Talkback: Potato blight and Bordeaux Mixture - Talkback

16/04/2010 at 14:15

I've used Bordeaux mixture but not Dithane simply because GO reluctantly recommend it as the fungicide of last resort. I'm never happy about using it though. I've also tried Sarpo Mira and Axona varieties - they're phenomenonly resistant to blight, but I've found their taste is nothing to write home about. I'm trying some of the other Sarpo varieties this year to see if at last there might be that happy combination of resistance and taste. I also grow lost of earlies to get round the problem. Of course most of these don't store for as long as maincrop, but I've found that Harlequin does seem to be better than most. And it tastes wonderful :)

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16/04/2010 at 22:20

Thanks for the tip on Harlequin VP. My friend in Ireland says the Sarpo varieties still succumbed to blight. Agree there are other potatoes I like more flavour-wise.

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17/04/2010 at 12:27

Bristol has been bad for blight recently so i am trying some resistant varieties but also growing more earlies and making dinners to freeze with them so I can still have their taste even past their keeping date. I grow all my tomatoes in the conservatory now because of the blight.

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17/04/2010 at 16:33

I know this is nothing to do with potatoes but can someone help me with my grape vine. Its 3 years old now and I know I have to prune it but how hard do I prune and is it safe to prune now? You all helped me last year with my raspberries for which I am extremely gratefull - they turned out to be lovely yum!

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17/04/2010 at 17:35

My dahlias have been reduced to a pulp. I did some exploring beneath the surface to check there was some growth only to find the tubor turned into a hollow mush. There was a series of tunnels leading off to other parts of the garden. Any ideas?

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18/04/2010 at 17:04

On the other hand slugs do not like copper, so that is an advantage. Really it all depends how much you value that crop and as you get older the you live in this year rather than what next will bring. I'm growing Belle de Fontenay - a salad variety, it is susceptible to both early and late blight so I will have to spray.

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18/04/2010 at 17:57

Last Friday night Toby planted a Golden Hop. i think he should have made the public aware that they are very poisonous for dogs. If chewed by dogs they can be lethal and being as most people who have a garden also have a dog this is vital safety information.

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18/04/2010 at 22:17

I have a hyperactive springer spaniel, that chews slippers, bones, and sometimes the postman's ankle, but so far has not touched the Humulus Lupus Aureus, I will warn both the dog and the hop plant and keep a careful watch on both! Thanks doodlyn for the warning.

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19/04/2010 at 12:23

Reply to doodlyn: We're not aware that golden hop is in any way harmful to dogs, and to be honest I've never found my dogs nibbling the golden hop in my own garden. If you can let us know where you heard this information we'd love to know. Yes, stems can prove an irritant, and cause an allergic rash if they scratch the skin, but hop is actually edible to humans.

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20/04/2010 at 19:07

BLIGHT - As with the gooseberry mildew, partially rotted matter in the soil is a big factor. Things like Blood Fish & Bone are actually uncomposted, if you sprinkle it in your compost so it gets a chance to break down and only dress your plants with it when you can no longer recognise any of the composting materials and it all looks like fine humus, the breaking down fungal activity has finished and doesn't get drawn up into the plant sap. Again Nettle tea is helpful, and companion plant like Archangel (white deadnettle) growing close by. Foxgolves growing near also strengthen other plants, but some plants adversely affect potatoes growing near them, especially fruit trees. Potatoes with stinging nettles growing among them seem to resist blight - if you can bring yourself to actually plant your potatoes in a nettle bed!

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21/04/2010 at 18:23

Angela, I think it's a bit late to prune your vine now, I would leave it leave till Jan or Feb, then you can have a good look at the structure. Big Arch: buy some new dahlias! I lost some too this year. In previous years I didn't protect them and was lulled into a false sense of security, last winter was just too harsh. You'll still find some dahlias at garden centres now, you can plant them directly into the ground when you get them.

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21/04/2010 at 19:41

@ Conteasy what on earth has the unrotted matter in the soil got to do with blight rising up in the sap, we all know that the spores germinate on andenter via the leaves

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25/04/2010 at 19:35

IV JUST PLANTTED SOME PEAS WILL IT BE OK FOR THEM TO GROWEVEN THER NOT IN SESON

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26/04/2010 at 12:31

I suffer every year with potato blight. Tis is worse on an allotment where some plot holders allow it to go untreated. The only method that I have found help is to spray with Dithane 945 at first symptoms. I have been told that this is being removed from the market later this year, is this true?

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26/04/2010 at 20:09

Ive just got some early potatoes coming up and two of them have got a few crispy brown edges on their leaves. Is this blight as i didnt think it was the weather for it?

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28/04/2010 at 18:48

I had blight on both potatoes and tomatoes I do not use any chemicals at all in the garden, I cut of the effected leaves as soon as it appeared and opened the tomatoe plants by taking of a few more leaves to let the air in and I had lots of tomatoes, the potatoes I took the foliage off down to the ground and stopped it spreading to the spuds and still had enough potatoes. I grow my produce in bags and the soil and both survived long enough to get a crop.

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14/06/2010 at 11:01

i planted late potatos in late march type golden wonders it is now mid june and the shaws (STEMS) are around 3 ft tall is this right and will it effect the crop

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16/06/2010 at 07:48

plant pots along with rose bushes prob helped

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29/06/2010 at 07:17

can any one tell me the right time to prune my plum tree,i have mostly plums on the lower branches.so i have been told I canprune top branches now

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02/07/2010 at 13:33

i was at the nec show birmingham and bought some oninon marmelade which was stupendous.anybody know how to make it?