Just checked my tomatoes and potatoes tonight and since Sunday night I
have blight on both!
Charlottes seem to have escaped but definitely leaves show sign son
other potatoes.
Tomatoes have black marks on stems and also on some leaves.

As it's early what the best move forward apart from burning everything?
Don't have indoor tomatoes but might have to start next year at this
rate.....

Not affecting crops in Great Missenden or Prestwood or the Lee (about 4
miles away) just Amersham and poss. Chesham at the moment.
Anyone else suffering?
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Janet Tweedy wrote:

Just checked my tomatoes and potatoes tonight and since Sunday night I
have blight on both!
Charlottes seem to have escaped but definitely leaves show sign son
other potatoes.

Yes, it seems the wet weather is causing it, here in Leics., 20% of
farmers crops are said to be damaged:
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.u...eId=132935&com
mand=displayContent&sourceNode=132702&contentPK=17 764647&folderPk=77465&
pNodeId=132393

Alan.
--
To reply by e-mail, change the ' + ' to 'plus'.

Janet Tweedy wrote:
Anyone else suffering?

Everyone on my allotments (Worcester) have blight to some degree. My Mimis
had it bad, but the spuds themselves were still ok. My Jerseys have a little
bit of damage but the girl next to me has had all her Pink Fir Apple knocked
flat with it.

Too warm and wet is the general concensus.

Tom

Tom wrote:
Janet Tweedy wrote:
Anyone else suffering?

Everyone on my allotments (Worcester) have blight to some degree. My Mimis
had it bad, but the spuds themselves were still ok. My Jerseys have a little
bit of damage but the girl next to me has had all her Pink Fir Apple knocked
flat with it.

Too warm and wet is the general concensus.

Tom


A little off topic, but if these tops are placed in the council's green
bins, then sold off later when composted will that not cause problems?
Personally I would not buy compost from councils for this reason, also
imagine all the chemicals that will be present.

In article ,
Broadback writes:
| Tom wrote:
| Janet Tweedy wrote:
| Anyone else suffering?
|
| Everyone on my allotments (Worcester) have blight to some degree. My Mimis
| had it bad, but the spuds themselves were still ok. My Jerseys have a little
| bit of damage but the girl next to me has had all her Pink Fir Apple knocked
| flat with it.
|
| Too warm and wet is the general concensus.

My first earliers (the only ones I was growing, because of spraing) were
wiped out by mid-June, from blight that I believe arrived in May. I was
not prepared :-(

| A little off topic, but if these tops are placed in the council's green
| bins, then sold off later when composted will that not cause problems?
| Personally I would not buy compost from councils for this reason, also
| imagine all the chemicals that will be present.

No. Blight is carried only in living tissue.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Zhang DaWei" wrote in message
-uwief...
On Wednesday 11 Jul 2007 07:14, A.Lee
(1i12rwy.au11vgs8p5v0N%alan@darkroom
+.com) wrote:

Yes, it seems the wet weather is causing it, here in Leics., 20% of
farmers crops are said to be damaged:
http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.u...eId=132935&com
mand=displayContent&sourceNode=132702&contentPK=17 764647&folderPk=77465&
pNodeId=132393

Here, some potatoes we have growing in the front garden to break up and
make
some compacted soil easier to work later had the signs of it, and so we
immediately dug them all up. The potatoes and outdoors tomatoes on our
allottment, about half a mile away, are free, as are a few outdoor
tomatoes
in our back garden.
--
Zhang DaWei: United Kingdom
Use the Reply-to field. Remove the "feiwu-" at the front of the email
address.
Address guaranteed for 2 weeks after date of posted message.

All our potato and tomato plants here died a few weeks ago.
Lots of farmers here have lost their crops too.
I can see there being a potato shortage this Winter.

David.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...


....


| A little off topic, but if these tops are placed in the council's green
| bins, then sold off later when composted will that not cause problems?
| Personally I would not buy compost from councils for this reason, also
| imagine all the chemicals that will be present.

No. Blight is carried only in living tissue.

Oh, that's interesting. My Dad would never put any part of potato in compost
because of the potential problem of blight, I once asked about it here and
was told that it would be OK unless blight had affected the plant.

Thanks, Nick

Mary

In article ,
"Mary Fisher" writes:
|
| | A little off topic, but if these tops are placed in the council's green
| | bins, then sold off later when composted will that not cause problems?
| | Personally I would not buy compost from councils for this reason, also
| | imagine all the chemicals that will be present.
|
| No. Blight is carried only in living tissue.
|
| Oh, that's interesting. My Dad would never put any part of potato in compost
| because of the potential problem of blight, I once asked about it here and
| was told that it would be OK unless blight had affected the plant.

There apparently is a form of Phytopthora infestans that produces durable
spores, but it is not established / a problem in the UK. The forms that
cause trouble here overwinter in forgotten tubers, other Solanaceae etc.
So you can compost even blighted material, but must remove all wildings
and watch out for things like the various nightshades. One paper
expressed a concern that the two forms might cross, and make a very
infectious form with durable spores, but I don't think it has happened.

Also, I believe that the spores need to get on the leaves to infect a
plant, so compost isn't a likely source.

