Amateur potato growers blamed for late blight.

[farmer jon]

Presumable farmers are able to use stronger chemicals because they have the required certificate for mixing same. Could not our masters in Brussels [that well known mafia family] allow these to be sold to the public premixed.

even if these chemicals were available to amateurs, they would be too expensive for most people to buy. Dithane 945 was quite safe but the "mafia" insisted on it's withdrawal, the same goes for a lot of other chemicals for various diseases such as cheshunt compound. from the professional side of the fence,I can assure you that we are getting hammered by the mafia too. many blight sprays have been withdrawn & our arsenal is getting smaller by the day. there will come a time when there is a national food shortage here thanks to those meddling idiots from brussels. time to get out & give our farmers the products to protect their crops

[Westi]

Farmer Jon - this could be the year that makes them rethink this nonsense!
They are already getting panicky about the poor harvest & increase in cost. The decrease in GDP will mean if we are going to get out of this mess we have to increase production & have a cost that is affordable we have to protect the crops.

I'm not an advocate of chemicals but Im confident in our farmers to choose wisely - after all they eat it too!

Westi

[Arnie]

Hi everyone

First, thank you Tony I understand now

I have a friend who owns a fish & chip shop and he's just been told that the price of his spuds have risen from £4-00 a 25kg bag to £8-00.

At the end of September I received from our supplier 2012/13 seed potato price list, Now I have had another revised price list from them saying that their potato merchant cannot guarantee that they will have enough seed potato's and that the price's might be increased further, the potato suppliers have only lifted 20% of there crop due to the weather. Not looking good

kind Regards

Arnie

[glallotments]

We grow early varieties of potatoes and so don't have any growing to be hit by late blight.

As for not growing our own - unlike many commercial growers we have (despite very wet conditions) had a reasonably good potato harvest so we won't need to buy any potatoes - nor will our family. Aren't we (and other allotmenteers) actually helping with the shortage by growing our own as we will reduce demand on the shop bought ones,

As for making sure every single potato is gathered - I'd love anyone who manages to do this to pass on their expertise!

[vegpatchmum]

As for making sure every single potato is gathered - I'd love anyone who manages to do this to pass on their expertise!

Me too please

VPM
x

[Shallot Man]

vegpatchmum. Me too. Don't matter how careful I am I still get self sown next year. And all seem to survive the winter OK. Tempted to resow straight away.

[Johnboy]

This year Potatoes hereabouts are now being sold in 20kg bags for £9.00 and not 25kg bags. Last year a 25kg bag was priced at £7.50.
When you convert this to Pounds and Pence The prices have risen from 13.63 pence per lb to 20.45 pence per lb which is very roughly 50% increase from last years price.
They have just finished digging the potatoes here and the yields were only very slightly down on last years yield. The potatoes are many but a lot smaller and feel that such a price hike is simply not warranted.
JB.

[glallotments]

The potatoes are many but a lot smaller and feel that such a price hike is simply not warranted.
JB.

I think those who are managing to harvest are making money on the backs of those who have had a failure due to their fields being underwater. I don't suppose they will create a fund from their excess profits to help those who have lost money.

[Cider Boys]

Most large commercial growers have a contract with an agreed price for their potaoes before harvest and due to the problems with blight and poor lifting conditions with smaller yields are not making the profits that some suggest.

As a small independant potato grower I do blame this 'organic, must not spray chemicals' attitude of recent years so adopted by those new to gardening as a large contributer to the blight problem.

You do not wait for blight, you spray and spray again to prevent the problem and when or if you get blight you burn off (chemically or otherwise) or cut and burn all the haulm and wait several weeks before attempting to lift.

The problem is that many modern gardeners have adopted this silly must not spray chemicals nonsense promoted by the organic brigade, irronically the organic growers do spray against potato blight like everyone should.

Barney

[peter]

Problem is though Barney, that those of us amateurs who want to spray will have s** all products available to us. Bordeaux mixture is withdrawn next year and Dithane has already gone a year or so ago.

[alan refail]

I have asked the Soil Association what they permit in place of Copper Sulphate for organic growers. Their reply:
" Hi Alan, Copper oxychloride is the most commonly used control for blight in organic potatoes. The use of copper is limited to a maximum of 6kg/ha/year for organic growers."

The substance is Dicopper chloride trihydroxide

[Johnboy]

With the amount of potatoes lost by organic farmers this year I would suggest that Dicopper chloride trihydroxide either doesn't work, like most of the organically recommended 'treatments,' or it's too expensive to use.
Their losses have been horrendous!
JB.

[glallotments]

With the amount of potatoes lost by organic farmers this year I would suggest that Dicopper chloride trihydroxide either doesn't work, like most of the organically recommended 'treatments,' or it's too expensive to use.
Their losses have been horrendous!
JB.

I wonder then why it is amateur gardeners who got the blame for the epidemic of blight when organic farmers are in the same position?

[Johnboy]

Hi Sue,
Oh how true! That is why I have very little faith in treatments recommended by the Soil Association because those who hold SA acccreditation are well and truely in the mire this year.
It is the difference between having enough to eat and having nothing to eat.
You would think that the organic farmers would grow Savari Trust blight resistant potatoes but the vast majority do not. They want to grow the popular varieties where the money is.
JB.