[Sadgit]

Apart from the big biffa slug you got there    they don't pong do they ? just I found that a lot of my blighted pot's also have massive slug damage they seem to like the squigy one's best.

not sure.. didn't stick my nose in there . Will check some more tomorrow

but can slugs wipe out all my seed spuds?

[smithyveg]

Slugs tend to just tunnel holes into spuds in normal seasons....that doesn't usually render them totally inedible like these appear to be......I think this is a combination of a bad blight attack and waterlogged soil. The slugs have perhaps got the bulk of the blame for actually having the gall to be on the spuds when you dug them up!

My spuds had started to look sorry for themselves long before blight came......they were just sitting in water basically! Spuds like water......but not THAT much!

I cannot remember a season like this one for throwing every single problem at us.......I've never suffered from blight before in Leicestershire in 15 years of growing......and I hope anyone growing veg for the first time won't be put off by thinking what we've experienced this year is typical.

Keep trying and hopefully next year will be different.

[Annie]

Looks like blight and the slugs to me,I have just dug up the last of ours and a few look like yours but others are firm but riddled through by slugs and some are just mushy.I did fleetingly think of nematodes at the beggining of the season but they`re expensive and I`m not convinced that it ever got warm enough.

[richyrich7]

I cannot remember a season like this one for throwing every single problem at us.......I've never suffered from blight before in Leicestershire in 15 years of growing.....

Funny you should mention that but I've never had blighted pot's before either

[smithyveg]

One other thing....It's just occurred to me...you do realise that the seed tuber you planted back in Spring will very often turn mushy like that? Sometimes it just shrivels but this year mine have all been squidgy and mushy like the ones in your pic.

[ACatCalledElvis]

I found the seed tuber as well - it was generally brown and wasted (as expected) - the smell I got was not of the sweet/foul smell of rotting spuds (had some of them this year) - but the sour smell of milk gone off almost  -and the spuds the consistency of mozzarella on a pizza - I had no evidence of blight on the haulms - and as I said only some were affected - not all - I understood that blight was an all or nothing thing - so anyone can point the finger - if not slug massive attack I would be grateful!!

E

[richyrich7]

I would imagine that it is blight ACCE, it smells vile but does not necessarily affect all the tubers at the same time, for it has to spread through the cells of the leaves and stems and some tubers will be further away than others, also it has to overwinter in tubers so I imagine some are just carriers, rather than victims. Just my theory  

[Annie]

I have had evidence of blight onthe folliage of a lot of my potatoes but the amount of tubers affected is very variable.The last lot I dug up went into total foliage collapse over a weekend but about a 3/4 are not(yet)mushy.I also suspect that with one variety the damage was blackleg as the folliage didn`t look too bad but the tubers showed quite a bit of rot and closer inspection of the stems showed some long blackened areas.
  Whatever the cause of your potatoes demise it is unlikley to be that bad next year unless the jet stream goes permanently off course then we`ll all have to rethink our planting!

[Annie]

ps nearly forgot,this also means that anyone who had blight has to trawl their soil to remove any teeny weeny volunteer  potatoes to ensure there are non to pop up next year which carry the infection.I try every year and fail but luckily have only had  one slight,late bit of blight before.

[shaun]

how was the bonnie when you dug em up annie ?mine were the great and still are,
a 100% definite for me next year

[Annie]

Those are the ones I`ve just unearthed,2 weeks after taking the foliage down,The only thing I could think as the sad crop came out was that I was glad they were free.Not many seem free of slug damage to some degree,there was obvious rot in many,OOH!I really hate that feeling when you press a dodgy bit and your finger goes right in(shudder).They were a nice size though and we keeping them on hand to use for mash or slicing!We haven`t weighed them yet but yield wise we got about the same amount from 20 tubers as we did from 10 roosters,so will not be growing these next year,oh nearly forgot,not a bad flavour but not my favourite.
I`m still trying to get my definitive list.Now the question is how do I use the earlies up when the later varieties won`t keep as normal and the Charlotte are just so wonderful!.

[shaun]

suppose in better conditions they might have been better but that goes for them all i suppose,i think the rooster needs realy realy fertile soil or so ive been told after all they are from ireland   :?
those bonnie make good chips also

[Annie]

Try Rooster next year,I was worried when the blight hit but they made decent sized pots even dug up early,and the taste.....only the pinkfir to come out now,but have no great hopes as they have had such a short growing time.Oh,by the way the sprout seeds you sent,when they eventually germinated,are looking fab.Have planted things a bit close but once the calibrese is cleared they will have space to grow on,thank for those.

[Sadgit]

the foliage on the plants are tiny but healthy, but some tubers have no foliage at all. I was going to dig some moreup, but once more work has taken over my life...

[celtbhoy]

thats my theory - been a lot about..........the spuds were turned into almost cheese? - and without doubt each had a slug attached - even when drying out - slugs were appearing from them.........

love cheese me!!