God I love growing our own

[JamezF]

To be honest I think the worries about late blight being "in the soil" are significantly overstated. As I understand it the fungus needs a live host to survive and the spores aren't viable for very long without one. That does mean however that "volunteer" potato (and perhaps tomato) plants can act as a reservoir of disease from one year to the next and I suspect that's where the concern about survival in the soil has come from. Either that or confusion with early blight, which apparently can survive in the soil over winter though I've never seen it on my plants. I am now very careful to remove all tomato and potato plants that self-seeded or grow from potatoes that I missed harvesting the previous year. There are also other plants in the nightshade family (some of which are weeds I think) that can be infected by the fungus and allow it to spread much more quickly.

By far the bigger problem in this country would appear to be that the spores from infected plants can apparently be carried many miles (even tens of miles) on the wind, which is why growing under cover helps, I guess. Given the climate in the UK there may also be sufficient moisture in the air for the fungus to flourish even if the leaves of the plants don't get wet otherwise, which is probably why the plants in my polytunnel eventually succumb given that it's usually fairly damp here by late October.

There is a spore type that can be produced by the late blight fungus that may be able to survive over winter in the soil, but I don't believe it has ever been found in the UK.

James

 

[Moobee]

I'm going to put some Charlottes in as I love those early new potatoes and I can grow them in tubs, but I've given up on others as they always seem to get blight and it's frustrating when all you end up with is loads of gold ball sized potatoes.

Got mine chitting in the greenhouse…..

 

[Amari]

What Potatoes are folk growing?

Charlotte & Jazzy - both 2nd early
Ratte & Desirée - main
Occasional blight, if so I spray with copper sulphate.

 

[philipm]

Still using the butternut squash from the polytunnel,down to about six now from about forty.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

To be honest I think the worries about late blight being "in the soil" are significantly overstated

had it really bad one season (must be ten years ago now, really damp and muggy conditions that summer) hasn't really popped up since

 

[Erichalfbee]

had it really bad one season (must be ten years ago now, really damp and muggy conditions that summer) hasn't really popped up since

Yes same here. Lost the lot.
They were in a raised bed.
We tried Sarpo the next year. My word! Not exactly what you might call a decent spud!

 

[Amari]

Yes same here. Lost the lot.
They were in a raised bed.
We tried Sarpo the next year. My word! Not exactly what you might call a decent spud!

Sarpo = poor appearance and taste

 

[pargyle]

Charlotte in tubs and a few in the ground. Put a late crop from the stored early crop in tubs for Christmas. Main crop we now only grow sagitta which is second early really but they are amazing taste and do everything. Chips and roasts are unbelievable and they boil and mash well too. Tried so many different ones before we decided on these two varieties

My Charlotte Seed potatoes arrive yesterday and I ordered some Sagitta on your reocmmendation. They are all chitting in the greenhouse now. I'll be growing them in potato bags - I've got a kilo of each variety so it will be interesting to see what the crops are from them both.

 

[fian]

I ( my family) grow Kennebec potato for personal use, not commercial -light yellow skin, white flesh, holding nice in storage, nice taste, all round purpose good. Once we started planting it, we don't use any other.
What do You sow of Cucurbita maxima - squash varieties?

In Galicia there is also a preferential use of this variety of potatoes.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I ordered some Sagitta on your reocmmendation

So have I and will have some spare, as I only wanted a few to try, if anybody wants any

 

[Erichalfbee]

Anybody have a source of grow lights that aren’t t Chinese?

 

[Amari]

Loss of autumn-sown broad beans: most years I sow Aquadulce Claudia in the greenhouse (to avoid short-tailed voles eating the seeds if planted in the ground) in Oct and plant out in the allotment in November. They usually overwinter well and give a good early crop. This time they did well for the first month but have all perished over the last month. I'm not sure if the voles are to blame or the pre- and post-Christmas freeze.

