Whatever it is, it started to sweep through the allotments on Wednesday.
Three years running but this is the worst year so far. Location SE Cornwall,
5 miles inland, 500' amsl, East facing, 1 in 10 slope.

All allots have removed their potato haulms. I have 6 rows with : Foremost,
Premier, Estima, Marfona and 2 x Accent. I've dug up the Foremost row and
got about 12 egg sized spuds from 12 plants !! My neighbour who planted 3
rows of King Edward got zero returns. He's hoping for better results with 6
rows of Casablanca. He's removed haulms on these also.

Not sure whether it's blight or blackleg. None of my tubers showed the
damage seen on these images and only SOME of the stems have gone dark :-

http://preview.tinyurl.com/ztjc6la (blight)

http://preview.tinyurl.com/jy9nezv (blackleg)

The allotment size is about 50 metres by 6 metres and the traditional
planting method is to lay seed pots ACROSS the slope, then banked up into
ridges as the leaf pokes thru'. Perhaps it'll improve the drainage if the
rows were laid DOWN the slope?

Looks like damp weather due to adj Jet-streams are going to be a feature of
our climate but I guess the obvious answer is to have a get-together with
the other allotments and agree to a ban on spuds - but for how many years?

In article ,
Bertie Doe wrote:

Looks like damp weather due to adj Jet-streams are going to be a feature of
our climate but I guess the obvious answer is to have a get-together with
the other allotments and agree to a ban on spuds - but for how many years?

Forget it. Blight is hosted by too many wild plants for that to work,
and is carried by the wind. We used to lead the world in agricultural
research, but the DTI always loathed that, and Thatcher allowed them
to destroy it. Breeding resistant varieties is the only long-term
solution, though Bordeaux mixture can help.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ...

In article ,
Bertie Doe wrote:

Looks like damp weather due to adj Jet-streams are going to be a feature
of
our climate but I guess the obvious answer is to have a get-together with
the other allotments and agree to a ban on spuds - but for how many years?

Forget it. Blight is hosted by too many wild plants for that to work,
and is carried by the wind. We used to lead the world in agricultural
research, but the DTI always loathed that, and Thatcher allowed them
to destroy it. Breeding resistant varieties is the only long-term
solution, though Bordeaux mixture can help.

Ah thanks Nick, I'll pencil in Bordeaux for next year. I assume you spray as
soon as haulms/leaves poke thru'?

In article ,
Bertie Doe wrote:



Looks like damp weather due to adj Jet-streams are going to be a feature
of
our climate but I guess the obvious answer is to have a get-together with
the other allotments and agree to a ban on spuds - but for how many years?

Forget it. Blight is hosted by too many wild plants for that to work,
and is carried by the wind. We used to lead the world in agricultural
research, but the DTI always loathed that, and Thatcher allowed them
to destroy it. Breeding resistant varieties is the only long-term
solution, though Bordeaux mixture can help.

Ah thanks Nick, I'll pencil in Bordeaux for next year. I assume you spray as
soon as haulms/leaves poke thru'?

No. Sign up to Bligh****ch, and spray when a Smith period (or the
equivalent) is forecast. I don't grow potatoes any longer, because
my soil has spraing and both kinds of eelworm.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ...

In article ,
Bertie Doe wrote:

Ah thanks Nick, I'll pencil in Bordeaux for next year. I assume you spray
as
soon as haulms/leaves poke thru'?

No. Sign up to Bligh****ch, and spray when a Smith period (or the
equivalent) is forecast. I don't grow potatoes any longer, because
my soil has spraing and both kinds of eelworm.

I've signed up for 'Bligh****ch' which also links to an interesting RHS
article, although the future does look bleak.

In article ,
says...

Whatever it is, it started to sweep through the allotments on Wednesday.
Three years running but this is the worst year so far. Location SE Cornwall,
5 miles inland, 500' amsl, East facing, 1 in 10 slope.

