I realise this question has probably been asked before, but the search facility is not working at the moment, so here goes:
All my Desiree spuds have succumbed to blight, not just the foliage but the tubers themselves. I was planning to dig them all up, but this proved to be such a messy (and smelly) job that I gave up. Is it OK to just leave them in the ground? I plan to roughly dig over the area next month and sow a green manure.
The blight spores will continue to thrive in the flesh of the potatoes you have left in the ground.
If you dont dig them up (no matter how messy the job)you will have problems again.
Much sympathy - it's incredible how quickly it's got to the tubers this year.
Does blight affect every tuber? I'm unsure if I have blight or not.
I went and dug some up at the weekend and I did manage to find some good, big potatoes but there were also spuds that looked worse for wear. They may have been the original seed but I'm not sure.
Surely if I had blight every potato in the ground would be nasty.
Could someone just confirm it one way or the other please.
Thanks.
GF
Not with mine Greenfingers, just the odd one. But if you leave the good ones in storage, they will probably deteriorate (assuming you have blight on the others). If you think you might have blight in the tubers, have a good lungfull and see if you can still breathe afterwards. It is an amazingly awful smell.
Blighted potatoes are horrible - soft, rotten and squidgy but the smell is awful. You will certainly know if the potatoes have got blight. Be sure to remove all the potatoes from the plot. Don't leave them piled up on the side as the blight will survive the winter.
What you have to beware of is blight spuds surviving the winter and sprouting next year. It won't live on dead tissue. Don't get neurotic about it, but make sure you don't let any accidentals slip through next summer. Be sure to rotate them, and you won't have any problems.
Thanks Robert. I was told by one of the old boys to never leave blighted spuds on the side at the allotments. Just shows they aren't always right!!
Don't leave them, just in case. Heaps of spuds left on the edges of fields are regular centres of infection. I put every spud I'm not using straight in the compost bins; they never survive the experience, and the blight dies with them.
Sometimes the BOFAR'S on the lotties give sound advice ;D
That old boy wasn't far from mark when he said don't leave tubers by the side of the path ..
Late blight does survive in tubers that have survived the winter and if any start to grow, there is a good chance some may show signs of infection . Spores from these will infect surrounding crops in wet weather ...