"Chris Hogg" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 15 Nov 2008 00:27:05 -0000, "someone"
wrote:


The potato haulms died off by themselves naturally in the autumn,

The reason that non-organic farmers kill off the haulms is to prevent
blight spreading down into the tubers and rotting them. AIUI, blight
spreads through the country, starting down here in the SW and reaching
the far North of England and Scotland late in the season, possibly not
at all for the latter. If your chap let the haulms die naturally, I
would expect he would get blight in some years. Did he ever get
blight, was he in the North, or did he grow a resistant variety of
spud? I'm just curious; I don't grow spuds myself.


I can't recall him ever getting blight in the several years I worked for
him. I will have to ask him which varieties he grew next time I see him.
He's in West Oxfordshire.

We have a relative who farms in Worcs, and he said that the farmers there
get together and, once one has planted potatoes in one place, the next time
they trade land with another farmer in another place if necessary so that
there is always 3 miles distance from where they planted potatoes last time.

someone