[Kleftiwallah]

Next year I are mainly ONLY growing blight restistant spuds and tom's.   I give up!

Cheers,    Tony.

[Chrysalis]

Sorry, Tony.

We managed to rescue the earlies just in time - a little evidence on the leaves, but crop OK.  We'll eat 'em up quick.  Trying sarpo mira mains this year.  All fine.....

Toms in greenhouse ok so far, but so many have lost stuff I feel kinda guilty when something goes right!

Commiserations, 
C

[Lardman]

Death, Taxes and Blight...  

Resistant isn't proof, I've tried both resistant spuds and toms they went down to blight just like the rest and more importantly they don't taste particularly good either.

You could grow just earlies, the old bloke next to me does that but I don't think there's a good answer for the toms other than spraying.

[Growster...]

You have to spray.

Why waste all your energy and money in getting crops into the ground, only to see them fail because some Brussels bureaucrat decides you can't?

I may be modded, but I never ever believe that I should not be gardening for my individual pleasure and benefit from my labours, and use a few bits and pieces which make me buy less stuff imported from Chile or Portugal, which are far, far further away than my allotment.

[compostqueen]

I don't spray so accept if they get it they get it. I feel once they've got it then it's too late to spray so just cut the foliage off and hope for better things next year

[Growster...]

I don't spray so accept if they get it they get it. I feel once they've got it then it's too late to spray so just cut the foliage off and hope for better things next year

Note what you say CQ, and want to agree, but why not plan to be organic in growing stuff, (which we do on Growster Acres) and accept that killing stuff like slugs just has to happen, unless you want to end up with nothng on your patch?

[compostqueen]

I do generally leave out sprays and such like as I don't fancy them on my veg. I don't like weedkiller near them either.  I grow plenty of flowers and don't generally do monoculture. I've got all sorts of veggies in with the potatoes but it's not stopped blight     We won't get blight every year though so you have to take the rough with the smooth in this game 

[angelavdavis]

I would have sprayed with Bordeaux mixture if we had had enough dry days to do this prior to my crops being hit with blight!  I didn't see the point in spraying when it was raining every day.

Growster, I am amazed you have had enough dry days to spray - being just down the road and all.

[compostqueen]

I don't like the idea of repeatedly spraying just in case you might get blight.  I don't like sprays of any sort and steer clear.  I'm not sure they work any way.  Folks on our site who have sprayed still have blight   

It is a horrible disease though and it drives you mad when you think all your  crop could end up stinking and rotten.  Hopefully removing the foliage could save some of the crop

[TerryB]

Only ever grow 1st & 2nd earlies because we always get blight.
Strange thing this year is that some Tumbling Toms (had more than family needed for baskets) growing no more than 3ft away from potatoe's that have already been cut down, have not show any sign of blight yet.

[Growster...]

I would have sprayed with Bordeaux mixture if we had had enough dry days to do this prior to my crops being hit with blight!  I didn't see the point in spraying when it was raining every day.

Growster, I am amazed you have had enough dry days to spray - being just down the road and all.

I rushed out one evening after a Blightwatch warning Angela.

The guy next to me had done the same, and we're the two lucky ones, whereas the others have a problem now.

No smugness intended; I've been blighted before and lost the lot, so they have to have the treatment, although, of course, I'd prefer not to chuck stuff everywhere, and hurt the environment.

As mentioned elsewhere, we use 95% organic ferts, which pong consistently, but don't 'arf work well - and they're cheaper! Go to Blackbrooks, and get a bag of 6X - £10.00,  it's enough for a plot for a year!

[fatcat1955]

I will carry on growing the spud's i like and put up with whatever comes my way rather than spraying a copper solution over my veg. Wiki it and see the risk's for yourselves. Harmful to fish livestock and worm's. Nuff sed.

[Salmo]

I was pleasantly surprised today when I dug a few charlotte and kestrel that had their tops removed a week ago. Lots of potatoes, a good size and very little scab. What are others finding?

[mumofstig]

I will carry on growing the spud's i like and put up with whatever comes my way rather than spraying a copper solution over my veg. Wiki it and see the risk's for yourselves. Harmful to fish livestock and worm's. Nuff sed.

each to their own  
 at least if you're doing the spraying yourself (rather than the farmer for shop-bought ones) you know what has been applied and how many times  

It may be different if you always grow enough that you don't need to buy any at all - because even organic potato growers are allowed under derogation to spray with copper based sprays in a blight year.

[Growster...]

In fact folks, I've just come back from the Patch, and my neighbour (93 years old), has pointed out a few brown patches, which he assures me are blighted, so on his advice, the halms are now in a sealed plastic bag for destroying later!

Dug the worst hit and got a couple of pounds of good, sound Charlotte, so they're probably OK.

(Still didn't think it was blight, but they've stopped growing now, and its not fair keeping them on display if there is a chance it is the dreaded!)