[Grubbypaws]

I have always thrown the haulmes into the council green bin but 2 things have changed; my husband has built a hot bin and the council are starting a charge for the green bin.

My husband insists that it would be OK to compost my potato tops but I am worried as I would not be able to guarantee that they were disease free and the compost we make will be used to grow potatoes next year.

What do other hot bin enthusiasts think?

[mumofstig]

AS long as they aren't left on the surface to spread spores, blighted potato haulms (but not tubers which can regrow) can be composted safely anyway you choose. Make sure they are buried in an open heap though...

[snowdrops]

I compost mine & it’s not a hot bin, just a 1metre square bin hat can get quite hot at times, potato blight lives on living material, so as I understand it once the haulms have rotted down it will die so you will not spread it.

[Yorkie]

Interestingly enough, I see that Monty last night was saying not to compost blighted tomato material - I imagine he'd take the same approach to blighted potato material as it's the same pathogen.

[CHRISDONOHUE]

If you look at Monty Don's advice in terms of risk/reward rather than right and wrong, it makes more sense.   Monty has 5 steaming hot bins on the go, a vast acreage to provide compost and there is probably nobody anywhere near him growing tomatoes (unlike the 50 or more people surrounding most of us at the allotment where blight goes round the plots like wildfire).   He stands little to gain from the tiny addition to his massive amounts of compost from a few blighted tomato plants but wishes to eliminate risk of getting blight from composting them.   Why did he get blight when his risk is incredibly lower than yours or mine?   Because blight is so endemic in the environment that favourable (for blight) weather conditions mean that we are all susceptible.    Plant out Magic Mountain tomatoes which seem impervious to blight when all around are blighted, 30p or so a seed but for 5 full trusses a plant is likely to worth the 30p.