Can't believe it - have just received 'blight alert' for the Derby area from www.potato.org.uk !!!
It's only June
Bruno
Me too - in London!
And me! Was so glad to get the rain - but you just can't win !!
Guildford & Hayling Island just got one too!
:o :o :o :o :o :o
I got this too but I took it to mean that there wasn't any blight. (I don't know what the Full Smith Period means ???)
Fight Against Blight Alerts:
for more detail please visit www.potato.org.uk/blight
No incidents found
BlightWatch Alerts:
for more detail please visit www.blightwatch.co.uk
Area: B42
Warning: Full Smith Period
Edited-
You all probably know about Smith Periods, but I didn't so I Googled it:=
A full Smith Period has occurred when:
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At least two consecutive days where min temperature is 10ºC or above and on each day at least 11 hours when the relative humidity is greater than 90%.
A 'near miss' occurs when one or both of the above two consecutive days has only 10 hours when the relative humidity is greater than 90% and the temperature is 10ºC or above. Note that a near miss is not recorded when temperature values are close to but not at the threshold value.
I just got my first one in Peterborough as well. Glad I only grow Sarpo's.
I got mine here in the Cotswolds. Very depressing.
Only one episode of rain so if this had fallen in one day rather than being split over two it would not have triggered a Smith Period.
I suppose the point of the warning is not that there currently is any blight but that you can dash out and put all sorts of poisons on your plants to prevent it happening. I am doing more earlies this year had hoped to harvest them before the blight strikes.
I am nore interested in preventing problems with my tomatoes.
Just ahd a FUll Smith for SN2 but no blight alert yet....
chrisc
It was a near miss is RG14 today.
We're SO22/23.
I got a text message (and email) this aafternoon, so we sprayed straight away to be on the safe side.
On checking the email, yesterday fulfilled the criteria but today is a near miss, so doesn't make the two-daya mark.
Grrrrr.
Yep - near miss period in WD24!
I've just signed up to blightwatch, but won't be able to log in until tomorrow; whereabouts in the Cotswolds are you Digeroo?? I'm on the northern slopes of Bath.
Yep I got my blight alert, but I'm growing in my back garden under cover so I should be OK. ??? ;D ;D ;D
Had a blightwatch alert in Leicester too
got one here as well, durham dh6
If you get one, what is the best course of action please? This is my first year and I SO want to grow nice potatoes!
No need to panic yet guys......
Living in Cornwall we are the first to get blight before the rest of the country. We have been having Smith Periods on/off since April....
The good thing is you need at least 7-10 days of continual Smith periods for a greater chance of Blight pathogen sporulation.
Also leaf wetness is a must.
I sprayed my crops yesterday as we have had a few red days now...
So don't panic just yet and cut your pots to the ground.
If you do catch blight, then remove all infected parts and burn them. If the attack is severe then cut all plants to ground level and leave the tubers in the ground for two weeks.
Do not compost infected plants...
Sow early and dig up early seems to be the answer............
Then when we run out ......Imported spuds can be sold in the shops ...
Hmmm, smudge, not sure how good my Tomato yield will be if I cut them to the ground!!! :P Actually I am! ::)
Had a full Smith in Birmingham as well. It's a worry because the disease came like lightning last year. I'm convinced it's endemic on the site.
Quote from: OllieC on June 09, 2010, 22:14:03
Hmmm, smudge, not sure how good my Tomato yield will be if I cut them to the ground!!! :P Actually I am! ::)
Hahah Ollie ;D
That's why this year the toms are in the polytunnel
Smudger28 - what do you spray your crops with to reduce the blight problem?
Eek! I only got my tomatoes in the ground at the weekend...don't want them destroyed quite yet, they are only 6 inches tall.....
Still we have only had 1 Smith period (in Nottingham) so hopefully no need to panic yet.
PS Spray with Bordeaux mixture (it's kind of organic) or Dithane if not bothered about organicness.
Full smiths in south staffs :(
No spuds but loads of toms all coming on well..........fingers crossed.
Can you use Dithane on potatoes as well? Lost my toms on the lottie for the third year running so won't be growing them down there again. As there has been a blight alert in Birmingham do I need to spray now?
Does anyone know if there has been any alerts in the Leeds area? Got both tom's and potatoes growing and after seeing all the posts on here I am started to get a bit worried! ???
Quote from: Glen on June 10, 2010, 22:20:32
Does anyone know if there has been any alerts in the Leeds area? Got both tom's and potatoes growing and after seeing all the posts on here I am started to get a bit worried! ???
Glen, you can register free on BlightWatch (http://www.blightwatch.co.uk/content/bw-Home.asp) to see for yourself - I think it takes 24 hours for the site registration to be processed.
Thanks unwashed. Just signed up now.
Dithane is recommended (by its manufacturers ::)) for the control of blight on potatoes adn tomatoes..... I always feel a bit chary about using it on tomatoes though...
chrisc
A full Smith Period today. :-\ ;D ;D ;D