Hello
I am going to try growing some new potatoes this year, and will buy them from the garden centre to avoid introducing potato blight to my garden via Asda spuds (or so I heard).
I have just added more potato peelings to my compost heap and thought, is this doing the same thing?
Anyone got any thoughts?
cj :)
Ex shop potatoes are extremely unlikely to have blight since the tubers rot and will not store. They turn to slime and stink :o. The reason for not using supermarket spuds as seed potatoes is that they can carry viruses though whether peelings that have been composted can damage crops in that way I am not sure. I think it may be possible, may depend on the temperature your compost heap reaches but since almost everyone composts potato peelings I wouldn't worry too much about it :).
Thanks for the reply. Ah well, I'll keep on using the peelings for compost then. :)
cj :)
Blight is an air bourne problem ,they used to give warnings with the weather forecast if the conditions were right for the spread of it. Bordaeux mixture has been the recommended spray for many years but I generally have found that if you get it ,it is too late to spray but if you cut all the foliage off and destroy it the blight does not get washed down to the tubers and your crop is safe. Once blight gets on the foliage ,the foliage is no ore good to the plant so you lose nothing in the way of a crop.
Sign on to Blightwatch at http://www.blightwatch.co.uk/content/bw-Home.asp . If you can get to the plot and spray any time you get a warning that might get you through. I've had so many outbreaks that I'm considering it for this year now I'm working nearby.
Thanks for the link Robert.