All allots have removed their potato haulms. I have 6 rows with : Foremost,
Premier, Estima, Marfona and 2 x Accent. I've dug up the Foremost row and
got about 12 egg sized spuds from 12 plants !! My neighbour who planted 3
rows of King Edward got zero returns. He's hoping for better results with 6
rows of Casablanca. He's removed haulms on these also.

I stopped growing Estima because it started getting blight every
year. I now grow Nadine which is blight -resistant, and haven't had any
blight on it. It's also very tasty. This year I'm also growing
international Kidney ("jersey royal"), no blight on them either.

Janet

"Janet" wrote in message
.. .

In article ,
says...

All allots have removed their potato haulms. I have 6 rows with :
Foremost,
Premier, Estima, Marfona and 2 x Accent. I've dug up the Foremost row and
got about 12 egg sized spuds from 12 plants !! My neighbour who planted 3
rows of King Edward got zero returns. He's hoping for better results with
6
rows of Casablanca. He's removed haulms on these also.

I stopped growing Estima because it started getting blight every
year. I now grow Nadine which is blight -resistant, and haven't had any
blight on it. It's also very tasty. This year I'm also growing
international Kidney ("jersey royal"), no blight on them either.

Thanks for that, as you see, I like to grow a large variety of spuds. The
problem is getting one online supplier to carry a large variety of
blight-resistant.

I did a bit of Googling for varieties and came across AHDB data base :-
http://varieties.ahdb.org.uk/varieties/index/J

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message ...

In article ,
Bertie Doe wrote:



Looks like damp weather due to adj Jet-streams are going to be a feature
of
our climate but I guess the obvious answer is to have a get-together
with
the other allotments and agree to a ban on spuds - but for how many
years?

Forget it. Blight is hosted by too many wild plants for that to work,
and is carried by the wind. We used to lead the world in agricultural
research, but the DTI always loathed that, and Thatcher allowed them
to destroy it. Breeding resistant varieties is the only long-term
solution, though Bordeaux mixture can help.

Ah thanks Nick, I'll pencil in Bordeaux for next year. I assume you spray
as soon as haulms/leaves poke thru'?

No. Sign up to Bligh****ch, and spray when a Smith period (or the
equivalent) is forecast. I don't grow potatoes any longer, because
my soil has spraing and both kinds of eelworm.

Hi Nick just an update. Got a Full Hutton Period Blight Alert today. It has
been a bit muggy :-)

Took your advice and sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture at 23g with a litre of
water. As you suggest, probably won't cure blight but if I can delay it for
2 or 3 weeks, I may get a decent crop.

After last year's disappointment, there's only 3 allotments growing spuds
this year. I'm the only one using Bordeaux, it'll be interesting to see how
things pan out.

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...

On Sun, 28 May 2017 19:33:35 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
wrote:

Took your advice and sprayed with Bordeaux Mixture at 23g with a litre of
water. As you suggest, probably won't cure blight but if I can delay it
for
2 or 3 weeks, I may get a decent crop.

After last year's disappointment, there's only 3 allotments growing spuds
this year. I'm the only one using Bordeaux, it'll be interesting to see
how
things pan out.

Bordeaux mixture. I'm not surprised you're the only one using it. Not
available any more. Withdrawn from sale a couple of years ago. Yours
is old stock, I take it. Make it last!

Ouch, thanks Chris, that's a blow. You're right it is old stock. When Nick
recommended it, I didn't realise I had a half uses tub in the garage. It's
dated 2011 :-
https://prnt.sc/fdiv5p so I only have enough for 4 x 1 litre doses !!
Hopeless if I can't get fresh supplies.

I notice that Bligh****ch is sponsored by 'Belchim Crop Protection'. I'll
give them a buzz tomorrow but I'll bet they only supply farmers OR the
minimum order for Brand X is 50 gallons :-) The question is - what has
replaced Bordeaux?

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...

