Potato Growing 2024

@lizzie27 it could be brown leaf spot, a fungal disease. I would spray them with an anti-fungus spray. I think blight tends to be more in patches and on the stems.

 

Thanks @Busy-Lizzie , I looked online for pictures of blight and wasn't sure that was it.
They probably need picking soon anyway, they're flowering well and we haven't had that much rain for a fortnight - although it's raining here now!

You might also know, we had some 'volunteer' potatoes grow in the other veg beds, left behind by mistake - would they be ready to pick yet - they're not flowering like the others though.

 

I start harvesting Charlotte when the flowers appear @lizzie27. Yours are ahead of mine. I leave them in the ground and use them as I want them, even after the leaves have died, until late autumn. They seem to keep better, but I suppose if you have pests such as slugs then that may not work.

 

Difficult to obtain fungicides approved for amateur use for potatoes (or other edibles). A timely reminder that commercial growers will have a spray regime which will spray their crop every 7-14 days until harvest. Its why I try to grow my own ,with fingers crossed...

 

I'm in France and here the French use a lot of Bouillie Bordelaise on their tomatoes and potatoes, though I spray as little as possible. I do spray sometimes against fungal diseases but not insecticides.

 

I'd just use a copper spray.

 

That is what Bouillie Bordelaise is @pete, but you mustn't use it on roses.

 

I was guessing it was Bordeaux mixture, you cant get that here, but you can get just copper.

 

Many thanks @Busy-Lizzie , I try not to spray and don't have any fungicide spray anyway so the tatties might just have to take their chances. I'll get OH to use his new potato digger-upperer thingie I bought him last year!

 

There are recipes for Bordeaux mixture on line. Basically it's copper and lime.
As to potato flowers it depends on the cultivar as to how soon after you can look to crop
It's a good indication for early, particularly first early types. I agree it is not significant for main crop cultivars.

 

Good morning all. We also use Bouillie Bordelaise for blight and fungal diseases. It's mixture of lime, coper and cupric sulfate anhydrous. This year we have a lot of rain and hot weather which is perfect for blight.

 

Well I've only 3 pots of Pink Fir Apple and one of them seems to have gone down with early blight.
Just sprayed them with copper, not sure if it will have the desired effect, but worth a go.

 

Fingers crossed Pete.

 

Do you mix* this yourself, or is it readily available ?
*recipe please.

 

I hope you washed your hands before coming on here...