Potatoe Problems

Hi All

My Potatoes have developed a Magnesium Deficiency, my fault I guess too many in the box, it looks like one box needs throwing away but the tub I could save (see photo's). Will growmore sort this out or do I need to buy something else??

Thanks

Dave


Sorry the resizing has not worked, I n=made them 800x600

Dave

 

David are you sure thats magnesium deficiency?

It looks pretty drastic to me, where did you get the seed and what did you plant them in?
Looks to me more like a disease.
Are there drainage holes in that box?

As far as I know growmore does not contain any trace elements, so you need to feed with a complete liquid fertilizer, something like chempak or dare I say it, phostrogen.

 

Hi Pete

Yes there are holes in the box. The soil was just normal garden soil that I grew runner beans in last year. that box started in the same way as the bucket is going, there are very small brown patches on the leaves (you need to look quite hard to see them) they then started to get larger, then finally they get to the state that you see the box is in now.

I know I did put too many seed potatoes in the box and bucket, but thought I would see what happened. I know what you mean by looking like a disease, when I first noticed it I moved the bucket away in case it was catching then read up in a book and the nearest I could find was Mag Dif (I suppose it is a bit like C Dif in the hospital maybe I should get some cleaners in). After spending a considerable time through the winter stinking of Jeyes and scrubbing everything in the greenhouse I thought my disease days were over.

The seed potatoes are both the same in the box and bucket & came from the local garden centre (I could blame them) in Newhaven £5 for a bag (1kg approx) I seem to remember arran pilot rings a bell (I wrote it down somewhere) my dreams of fresh potatoes from the garden ruined and who can I blame "it can't be my fault I am a man" (only joking).

My wife has recently started smoking again I could blame that!!!

I know what to do I will put a couple of cigarette ends in the box then create a fuss for a few weeks over my wifes smoking habit interfering with my veg growing, although that won't solve the problem.

Sorry for my strange sense of humor, but if I don't laugh I will cry!!
Dave

 

Potato blight maybe?....

 

Dave, I agree with Pete, I don`t think it`s Magnesium deficiency either. They wouldn`t wilt like that. They look to me as if they`ve been overwatered. If it was a deficiency, assuming you used the same soil, the plants in the bucket would be the same way.

 

Not a strange sence of humour David G.

Just A sence of hmuour:D

 

Tend to agree with daitheplant - looks like overwatering to me. Holes in containers can get clogged very easily. Perhaps you haven't got enough stones in the bottom to allow sufficient drainage? I certainly have trouble with containers trying to ensure a balance between flood and drought!

 

Thanks for all the replies, the bit I am worried about is that the bucket seems to be heading down the same road as the box!!

I hope I haven't mixed things up and planted the potatoes in the box that had Cucumber wilt last year, now that will be my wifes fault of course.

Do you think there is any chance of getting any edible potatoes from this box?

Dave

 

I'd scrap the box and start again, but with a maincrop variety, something different like the only one I bother with, Pink Fir Apple.
Might be a job to find a few seed now though.

 

I don`t see why not, Dave, just watch with the watering. As for passing on Cucmber wilt ( whatever that is ), I don`t think you need to worry. Unless, what your Cucumbers had was Verticillium Wilt, which can be passed to potaoes.

 

As for the tub in pic 1, try watering it with a table spoon of epsom salt in 5 litres water.

Is pic 2 not blight, this would be my guess but im not mutch of an expert on veg.

 

I dont think its blight, the stems go black in places.

 

fair enough, Ive never actualy seen it.

 

Hi Dave Pete and the rest of you

It looks like it is Vercillium Wilt I have started a new thread under that title

Thanks for all the help, any advice about how to recover from this problem will certainly be appreciated I don't think I can cope with another year of problems, it takes all the fun out of growing your own.

Dave