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Potato blight

victoria.mvictoria.m Posts: 6
in Fruit & veg
Hi, I'm hoping some of you experienced gardeners would be able to help me with a couple of questions about potato blight. I have been growing potatoes in bags since July and August (Javelin and Sharpe's). A bit late, I realised they had blight so I have harvested them. The Javelin appear clean and fine (so I'm hoping it's ok to eat them) but the other Sharpe's had brown spots on them so i've binned them sadly. My questions are: can I spread the compost from the bags on the garden or do I have to get rid of it (difficult as Council don't like taking a lot of 'soil' and also do I have to disinfect everything that was in contact with the soil (grow bags, gloves, etc? I'd really appreciate some advice. Many thanks :-)

Posts

  • EmerionEmerion Posts: 599
    I think it would be ok to spread the compost on parts of the garden that you weren’t going to plant blight-prone veg into in the next 5 years or so. A few blight spores could be released ( I don’t know, just wondering). But blight exists in the air anyway. I don’t think blight will live on your tools because it requires damp organic matter to thrive, so a normal end of season clean will be fine. Cut open one or two of your good potatoes to check them. Blight starts in the middle of the potato and moves out. It’s cruel because you can think you’ve got a great crop from their outer appearance, but there can be very little good flesh left once you come to use them. I grow a few first earlies in the polytunnel and they never get blight because the leaves are dry. With outside ones it’s mostly luck with the weather and/or resistant varieties that make the difference. Good luck next year. 
    Carmarthenshire (mild, wet, windy). Loam over shale, very slightly sloping, so free draining. Mildly acidic or neutral.


  • victoria.mvictoria.m Posts: 6
    Thank you Emerion, that's great to know as I can now sprinkle the compost on the flower beds. Hope the potatoes will be ok - I'll cross my fingers when I cut them! I might have to invest in a polytunnel then for future potato growing :-)
  • StephenSouthwestStephenSouthwest Posts: 635
    https://forum.gardenersworld.com/discussion/1059664/if-the-potatoes-or-the-tomatoes-had-blight-can-you-reuse-the-soil

  • victoria.mvictoria.m Posts: 6
    Thank you StephenSouthwest  :)
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