THE TATTIES THREAD 2018

When I signed up I had the good idea of also including postcode areas to the N, E, S & W around me so I'd be aware of not only conditions favourable for blight where I grow, but the likelyhood of blight outbreaks around me releasing gazillions of spores blowing towards my crops, and was bombarded with email alerts, mainly when I was on holiday and could do nothing about them, or when several days of rain were forecast and spraying was impossible.

 

Thanks John perfectly explained , you'll make a gardener of me on day

 

There was only 1 field of Potatoes being grown (commercially) within a 10 mile radius of me. me thinks very unlikely to get blight here then and I know post us moving here 17 years ago there was no likelihood of any potatoes being grown on our ground. WRONG got blight last end of July/beginning of August. Luckily my earlies were finished and the main season was pretty well unaffected as I removed the haulms PDQ altho expect the yield was less having to stop them pretty early. Not sure just how much crops are affected by spread of spores or perhaps it's just damp muggy weather that is enough to let blight run riot. I'm expecting the worst this year so I don't get too cheesed off if my suspicions are correct. I check in on Blightwatch and it's not exactly cheery news usually come the height of summer around these parts

 

Gawd here we go! The flower buds on my Swift spuds in bags in the greenhouse are falling off before opening. Is this a sign all is not well or just that the bees didn't do their job due to the cold weather? The foliage is healthy but bit suspicious there could be "trouble at mill"

 

Many thanks @JWK I won't book a trip to the Wailing Wall just yet then. It's right what you say about flowers,the Swift have them, well falling of flower buds to be accurate and the Winston planted at exactly the same time/conditions have no sign whatsoever of flower buds or otherwise. I have been religiously watering mine too and was thinking I might have overdone the Adam's Ale a bit altho I made plenty of slits in the compost bags to allow for excess water to drain out. Here's hoping there will be a good result from these in the greenhouse as others outside might not be ready till next year at this rate

 

Constructed new raised beds for growing big spuds for 'heaviest potato(es) class. Will plant up tomorrow with my single stem pot grown plants. Will also plant some in big tubs in polytunnels to keep away from blight .

Only made from pallet slats and pegs from old trellis battens a neighbour was chucking out, but they should last long enough for a crop of overwintering garlic/onions when the spuds come out and maybe some salad stuff after that before they get turned into stove fuel and the area rotavated through.

I save/keep separate all used soil from spuds/toms and other stuff, there's loads of compost from spud and toms bags/pots going on raised beds for salad crops/alliums, but there's always a shortage of spent compost to fill potato beds, so I might dig some topsoil from 'borrow pits' to fill from my dumpy bag of ex-potato pot MPC, and use what I've dug to top up these new beds.

 

Just got my flirst blight alert of 2018

 

Same here

 

My spuds seem to be growing well, but I was wondering if they are too close together? and maybe need to be placed further apart.





Thanks

Andy...

 

Unless you use slug pellets, keep watch for slugs on top of tbe compost or on sides of the pots. This morning I noticed some lower leaves eaten and found between 3 to 6 slugs on every one of 30 pots.

 

Thanks guys, the help and advice is appreciated.

I will check for slugs as I too have noticed that some of the leaves have been eaten.