[Anton]

I am starting to dig up my early potatoes bit by bit (line by line) and I wondered if it is safe to put the leaves, stalks and so on,... onto my compost heap asthey are showing no signs of blight (quite healthy looking plants and not o even starting to turn brown yet). Blight usely strikes in when it's wet and humid in July, doesn't it?

Anton

[mumofstig]

I've always put them in the bin, as long as they look healthy, but do keep them covered, so no blight spores can get in there and over winter.

[Anton]

Thanks Mumofstig. Keep them covered as soon as they are in the bin and until the end of the winter?

[geordiekev]

Don't blight spores live on living plant tissue?

[mumofstig]

There's quite a lot of 'discussion' about it...
Eg: RHS says

The presence of new blight strains in the UK means that the pathogen now has the potential to produce resting spores (oospores) in the affected plant tissues. The oospores are released from the rotting tissues to contaminate the soil
 

I know blight spreads from piles of rotting plants and potatoes left uncovered in farmers fields, and the advice to them is to keep the pile covered.
So that's what I do, when I put them in my bin.. just in case.