On Mon, 29 May 2017 20:25:02 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
wrote:
I notice that Bligh****ch is sponsored by 'Belchim Crop Protection'. I'll
give them a buzz tomorrow but I'll bet they only supply farmers OR the
minimum order for Brand X is 50 gallons :-) The question is - what has
replaced Bordeaux?

Bordeaux mixture is a copper-lime fungicide, as you probably know.
Bayer did 'fruit and vegetable disease control' fungicide, in sachets,
that was based on copper oxychloride, but I see that's been withdrawn
now, although still available on Ebay, apparently
http://tinyurl.com/yd7jsyj8

There is this, which is in effect Bordeaux mixture but not named as
such and is a two-pack system that you mix yourself, which I suppose
gets round the regulations http://tinyurl.com/y9mnbw4q Makes 4 litres,
but for £3.55 + £1.33 postage that seems expensive to me.

It might be cheaper to buy your own hydrated lime and copper sulphate
in bulk and mix as needed. http://tinyurl.com/yc6vw4rf and get
hydrated lime from a builders merchant (most 'lime' sold in garden
centres is actually ground limestone, which won't behave like lime
when combined with copper sulphate, although is ok for adding to
soil). Instructions for making it, here http://tinyurl.com/kkbpqfq
with the caveat that she says slaked lime is calcium oxide, which is
wrong. Slaked lime is calcium hydroxide, and is the same as hydrated
lime. Calcium oxide is just lime.

Many thanks Chris, much appreciated. I note that the "copper sulphate and
lime mix, was developed in the Bordeaux region of France" - so there's the
connection.

Don't know about your ph in SW Cornwall but here in SE the soil is fairly
acid, so may benefit all veg with a dose of lime.

If my remaining BM is effective, I may well try the DIY route. Thanks again.

On Mon, 29 May 2017 21:43:10 Chris Hogg wrote:

Bordeaux mixture. I'm not surprised you're the only one using it. Not
available any more. Withdrawn from sale a couple of years ago. Yours
is old stock, I take it. Make it last!

Bordeaux mixture is a copper-lime fungicide, as you probably know.
Bayer did 'fruit and vegetable disease control' fungicide, in sachets,
that was based on copper oxychloride, but I see that's been withdrawn
now, although still available on Ebay, apparently
http://tinyurl.com/yd7jsyj8

There is this, which is in effect Bordeaux mixture but not named as
such and is a two-pack system that you mix yourself, which I suppose
gets round the regulations http://tinyurl.com/y9mnbw4q Makes 4 litres,
but for £3.55 + £1.33 postage that seems expensive to me.

It might be cheaper to buy your own hydrated lime and copper sulphate
in bulk and mix as needed. http://tinyurl.com/yc6vw4rf and get
hydrated lime from a builders merchant (most 'lime' sold in garden
centres is actually ground limestone, which won't behave like lime
when combined with copper sulphate, although is ok for adding to
soil). Instructions for making it, here http://tinyurl.com/kkbpqfq
with the caveat that she says slaked lime is calcium oxide, which is
wrong. Slaked lime is calcium hydroxide, and is the same as hydrated
lime. Calcium oxide is just lime.

I'll make a note of that. I'm coming to the end of my stock of Bordeaux
Mixture which is essential for me to spray on my vines every three weeks
or so in the growing season otherwise the vines get devastated by mildew
and I lose the crop.

I'll check first in the local agricultural merchants in France for
availability because the French don't always take notice of EU
regulations - unlike us! But if the French, and the Germans for that
matter, can't use Bordeaux Mixture I'd like to know what they use
instead.

I remember being on holiday amongst the vineyards along the Mosel in
Germany about twenty-odd years ago. They had alerts published for when
mildew was likely to strike and then they hired light planes to spray
Bordeaux Mixture along the banks of the river as it was impossible to
spray effectively from the ground owing to the slope of the river banks.

David

--
David Rance writing from Caversham, Reading, UK

"David Rance" wrote in message ...

