dew or rainfall combined with warm temperatures,especially when wet and dry alternate for a period of time.

Trouble is on a lottie, there is usually someone near by who gets it and ignores it, then saves some spuds to plant again.

I have a lottie neighbour who seems to get it every year but he plants shop spuds or his own and anything that is past eating as he puts it. If he has stuff left in the ground  and the weather is bad he leaves it and is very happy when some pop up the following year

I am really worried this year as his whole crop was left ijn the ground last year after we were flooded.

He is about 6 lotties from me so I have been OK so far but there a re folks around him that complain bitterly every year

Anyway that is my two penneth, poatoes are not something I claim to know a lot about but the above is what I do and don't do XX Jeannie

[lancelotment]

Last year I lost all my King Eddies to blight (and drought) so this year went for Sarpo Mira.  Got near on a 4 stone bag full from a set of 20 odd tubs.  They were planted next to my PFA which suffered from blight and needed to be cut back too early to be of any real success. I'm not bothering with lates this years otherwise I'd do them again.  Lance.

[theothermarg]

I don,t grow lates as my site always gets blight but this year(can still sat that,just) the 1sts and 2nds got it as well :'( so have orderes some sarpo ones fron T+M I,m glad to see you did alright with them lancelotment
marg

[Rob the rake]

2007 was a bad year for blight, but in most years a fortnightly spraying with Bordeaux Mixture during the growing season keeps blight at bay.

That said, we don't seem to be so badly affected by blight in these northerly climes, and it may not be as effective in warmer areas.