However, that is all from my reading - though I am pretty sure that I
have selected out the more reliable sources.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 11 Jul, 09:45, "David \(Normandy\)"
wrote:
All our potato and tomato plants here died a few weeks ago.
Lots of farmers here have lost their crops too.
I can see there being a potato shortage this Winter.

I've lost all the jerusalem artichocks a couple of weeks ago - all
pulverised to a mush, a banquet to the slugs. Toms are slow slow slow.
Spuds look ok, touch wood, but broad beans are not moving much, pods
are fat but beans are small, compared to last years. Mildew settling
under bushes and redcurrants have the blister aphid problem. That I'm
not sure what to do organically. The problem is that I've got wild
edges surrounding my lotty and I've got so many places for these
aphids to settle there the summer and re-infect the currants next
year. Crap year really ... (

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...


There apparently is a form of Phytopthora infestans that produces durable
spores, but it is not established / a problem in the UK. The forms that
cause trouble here overwinter in forgotten tubers, other Solanaceae etc.
So you can compost even blighted material, but must remove all wildings
and watch out for things like the various nightshades. One paper
expressed a concern that the two forms might cross, and make a very
infectious form with durable spores, but I don't think it has happened.

Also, I believe that the spores need to get on the leaves to infect a
plant, so compost isn't a likely source.

However, that is all from my reading - though I am pretty sure that I
have selected out the more reliable sources.

It wouldn't be like you to do anything else!

Mary

"Janet Tweedy" wrote ...
Just checked my tomatoes and potatoes tonight and since Sunday night I
have blight on both!
Charlottes seem to have escaped but definitely leaves show sign son other
potatoes.
Tomatoes have black marks on stems and also on some leaves.

As it's early what the best move forward apart from burning everything?
Don't have indoor tomatoes but might have to start next year at this
rate.....

Not affecting crops in Great Missenden or Prestwood or the Lee (about 4
miles away) just Amersham and poss. Chesham at the moment.
Anyone else suffering?

Friend in Staines lost his Toms to Blight about two weeks ago but his spuds
are not affected, both ours are Ok at the moment but I don't hold out much
hope of a tomato crop this year.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

On 11/7/07 09:08, in article , "Tom"
wrote:

Janet Tweedy wrote:
Anyone else suffering?

Everyone on my allotments (Worcester) have blight to some degree. My Mimis
had it bad, but the spuds themselves were still ok. My Jerseys have a little
bit of damage but the girl next to me has had all her Pink Fir Apple knocked
flat with it.

Too warm and wet is the general concensus.

Sorry, but whatever you're growing, you're not growing Jerseys. Unless of
course, you have a herd of cows on your allotment! ;-)

"There are few food stuffs which command such care and attention. At every
step of the Jersey Royal new potato¹s short life, it is cosseted and
caressed, from the planting, to the picking, to the packing.
The protection extends beyond the physical. We tolerate no Royal
dopplegangers. These unique, creamy, kidney shaped potatoes - worth an
estimated £28 million a year to Island growers - are protected by an EU
ruling. The 'Appellation Contrôlée ' gives the name the same status as
Champagne. Many countries have tried to grow the Jersey Royal, but only
those potatoes grown in the Channel Island of Jersey can call themselves
Jersey Royal new potatoes."
http://www.jersey.com/content_page.asp?id=112&lan=

--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
(remove weeds from address)
'We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our
children.'

Sacha wrote:
Sorry, but whatever you're growing, you're not growing Jerseys.
Unless of course, you have a herd of cows on your allotment! ;-)

What I'm growing is International Kidney, which is the same potato that
is sold as Jersey Royals. As I'm not in Jersey, they are not technically
Jersey potatoes but they are just as good grown in Worcestershire.

Tom

In article , Nick Maclaren
writes

No. Blight is carried only in living tissue.



Why is the new growth at the top apparently unaffected when the lower
branches and stems are riddled Nick? Does it come upwards from the soil
then?
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk

Yes blight here to - I've only started my lotty towards the end of last
year - managed to get my earlies out the charlottes and swift were gorgeous.
All my main crop have blight.
The old un's on lotty tell me that they have also lost theirs, first time
ever blight been a problem on our lotty.
Also lots have lost shallots, mine may be ok I'm told
certainly lost all my garlic, all black and horrible - they had been there
since about oct last year - no growth at all and very sick.
old un's on lotty, as said previously never had it before so all new to
them, someone suggested if on leaves and hasn't gone down the stem then cut
of haulm and hope sufficient growth under the soil.
any suggestions apart from that.

Alan
north of portsmouth


"Janet Tweedy" wrote in message
...
Just checked my tomatoes and potatoes tonight and since Sunday night I
have blight on both!
Charlottes seem to have escaped but definitely leaves show sign son other
potatoes.
Tomatoes have black marks on stems and also on some leaves.

As it's early what the best move forward apart from burning everything?
Don't have indoor tomatoes but might have to start next year at this
rate.....

Not affecting crops in Great Missenden or Prestwood or the Lee (about 4
miles away) just Amersham and poss. Chesham at the moment.
Anyone else suffering?
--
Janet Tweedy
Dalmatian Telegraph
http://www.lancedal.demon.co.uk