On Mon, 29 May 2017 21:43:10 Chris Hogg wrote:

There is this, which is in effect Bordeaux mixture but not named as
such and is a two-pack system that you mix yourself, which I suppose
gets round the regulations http://tinyurl.com/y9mnbw4q Makes 4 litres,
but for £3.55 + £1.33 postage that seems expensive to me.

It might be cheaper to buy your own hydrated lime and copper sulphate
in bulk and mix as needed. http://tinyurl.com/yc6vw4rf and get
hydrated lime from a builders merchant (most 'lime' sold in garden
centres is actually ground limestone, which won't behave like lime
when combined with copper sulphate, although is ok for adding to
soil). Instructions for making it, here http://tinyurl.com/kkbpqfq
with the caveat that she says slaked lime is calcium oxide, which is
wrong. Slaked lime is calcium hydroxide, and is the same as hydrated
lime. Calcium oxide is just lime.

I'll make a note of that. I'm coming to the end of my stock of Bordeaux
Mixture which is essential for me to spray on my vines every three weeks or
so in the growing season otherwise the vines get devastated by mildew and I
lose the crop.

I'll check first in the local agricultural merchants in France for
availability because the French don't always take notice of EU
regulations - unlike us! But if the French, and the Germans for that
matter, can't use Bordeaux Mixture I'd like to know what they use instead.

I remember being on holiday amongst the vineyards along the Mosel in
Germany about twenty-odd years ago. They had alerts published for when
mildew was likely to strike and then they hired light planes to spray
Bordeaux Mixture along the banks of the river as it was impossible to spray
effectively from the ground owing to the slope of the river banks.

It seems that farmers are spoilt for choice. I mentioned Belchim, a Belgian
company that sponsors Bligh****ch:-
http://www.belchim.co.uk/index.php/sliders/products
Blight products are Profilus, Ranman, Drum, Kunshi and Narita.

Meanwhile back on planet earth, a quick call to a local farm supplier; they
have "Copper Mixture" made by Vitax at £3.74p for 175g "Sufficient to make 9
litres". It doesn't state Chris, whether it's c sulphate or oxychloride.
"contain copper, manganese and zinc".

David, it may be of interest as it includes fruit as well as potato
protection.

Chris, if Bordeaux is a mix of copper and lime, the local supplier also has
"garden lime" 3.5 Kg at £3.98 (inc) and 20 Kg at £9.98 inc. Should I
sprinkle lime on soil or mix with the copper and spray on potato leaves? TIA

On 30/05/2017 08:16, Chris Hogg wrote:
On Tue, 30 May 2017 07:28:13 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
wrote:

Many thanks Chris, much appreciated. I note that the "copper sulphate and
lime mix, was developed in the Bordeaux region of France" - so there's the
connection.

There was also a Burgundy mix, copper sulphate neutralised with
caustic soda. Both were developed to combat fungal attack on grape
vines, but they were applied very generously, and over many decades
resulted in a build-up of copper in the soil. I'm not sure whether
that's the principal reason for all the various copper fungicides
being banned, but it was contributory. Cheshunt compound is copper
sulphate neutralised with ammonium carbonate.

Used sparingly I doubt it is that much of a problem. Used regularly on
the same crop in the same dry ground it gradually builds up which is
what caused them problems in France. I suspect plants tolerate copper
quite well so it is more a problem of contaminating groundwater.

All the copper based fungicides work by inhibiting certain enzymes that
are present in damping off, mildews and blight fungi.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown

"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 30 May 2017 10:49:49 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
Meanwhile back on planet earth, a quick call to a local farm supplier;
they
have "Copper Mixture" made by Vitax at £3.74p for 175g "Sufficient to make
9
litres". It doesn't state Chris, whether it's c sulphate or oxychloride.
"contain copper, manganese and zinc".