Almost total failure of B. sprouts (three varieties) this season - one of my favourite crops for many years. Early caterpillar damage in late summer so I replaced the coarse pigeon net with a finer version (not the very fine Enviromesh) but then had a severe, worst ever, white fly infestation late autumn shortly followed by a black sooty mould on many leaves. Sprayed insecticide and fungicide . This week I harvested the first and only crop - about 1/2 kg of tiny sprouts...... Most of the plants stunted and dying.
Adjacent curly kale and broccoli also stunted.

 

[Erichalfbee]

had a severe, worst ever, white fly infestation late autumn

Yes same here. Never seen anything like it on the sprouts. Almost a total write off

 

[papa_sierra]

I hope Enrico hasn't taken to growing rice looking at the pictures coming from the Somerset Levels. Looking very wet.

 

[simonforeman]

Much the same... I've always grown a couple of early varieties and some maincrop potatoes, but generally the maincrop ones eventually get blight (last year was an exception, I guess because it was so dry for so long). I had other problems this year though. I earthed up all the maincrop plants with compost and then the blackbirds kept digging it up because under the canopy of potato leaves was one of the few places moist enough for them to find food. I had to keep scraping the compost back and inevitably missed some plants.

This year I've decided that I can use the space for the maincrop varieties more profitably for more early ones. Normally I grow Charlotte and International Kidney (because that's the variety used for Jersey Royals which are a particular favourite of my wife). International Kidney seem to be harder to get hold of at the moment though (last year they were pretty much impossible to find). I've heard rumours that there were problems with the seed crop failing, but I don't know if that's correct. So given that and the extra space, this year I will be growing Charlotte, Nicola, Lady Christl and Duke of York. I would quite like to have grown Pink Fir Apple instead of the last, but that's again down to my wife: for some reason she's taken against knobbly potatoes.

James

Pink fur apple are in my opinion the best tasting you can get. Great hot or cold and store well

 

[Bettenham]

Charlotte and Cara seed potatoes turned up today. I meant to buy Carolus which I really liked a few years ago - a really good all rounder. Intrigued by the Saggita recommendation but I haven't any room for them - will have to wait to next year now! Mind you thinking of growing stuff at the moment with this spell of weather seems a long way off!

 

[fian]

I hope Enrico hasn't taken to growing rice looking at the pictures coming from the Somerset Levels. Looking very wet.

In Galicia. Accumulated precipitation in the year 2022.
From January to September 527 l/m2.
From October to december. 680 l/m2.
Registration from January 4 to 10, 2023. More than 100 l/m2

 

[fian]

Note, the storm that has arrived this week and responsible for the last rainfall was Fien (name assigned by the Belgian Meteorological Institute at the beginning of the year)

 

[Moobee]

Excited to get a new greenhouse in a few weeks. When we bought the house 12 years ago, there was a large one full of a grapevine in one corner & I brought one with me (buyers of our old house wouldn’t pay for any extras)…. So they were installed end to end. Not the best arrangement & neither were particularly high.
After the wood base rotted away on the old one & the increasingly bad weather destroyed the thin panes of glass, decided to splash out on a big new one. Not massive in comparison to some folks polytunnels etc on here but will suit me just fine.
Old ones have now gone & new base being done in a few weeks. I’ll have so much more useable space.

 

[enrico]

Excited to get a new greenhouse in a few weeks. When we bought the house 12 years ago, there was a large one full of a grapevine in one corner & I brought one with me (buyers of our old house wouldn’t pay for any extras)…. So they were installed end to end. Not the best arrangement & neither were particularly high.
After the wood base rotted away on the old one & the increasingly bad weather destroyed the thin panes of glass, decided to splash out on a big new one. Not massive in compute some folks polytunnels etc on here but will suit me just fine.
Old ones have now gone & new base being done in a few weeks. I’ll have so much more useable space.
View attachment 34956View attachment 34957View attachment 34958

Good base and bolt the greenhouse to it and it will last for years