Kitchen Garden Forum

First signs of blight on the tatties, so all the tops are off and safely cleared away, seems to have only hit the pink fir apples, but better safe than sorry. Will start to lift the tatties later.

tigerburnie wrote: seems to have only hit the pink fir apples, but better safe than sorry. Will start to lift the tattoos later.

What a shame, my favourite tatty. How does Anja compare ? I did get a good crop of PFA last year though I planted very early, planted Charlotte a little later and they got hit so now I'm trying even later and under covers. See if that works.

OMG Tiger! You said the 'B' word!

Our lottie is in the grips of it, my spuds are hanging on with their copper sprays but will soon be time. Hope the spraying & the shelter keeps the tomatoes safe & not anything you can do with them when they get hit. Of course if anyone has ideas to save the toms I'd welcome them! (Not talking about the self sown littlins), but got some real toms to protect!

What is copper spray for and doesn't it affect the taste, also, is blight carried on the wind or rain ? My only experience of blight was after a warm summer downpour.

It is just a foliar spray Richard, so doesn't affect the taste. My current one is in sachets, but I've had it before in a slug pellet type container. It is not a permanent fix but if you get a warning & spray it helps. The blight spores are in the air but it is the rain after a hot & humid period that unleashes it's worst attacks! Last year I lost my toms & 1st earlies to early blight, this year it seems to be late blight which means you can save your potatoes if you cut off the foliage, but the toms don't hide their fruit underground so can loose the lot.

It's not expensive & truly does help. I'm the only one not affected (so far) in my block on the back row, but not hopeful with all this ruddy rain! If you sign up to Blight Watch (free) they send you e-mails to alert you to when your at risk & you can spray/water & offer a bit of protection! PS: Like your new signature, but isn't wine good for you - don't tell me NO!!!

There are a few protective sprays you can use to stop blight attack, but nothing is now available to eradicate it once it has struck your spuds/toms.
I find the answer is to spray around mid June, and then again at fortnightly intervals until lifting time. I have also applied the same schedule to nematode slug control this year, which has given virtually total control!! First time I have ever achieved that. Have just dug a 15 metre long row of Orchestra second earlies, with not a slug hole in sight.
There are of course, also blight resistant potato varieties, like the Sarpo range. I have had good results with Sarpo Mira over several seasons, though I still take the precaution of spraying. Not always totally effective, but well worth the effort, and keeps the problem to a minimum.
I really DO wish it would stop raining now!!!!!!

Have a 20L bucket of cucumbers and a 17kg dry-dog food sack full of patty pan squash.

Colleagues at work may start avoiding the office in case they are invited to have a cucumber or squash!

Peter - how many plants do you have to produce that amount? I've only 2 cucumbers this year 1 in the greenhouse & 1 outside. (Sowed more but natural disasters left me with these 2)! Greenhouse one gets a glut & then rests for the next one so doing OK with just friends to get rid of the surplus. Outside one looks like it is probably about May not August!

Agree with the pattypan which is why I didn't plant any this year - no one knows what to do with them for a start - bit like giving someone a Kohl Rabi I've found! (Which are doing fine despite the white fly)!

chrisg! Indeed once it's there you are only biding time but I've managed 3 weeks more growing than the neighbours with the spray, but cut down the foliage as a busy work week & more showers means I won't be able to protect them this week. Did 2 applications of the slug nemotade thing & have some serious slug damage but only lifted near the fence so blame the neighbours slugs & my application that close to the fence was not as precise so hoping those further in will be better!

If you completely cover your outdoor tomatoes with fleece instead of spraying them, would that effectively keep the blight spores off the foliage?

My Pink Fir Apple also.

WEDNESDAY 9th August

Piddly rain, so much for the crop harvesting that needs doing
Some of the onions need lifting,
Shallot stems died right off and have disappeared, shallots still in ground
Firestorm runner beans need picking, St George will need another picking soon
Raspberries ready
Some cabbages ready
2 x 16ft rows Winston potatoes & half a row of Lady Christl need to come out of ground

And I'm not going to get wet in the process

(dont be daft, of course there are courgettes ready, thats a given without listing them)

Had a Hudson blight alert this morning yet another tomato growing friend just a mile up the road hasn't received one.
How weird is that?
Can there really be that much difference in atmospheric conditions in locations so close to each other?

not received any warning either. Hardly surprising as its been tiddling down all morning, patio is close to flooding.
Not in the slightest bit humid out there.
Not even a suggestion of much warmth either. Max 15 predicted (around 14 now) and weather warnings issued

Almost identical for you Primrose according to BBC weather. weather warnings issued as well

it's properly bucketing down here in Middlesex. Stair rods as my Grandma used to say. So it doesn't look like i'll be harvesting anything this afteroon either!

Bucketing I can cope with retro, they get dented but as long as there is no hole in them they are useful
It's cats & dogs I can't cope with, make such a mess when they hit the ground.

My grandmother used to say stair rods as well, wonder where that came from.