..Amazon do it, at twice the price of course:
..http://tinyurl.com/ya2gsppl But Vitax are marketing it as a trace
element fertiliser, but I suspect that's just to get around the
regulations, a bit like Root-Out is advertised as a compost
accelerator rather than a herbicide

The best compost accelerator, by a country mile is Yarrow. It thrives in the
grass roadside verges, that have been regularly mown. The fern-like leaves
are instantly recognisable. You can buy the seed, pick leaves at 4", a
heaped tablespoonful per wheelbarrow of weeds/grass :-
https://tedmanzer.com/2012/06/10/yar...edicinal-herb/
snip

David, it may be of interest as it includes fruit as well as potato
protection.

Chris, if Bordeaux is a mix of copper and lime, the local supplier also has
"garden lime" 3.5 Kg at £3.98 (inc) and 20 Kg at £9.98 inc. Should I
sprinkle lime on soil or mix with the copper and spray on potato leaves?
TIA


Question: is it truly hydrated lime, aka slaked lime, or is it ground
limestone? The latter is frequently advertised and sold as 'garden
lime' because hydrated lime needs to be handled a little carefully,
especially so that it doesn't get into your eyes. Suppliers these days
are very H&S conscious, and won't risk selling anything remotely
hazardous to the general public for fear of somebody misusing it and
the supplier being sued. Hence proper hydrated lime is no longer
available in garden centres, but only through builders merchants.
snip
Another call to the farm supplier - no it's not hydrated/slaked lime and is
in granular form. These should be forked into the ground. It does not state
that it's water soluble. If I can't get hold of the slaked, I'll spray with
Vitax and dig in the ground lime. I also need to move brassicas from g/house
to allotment. These will also benefit from a dose of lime.

On 30/05/2017 16:16, Bertie Doe wrote:


"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 30 May 2017 10:49:49 +0100, "Bertie Doe"
Meanwhile back on planet earth, a quick call to a local farm
supplier; they
have "Copper Mixture" made by Vitax at £3.74p for 175g "Sufficient to
make 9
litres". It doesn't state Chris, whether it's c sulphate or
oxychloride.
"contain copper, manganese and zinc".

.Amazon do it, at twice the price of course:
.http://tinyurl.com/ya2gsppl But Vitax are marketing it as a trace
element fertiliser, but I suspect that's just to get around the
regulations, a bit like Root-Out is advertised as a compost
accelerator rather than a herbicide

The best compost accelerator, by a country mile is Yarrow. It thrives in
the grass roadside verges, that have been regularly mown. The fern-like
leaves are instantly recognisable. You can buy the seed, pick leaves at
4", a heaped tablespoonful per wheelbarrow of weeds/grass :-
https://tedmanzer.com/2012/06/10/yar...edicinal-herb/
snip

David, it may be of interest as it includes fruit as well as potato
protection.

Chris, if Bordeaux is a mix of copper and lime, the local supplier
also has
"garden lime" 3.5 Kg at £3.98 (inc) and 20 Kg at £9.98 inc. Should I
sprinkle lime on soil or mix with the copper and spray on potato
leaves? TIA


Question: is it truly hydrated lime, aka slaked lime, or is it ground
limestone? The latter is frequently advertised and sold as 'garden
lime' because hydrated lime needs to be handled a little carefully,
especially so that it doesn't get into your eyes. Suppliers these days
are very H&S conscious, and won't risk selling anything remotely
hazardous to the general public for fear of somebody misusing it and
the supplier being sued. Hence proper hydrated lime is no longer
available in garden centres, but only through builders merchants.
snip
Another call to the farm supplier - no it's not hydrated/slaked lime and
is in granular form. These should be forked into the ground. It does not
state that it's water soluble. If I can't get hold of the slaked, I'll
spray with Vitax and dig in the ground lime. I also need to move
brassicas from g/house to allotment. These will also benefit from a dose
of lime.




Going off topic a bit.
In the past you used to be able to get calcified seaweed but this seems
to have gone off the market in the last few years.