Emery Davis wrote:
On Thu, 28 Jun 2007 16:50:22 +0200
"David \(Normandy\)" wrote:

It seems all my potato crop has succumbed to blight as have the tomatoes.
Apparently everyone in the area has had the same problem. Someone advised
pulling / cutting off all the tops and lifting the potatoes pronto. Most of
the tops have either lost their leaves or gone mushy, some mushy right down
to ground level.

How urgent is this? I ask because I've just spent a couple of hours lifting
one row of potatoes (which are nice and clean) but my back has had enough.
There are another 20 rows for me to lift yet so it is likely to take a
number of days or even weeks to lift them all.

Should I pull the tops off the other rows despite the fact I won't be able
to lift them for a while? The tops are handy to see where the rows are as
all the rain has flattened the mounds, and also if I start trampling all
over the rows it will make lifting harder.

Suggestions? Anyone have experience with blight? Is there a "need for
speed"?


Just discussed this yesterday with a local gardener. (Don't do taters myself.)
She's just south of Argentan. She did a large crop this year, all blighted.
She has sprayed with Bordeaux mix (immediately rained on, of course) to
try and see what can be saved -- tomatoes all mouldy too -- and will
be pulling off tops asap.

Our toms are pretty borderline, too. Bloody miserable weather. I notice
a lot of maples putting on fall colours, just because it's so cold. Dogwoods, too.

-E

Hm, so no one has told the maples about global warming then!