Potato blight help

[sarahParticipant]

Hi, I planted my potatoes at Easter and left the area covered with a fleece. Unfortunately when I have lifted the fleece tonight to do some slug killing I’ve noticed what looks like blight on the first leaves that have come through.
I have no idea what to do now. Can I rescue the crop by cutting off the affected leaves and leaving uncovered or do I need to dig up the whole crop? Please help.

[Don FoleyParticipant]

hi Sarah,

You don’t say where you are but if your in the UK or Ireland it is most unlikely to be Blight at this time of year.
What makes you think they have Blight?
Don.

[sarahParticipant]

Hi Don, some of the leaves have gone brown and look like they have a brown fungus. I’ve attached a picture, hopefully you can see it clearly enough to help!

Thanks, Sarah

[sarahParticipant]

Second attempt at uploading photos…

[charlesModerator]

Don is right its way too early for blight. I suspect frost damage which makes leaves go yellow then brown esp where they were touching fleece.
Your plants will recover!
Please post files less than 2Mb!!

[charlesModerator]

I can now see the pics and yes it is frost. Cover with cardboard at night e.g. tonight, if poss.

[sarahParticipant]

Phew! Thank you, I’ll stop panicking and put the fleece back on.

Re cardboard, lay flat cardboard across and then the fleece over the top? I was going to add more compost to earth them up a bit, would that help too?

Thanks, sarah

[Don FoleyParticipant]

Hi Sarah,

Cardboard then the fleece. I cant really tell how tall yours are but my own popped through last week and today stood at about 3″. I just covered them with more compost. There isn’t sufficient earth around mine to earth up in the more traditional way, i.e., draw earth from between the rows.
So what I would say to you is to cover what you can with the cardboard and the remainder with compost/earth then cover with the fleece.

Don.

[charlesModerator]

Yes compost is brilliant if you have enough.
I have some 12in high Swift covered by fleece all the time and lay cardboard over them in the evening, remove it in the morning.
Its a pfaff but I want some early spuds.

[sarahParticipant]

Thank you both, they’re now covered and refleeced 🙂

[jjat8cvParticipant]

I have just received an email from Blight Watch warning of a full Smith period for my area (Somerset TA1). I thought it was much too early for blight.

[charlesModerator]

So did I!
Amazing.
In theory blight spores are around, but they won’t found much to land on as potato leaves have been so hit by frost and/or slow to grow.
I don’t know what happens next as I have not gardened in such an early Smiths period.
One good thing must be that, because there is not much potato foliage about, the spores cannot become prolific, so I hope it is minor episodes only and that we avoid them.

[Don FoleyParticipant]

Hi Guys,
So have I! I’m in Kildare.
Don.

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