In article ,
GardenGerald wrote:
axelbrora Wrote:

I read somewhere recently that you should not compost potato leaves.
Can anyone explain why?

It is a precaution against the spread of disease, in particular Potato
Blight.

Please don't top-post.

It is also based on a complete misunderstanding of how blight is
spread, and so is complete nonsense. Before the life-cycle of blight
was known, it was a sensible precaution, but few of us are old enough
to remember then.

Blight overwinters in LIVE plant material - tubers you miss when
harvesting and some weeds - and is spread by the wind in suitable
weather conditions. It is therefore a good idea to eliminate all
potato plants that arise from forgotten tubers, and to watch out
for the relevant conditions (high temperatures and humidity), but
a complete waste of time to worry about what you can compost and
what you can't.

And, because it is spread by wind, you can't avoid it, so spraying
palliatively with Bordeaux mixture is a good idea.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.