[grendel]

I just got some epsom salts from Boots, £1.25 for a 200g pot (buy one get second half price) so £3.74 for 800g, not a bad price, my potatoes were exactly the same - I took off the yellowed leaves, and when it stops raining I will go and give them a good soaking with the epsoms.
Grendel (glad to see its not blight, I was a bit worried at first too but wanted to do a bit of research before yanking the lot up)

[Kirpi]

I never understand why the blight map we are pointed to shows no blight in our area when we clearly have blight on our plots every year. Nothing yet, but I do wonder how reliable that map is when you get down to tiny plots on allotments.

Doesn't it depend on people reporting it? If people don't report, it won't go on....

Exactly so.  Kirpi - do what I have done and become a blight monitor.  PM me if you want the contact details.


AND I agree - definitely not late blight.

OK - I had it in my mind that it was something the Potato Council mapped; didn't know it was possible to report in.

I will PM you Aunty thank you.

[Salmo]

Doesn't it depend on people reporting it? If people don't report, it won't go on....

Exactly so.  Kirpi - do what I have done and become a blight monitor.  PM me if you want the contact details.


AND I agree - definitely not late blight.

My opinion is that the yellowing leaves are probably slug damaged and the black spots are magnesium defficiency. The defficiency is probably induced by rapid growth outstripping the plants capacity to take up nutrients.

Magnesium defficiency first appears as yellowing on older leaves between the veins in lines like fingers. The yellowing turns to black.

Early blight appears as small yellow spots between the veins which darken to black with a halo of yellow round. Sometimes called target blight because it looks like a target. When it is humid there is mould on the underside. The spots do not cross leaf veins.

Late blight is similar but without the halo and the spots do spread across veins until they all join up as a black mess.

I registered as a blight monitor last year and they have automatically sent me a sampling kit. It is reporting the very early cases of suspected blight that are important as early warning on the map. These leaves could have been sampled and sent for verification.

[RJR_38]

Doesn't it depend on people reporting it? If people don't report, it won't go on....

Exactly so.  Kirpi - do what I have done and become a blight monitor.  PM me if you want the contact details.


AND I agree - definitely not late blight.

My opinion is that the yellowing leaves are probably slug damaged and the black spots are magnesium defficiency. The defficiency is probably induced by rapid growth outstripping the plants capacity to take up nutrients.

Magnesium defficiency first appears as yellowing on older leaves between the veins in lines like fingers. The yellowing turns to black.

Early blight appears as small yellow spots between the veins which darken to black with a halo of yellow round. Sometimes called target blight because it looks like a target. When it is humid there is mould on the underside. The spots do not cross leaf veins.

Late blight is similar but without the halo and the spots do spread across veins until they all join up as a black mess.

I registered as a blight monitor last year and they have automatically sent me a sampling kit. It is reporting the very early cases of suspected blight that are important as early warning on the map. These leaves could have been sampled and sent for verification.

Ok, interesting to know as if you do a google image search lots of pictures that look like my leaves come up - but I am guessing it is probably from sites like this where people are asking if it is blight.

The leaves are definitely not slug damaged as there are no holes or thinning of the leaves but from closer research magnesium deficiency looks much more likely. I guess I panicked as I didn't want to be responsible for infecting anyone else!

What causes magnesium deficiency by the way? It is something my whole plot is likely to have (it was previously uncultivated)

[seaside]

Interesting comments RJR, and a shame you felt obliged to cut off your crop, and I just wonder where that peer pressure comes from ... online culture, neighbouring allotmenteers or wherever... it's a bit of a soap box issue for me. Blight certainly has the power of plague to whip people's fear up, and it is nearly always counter-productive to the enjoyment of an allotment.
 
We have a City allotment site of some 130 plots and potato blight when it comes a calling almost always shows itself quite clearly from the North West of the site, and tracks across the site within a week. When it happens, it happens, and it is so obvious. All we can do is obviously follow good planting practice as with all plants, but in reality hope to mitigate the effects of this now almost annual scourge, and for those of us that have greenhouses and polytunnels, try and ensure it doesn't invade the covered tomato/pepper crops.
The annual regular blight thing is a new phenomena and perhaps we haven't quite got our heads around how to deal with it as a community.
I am now convinced to sow Sarpo next year as a main crop. Earlies by and large tend to have enough of a window to escape most of the effects.

[RJR_38]

Interesting comments RJR, and a shame you felt obliged to cut off your crop, and I just wonder where that peer pressure comes from ... online culture, neighbouring allotmenteers or wherever... it's a bit of a soap box issue for me. Blight certainly has the power of plague to whip people's fear up, and it is nearly always counter-productive to the enjoyment of an allotment.
 
