[Kleftiwallah]

Looks like either my Pentland Javelin or Maris Bard has succumbed to the blight.

I'll be down there tomorrow and dig them up.  No nice neat strips of earthed up spuds here,  rows about 12 inches apart under a thick mulch of slightly used straw.  so I'd better be quick with the fork'n spade.

         Cheers,     Tony.

[arugula]

If you don't mind me asking, what makes you say it like that?

Looks like either my Pentland Javelin or Maris Bard has succumbed to the blight.

Have you not seen them yourself, or are you not sure which is which in the ground?

[Kleftiwallah]

Well.  .  .  .I do tend to squeeze my veggies in and a couple of the stems have 'wandered' into the next line!  Also I don't have nice shiny plant labels,  I jot it all down on a slip of paper which I normally lose.

 I'll clarify the variety manana.

Cheers,     Tony.

[arugula]

Oh I see. I hope it isn't! Suspected and confirmed cases are getting closer to you now though.

[angelavdavis]

I noticed today that one of my experienced plot neighbours had removed the majority of the foliage on their potatoes and the thought crossed my mind whether this was the problem.  I hope not, we dug up one of our plants at the weekend and there was barely anything there.

[ilan]

I seem to recall that it is best to cut the folage off any blight Potatoes and burn it and leave the spuds in the ground for about two weeks before harvesting is this the best advice ?

[Yorkie]

Yes, the advice is to leave the spuds in the ground for a couple of weeks after removing the foliage.  Apparently this is to let the spores on the surface die off before you bring the spuds to the surface.

[Salmo]

The forecast for the next few days is wet and warm. Looks like ideal conditions for blight to spread.

All blight fungicides for gardeners are preventative rather than cureative so now may be a good time to start spraying. What spray is the best?

[Paul Plots]

Sprays only hold the big "B" at bay.... if you have a fairly large potato patch it would cost a bomb and you'd need to repeat spray every few days.

As for which chemical to use? I think the old stand-by reliable is now banned and an alternative introduced.

DD mentioned this in one of his posts a while back but I can't remember which. 

Where are you DD?? Is there anyone there?  :blink:

[allot2learn]

Bayer Garden Disease Control Fruit & Vegetable 4.75g x6
£6.48 from Wilko's.

I think this is the one.

http://www.wilkinsonplus.com/weedkillers+insecticides/bayer-garden-disease-control-fruit+vegetable-475g-x6/invt/0285344/?htxt=%2FUvRjc0xAaKk26JwgsxcsV6E2gjpK53ITJCPcypNRrR6jhjYX3SDlEUFWaOdTpLU0xVcTayKYYOc%0Aw4t9gBa9qg%3D%3D

[sunshineband]

Trouble is when it rains heavily it all gets washed off the leaves outside!

I'm poised for spraying once this lot has gone over in a day or two

(We don't have a polt full of spuds like some, just three medium sized raised beds and some tomatoes)

[Stratts]

Any spray won't last long in this flippin weather!! 

[mumofstig]

I shouldn't bother to spray unless there is already an outbreak in your part of the country, look at the blight maps to see 

[Salmo]

Sprays only hold the big "B" at bay.... if you have a fairly large potato patch it would cost a bomb and you'd need to repeat spray every few days.

That is exactly the reason to spray. Every day that blight can be delayed means a day more for the potatoes to grow. That is important for the next month or so. After that most crops will have bulked up and the tops can be removed.

You need only spray every 14 days, or weekly if it is very wet. Leaves are protected for quite a long time, it is only the new leaves which the plants produce that are vunerable.

[Paul Plots]

Sprays only hold the big "B" at bay.... if you have a fairly large potato patch it would cost a bomb and you'd need to repeat spray every few days.

That is exactly the reason to spray. Every day that blight can be delayed means a day more for the potatoes to grow. That is important for the next month or so. After that most crops will have bulked up and the tops can be removed.

You need only spray every 14 days, or weekly if it is very wet. Leaves are protected for quite a long time, it is only the new leaves which the plants produce that are vunerable.

Large articulated tanker full of chemicals pulling up at our Lottie site right this minute. 

I have nearly 6 rod of spuds in the dround ground - multiply that my the number of plots (mine is No. 65 and I'm just inside the gate)...... quite a lot of spraying needed I guess. 

I'm going to keep an eye open, pray a little and hope a lot, have a sharp knife ready and do the same as I've done for the last three years = Off with the tops at the first serious sign.