[milkman]

Hallo Anton - my leeks got ravaged by leek moth last year - september time - your description matches what happened to mine - this was the first time that our site has been hit in the 8 years that I've had a lottie so it was quite shocking to see everyone's leeks getting shredded.  I cut off the affected outer leaves and they did recover.

Sounds like blight struck your potatoes - it reduces them to smelly mush in no time at all.  My advice would be to grow varieties said to be blight resistant and harvest them earlier - I try and get my maincrop dug up by the end of August.  Ditto toms - Ferline is said to be a good blight resistant outdoor variety if you can get hold of it.

[Annie]

Best thing is to keep and eye on the foliage for signs of blight as it will show up ther first.If you spot any then cut the foliage down and dig up your spuds a week later and you should get away with it.Also talk to others on the lottie the chances are that if you got blight they did,this year keep a joint look out.I tried one of the blight resistant pots.last year,the crop and flavour were Ok,maybe worth a try for you.

[Anton]

Thanks for the tip, Annie. None of the other ladies on the allotment, my son and I are the only males, actually grow potatoes. They tend to think potatoes, and perhaps me, are a bit traditional.
It's a bit too late for my early potatoes because they are already in the ground (they are the "eersteling variety). I suppose the people in the shop will know if the main crop is blight-resistant. Cite me a few names please?  The ones I put in  last year were "bintjes" a very common potato here.
What signs should I look out for in the foliage?

Anton

[Annie]

Sarpo Mira and Sarpo axona,late maincrop,are the main ones,Valour andMarkies,late maincrop are also suposed to be resistant.Don`t know if this is any help as I don`t know what varieties are available to you.
I would Google blight as it is easier to see pictures of blight than have me describe it.
I`m also going to mulch more this year to reduce watering on things like potatoes.

[WG.]

Anton, can you please advise (preferably in your signature) whether you are looking for organic or chemical solutions to blight.  Thanks.

[Anton]

David, sorry I should have specified. Organic remedies.

Anton

[WG.]

David, sorry I should have specified. Organic remedies.

Ok - ditto everything Annie says about choosing a resistant variety & removing affected shaws immediately.  You can also grow an early variety with proven keeping qualities, e.g. Red or White Duke of York (but lift them before blighty weather hits).

Also: I found this link http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/lateblight.html a few months ago & plan to try it out Jim Gerritsen's foliar feeding technique this season.  The theory being that a shaw with a healthy population of friendly microbes/spores etc give the blight spores no chance to develop.

Non-organic gardeners can use Dithane or similar sprays

[Anton]

Thanks, Dave. By the way, I've been out of the country a long time. What is a shaw? The foliage?

Anton

[WG.]

Thanks, Dave. By the way, I've been out of the country a long time. What is a shaw? The foliage?

Anton

Yup