Blight?

[TimH]

Is this the early stages of blight on my potatoes?





Some of the leaves seem yellow. They are the swift variety that have had chicken manure.

[scarey55]

Hi Tim, It doesn't look like blight to me but then I am no expert. I don't think it has been warm enough for blight conditions yet. If you have a look <<HERE>> there is a picture and some information. Also if you search for blight on here I think there was a lot of discussion on this last year.

Sorry, if it isn't blight I don't know what it is but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable will be along soon.

One thing I would do though is take off the infected leaves and don't compost them.

[Victoria26]

if the frost has got to them it might be that...

... you can only hope

[TimH]

if the frost has got to them it might be that...

... you can only hope

I didn't cover them Saturday night, pub trip!! So it could be that. I did look at pics of blight but they were the later stages.
Should I take the leaves off even if frost damage??

[SarzWix]

It's highly unlikely to be blight at this time of year, there has to be a certain temperature And humidity maintained for a certain number of days, which we haven't had. Much more likely to be frost damage, luckily it doesn't seem to have caught all of the leaves.

[sewer rat]

It's too early for blight, so I would agree that given the recent downturn in the wather, it is more likely to be frost damage. I wouldn't bother removing the leaves, but keep an eye on the plants and post again if things develop for the worse.

[TimH]

Cheers for that, I'll monitor it and hopefully they'll be ok.

[bazzaboy]

Tim, you might wish to register your postcode with Blight Watch (free advisory/warning service) at
Fight Against Blight: Blight outbreak reporting service | Blightwatch.co.uk: Blight infection risk reporting service
b.

[tattieman]

It is not blight the the plant does look unhealthy.
I wonder if they have been getting to much water as it looks as if the stem is dying and going yellow. Hopefully they will come right for you.

[TimH]

Too much water, can that make the plant unhealthy. I've watered it every 2-3 days, a good soaking. Is this too much??

[Victoria26]

That might be it - your supposed to keep the soil moist but not drenched with tatties.

Little and often is better than a big glug in one go.

[TimH]

This was my test batch, to learn from my mistakes so they are a bonus. I have 3 other potato sacks with seed potatoes in a few weeks behind the test batch. SO fingers crossed any mistakes I make with these will help me with the others.

[Victoria26]

tattieman always says when you first plant your chitted tubers you should NOT water them for the first week so let them establish a good root system. After that keep them moist.

Gardening is all about experimenting. Every year I do something differently too. You have to try new things and enjoy it! Good luck.

[tattieman]

You will learn more from your mistakes than what you do by doing things correctly.
When I first looked at your pictures my first thoughts were the plant was dying from the potato up and the yellow colour made me think too much water and the potato could have rotted. Could be totally wrong but going by the pictures that is what it looks like to me.

[TimH]

The photos were taken on my iPhone, I'll take a better pic with my camera if there is any change.