Some of the potatoes at Eco-Gites of Lenault have blight. In all likelihood the rest of them will be suffering from it in a very short period of time as it is a disease that spreads very quickly.
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| Blighted potatoes |
Blight, a disease that brought famine and mass emigration to Ireland and can reduce a crop of potatoes to a pile of black slime in no time at all. Blight is NOT a nice disease to have. However it is not the end of the potato crop and if you act soon enough you can save your potatoes. The trick is to be vigilant and act as soon as the blight hits. In fact act before blight hits if you know it is in the area.
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| The brown patch is the first sign of blight. Act now to save your crop. |
Saving Blighted Potatoes
1. First cut off all the haulms (potato tops) and dispose of them, preferably by burning and never compost them.
2. Do nothing for 2 weeks, after which time you can dig up the potatoes removing any as you go along that that have the tell-tale black marks and smell of blight.
3. Allow the potatoes to dry, away from the veg patch, for a few hours or a day.
4. After they have dried, carefully brush off any excess mud and check each potato.
5. Remove any potatoes that are damaged. Eat these as soon as possible. Damage can include:
- Spade/fork damage
- Slug holes
- Signs of blight (usually inedible)
- Signs of any other sort of rot
- Signs of fungal damage
- Scabby skins
5. Store all healthy looking potatoes in hessian/jute or thick paper sacks in a cool, dark and frost-free shed.
6. Check the stored potatoes regularly for signs of blight.
I have used this method now for several years and have always managed to store the potatoes through to when we run out in late winter or early spring.
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| Healthy Potato Tops ... but for how long? |
So not the best week at Eco-Gites of Lenault but certainly not the end of the world. How is your garden doing this week? For more garden inspiration visit the How Does Your garden Grow linky with Annie at Manneskjur.
And for anyone who is still wondering what the mystery plant was I showed last week - it was an Aubergine plant!
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