We have a City allotment site of some 130 plots and potato blight when it comes a calling almost always shows itself quite clearly from the North West of the site, and tracks across the site within a week. When it happens, it happens, and it is so obvious. All we can do is obviously follow good planting practice as with all plants, but in reality hope to mitigate the effects of this now almost annual scourge, and for those of us that have greenhouses and polytunnels, try and ensure it doesn't invade the covered tomato/pepper crops.
The annual regular blight thing is a new phenomena and perhaps we haven't quite got our heads around how to deal with it as a community.
I am now convinced to sow Sarpo next year as a main crop. Earlies by and large tend to have enough of a window to escape most of the effects.

I suppose the fact that it is my first year with an allotment and I already get the nudges and whispering from the old boys as they don't think a woman in her 20s can do it on her own (one of them has actually said that). Also whenever it is mentioned on forums it is made to sound like a terrible, terrible thing and the fault of allotmenteers who don't know what they're doing so I was keen to make sure it wasn't my fault! Anyway, lesson learnt. I will dig up the spuds which are probably only marble sized next week and enjoy my earlies and salad types instead!

[Aunt Sally]

I am now convinced to sow Sarpo next year as a main crop.

It all depends why you are growing potatoes.  I grow them for their fabulous flavour and texture. I have tried Sarpo Mira and found them very underwhelming!

[seaside]

I am now convinced to sow Sarpo next year as a main crop.

It all depends why you are growing potatoes.  I grow them for their fabulous flavour and texture. I have tried Sarpo Mira and found them very underwhelming!

Oh well, that's a shame. I'm disappointed to hear that taste report on Sarpo main crops, Aunt, and will have to investigate. My decision is based on a maincrop blight reasoning with so many recent affected crops, and thanks for your opinion, as there is no point if they are as tasteless as you point out. Flavour etc is of course the only reason to grow my own potatoes. It certainly isn't a fiscal one, and they don't half take up a lot of room for the return. There are far more friendly vegetables out there just waiting for half a yard of my plot space
I got into growing potatoes as an afterthought, and as a traditional norm, even though they have never been part of my staple/carbohydrate diet..... I've been very happy though with the early potato thing as a short seasonal, almost salad crop. Maybe I should just stick to that.

[Aunt Sally]

There are a number of main crop potatoes with good blight resistance.  I grow Cara.

Find a garden centre/nursery that sells loose potatoes and try a few tubers of ones that take your fancy.

These are the one I know of that have a good resistance to blight:

Ambo
Blue Danube
Cara
Golden Wonder
Kerrs Pinks
Opera
Remarka
Sante
Sarpo Axona
Sarpo Mira
Setanta
Valour
Victoria
White Lady

You can check out their eating qualities here:

http://www.dundrynurseries.co.uk/plist.asp

[seaside]

Thanks for that list Aunt. Will delve further. A tasty, but not too floury roasting quality that can take a parboil without disintegrating is what I'm interested in with a main crop potato... that's it, full stop.
 
I am well versed on the politics of blight, but not on the bred varieties available that offer windows of  reasoned resistance. Thanks again.

[Chrysalis]

In defence of Sarpo. We love them!  Make great chips and good all rounders.  Give then a try!! 

[RookieJim]

"I suppose the fact that it is my first year with an allotment and I already get the nudges and whispering from the old boys as they don't think a woman in her 20s can do it on her own (one of them has actually said that)."

That's a shocking thing for him to say. I'm also in my twenties and some of the old boys on my site will comment on 'inexperience' etc, but mostly in a supportive way. If they said anything rude to me I'd give them a Glasgow Kiss  .

Don't let them put you off, RJR. Your allotment can't be terribly far from mine, as I'm in Harrow, where is yours?

Jim

[RJR_38]

"I suppose the fact that it is my first year with an allotment and I already get the nudges and whispering from the old boys as they don't think a woman in her 20s can do it on her own (one of them has actually said that)."

That's a shocking thing for him to say. I'm also in my twenties and some of the old boys on my site will comment on 'inexperience' etc, but mostly in a supportive way. If they said anything rude to me I'd give them a Glasgow Kiss  .

Don't let them put you off, RJR. Your allotment can't be terribly far from mine, as I'm in Harrow, where is yours?

Jim

I am far too stubborn too be put off so don't worry about that! I think it is mainly because I took on a jungle as well which was apparently 'impossible' to clear as they had a couple who tried it for a year before me and gave up. I like a challenge though so all is good.

I am in Rickmansworth so not far from you at all Are you on the Harrow plots you can see from the tube?

[RookieJim]

Hi RJR,

Yeah I'm on the allotments just beside West Harrow tube station.

I actually work in Rickmansworth, in the building behind St Mary's church. I think I know where your site is, just a right on the roundabout Travis Perkins is on and it's just on the right hand side?

Jim

[RJR_38]

Yep, that is exactly where the lotties are - I live a 5 min walk away from them so am very lucky. I know exactly where you work - small world eh?!