Blight & Other Nasties

[Susiebelle]

Hi I don't know whether this is the right place for this request but if not if any one can point me in the right direction I would be grateful.

We have had loads of problems this year with the onion/leeks and then of course the blight! and my question is how do other sites get tenants to remove from site any nasties that can be detrimental to other plot holders?

Should we include something in the Agreement, a quiet word does not do the trick as people are convinced that by bunging everthing on the compost heap or leaving on the side, it will break down and all will be well!

Have I got it wrong? would be grateful foe any thoughts.

[Susiebelle]

[Eristic]

I think you would have trouble legislating about what goes in a compost bin but if you have the power to make a ruling against dumping unwanted produce willy nilly then I think it is for the good of all.

[Unwashed]

You want to start evicting people if their potatoes get blight?

[Susiebelle]

No not at all, but surely theres such a thing as 'good plot hygiene' perhaps it's just me. I just thought if I had any disease that would wipe out a neighbours plot I would do all That I could to eradicate it without delay.

[hippydave]

i take any diseased plants to the tip weather it be blighted pots or toms or anything like that but my neighbors dont seem bother but it makes me feel better that im not spreading any ailment round the lottie :P

[Unwashed]

No not at all, but surely theres such a thing as 'good plot hygiene' perhaps it's just me. I just thought if I had any disease that would wipe out a neighbours plot I would do all That I could to eradicate it without delay.

There aren't may diseases that will 'wipe out a neighbour's plot', certainly not those you mentioned.  Do you have something in particular in mind?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Getting rid of blight-infected foliage could help, as it continues to produce spores till it dies. But it would be far more useful to eradicate volunteers next spring! We need to hit diseases when they're weak if we can, not when they're strong.

[Unwashed]

Robert, you're talking about good practice, but Susiebelle is suggesting that it be made a Rule - so sprouting potato peelings in the compost bin can get you evicted.  I'm very uncomfortable with the whole idea.

[Tin Shed]

Maybe info about blight etc and advice about indentification/prevention/control/ disposal given to plot holders or on information boards dotted around the site could be a start.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Robert, you're talking about good practice, but Susiebelle is suggesting that it be made a Rule - so sprouting potato peelings in the compost bin can get you evicted.  I'm very uncomfortable with the whole idea.

So am I. I was suggesting that her rules were a little misguided! As for making information available, I'm wondering about that myself. I get a lot of people telling me that they'd assumed that the blight on their spuds was rot due to the flood we had in June.

[macmac]

Robert I agree with you information is the key, you cannot assume that everyone knows the best thing to do I know I don't but I wander about asking the "old guys" who have often experienced this stuff over the years, I balance this with info on the net and then access this forum. Somewhere in the middle is where I'm at  ::)

[Susiebelle]

I would just like to say the 'old blokes' or as I prefer the experienced guys on my site are experiencing a lot of these things for the first time, or perhaps they have, as suggested  just misdiagnosed them previously/

I am not suggesting evicting any one,  just asking people to be a little more considerate, whether it be cutting down/removing their badly blighted tomatoes or doing their best to remove seed heads from their weeds, the weeds are bad enough but we had badly blighted tomatoes 5 weeks ago and I feel if these had been removed from site that just perhaps people trying to give their main crop pots may just have got another few weeks before they had to cut them down, perhaps I,m wrong, I am certainly no expert.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm thinking of producing a leaflet covering transmission of blight, pics of the symptoms, advice on how to cope with it, and a list of resistant varieties.

[Barnowl]

Last year our committee went round the plots explaining to those that had blight that it would be in their own interests, as well as other allotmenteers, if they removed the blighted foliage and warning those thus far unaffected what to look out for.  It turned out a lot of them didn't know what blight was and were grateful for the advice.

[Sparkly]

Last year our committee went round the plots explaining to those that had blight that it would be in their own interests, as well as other allotmenteers, if they removed the blighted foliage and warning those thus far unaffected what to look out for.  It turned out a lot of them didn't know what blight was and were grateful for the advice.

Yep I think this is a good idea. I am going to bring this up at our next committee meeting as many people are not removing blighted foliage on our site too. Am going to suggest we put a notice up on the main entrance asking people to be vigilant with some pictures.

[BarriedaleNick]

Funnily enough I have just got an email from a fellow committee member on the same issue.
We are going to put up notices with pics about blight and we are asking plotholders to remove any affected plants.  However it has been suggested that if the plotholder does not remove them then a committee member may do so to stop the spread of infection.

Is it reasonable to get a couple of members together to remove blighted toms from plots without the holders consent?

[daileg]

this makes me mad my neighbour has only started to compost them i spotted some potato haulms on his heap as well as toms burried under some other top grwoth as if no one else had noticed no wonder we have such problems year after year but unless we have the industrial farmers keeping potato heaps for the crop not concidered good enough for the supermarket chains we will all have an on going problem . :(

[Sparkly]

Is it reasonable to get a couple of members together to remove blighted toms from plots without the holders consent?

Nope, you can't on someone else's plot without their permission, no matter how annoying the situation may be.

[tonybloke]

Nope, you can't on someone else's plot without their permission, no matter how annoying the situation may be.

where did you get that from?
our site / management committee are allowed to enter upon all plots if they deem it neccessary, for the benefit of all members. (It's in our association rules / tenancy agreements)

[saddad]

and ours...  :-X