I've got blight...

[teakdesk]

There is absolutely nothing on any of those photos that suggests blight to me. Absolutely nothing!!

A bit of general bacterial disease from damaged leaves that all crops get, especially as they get ready for cropping.

To me, they just look as if they are ready to crop.



BTW - Pentland Javelin are a first early and will take 8 to 12 weeks in the ground to mature depending on location and the weather - first earlies rarely flower so don't use that as a guide. Unless you planted them in May then I'd say they are ready.

First earlies don't give a huge crop (often less than 1lb per plant) and some grapes are reporting even less this year.

[womble]

Just realised, you first posted this over a week ago!

If it was blight, they would all be dead by now.

[Tomatoking]

It could be early blight, late blight is more grey and mouldy

Michigan Potato Diseases - Early Blight of potato

[RobintheBobin]

There is absolutely nothing on any of those photos that suggests blight to me. Absolutely nothing!!

PHEW!!

To me, they just look as if they are ready to crop.

BTW - Pentland Javelin are a first early and will take 8 to 12 weeks in the ground to mature depending on location and the weather - first earlies rarely flower so don't use that as a guide.

Aww Teakdesk you're making my morning! I didn't even consider the possibly that they WERE actually ready to crop; I assumed that because they stayed tiddly and were withering and an 'expert' declared it was blight they were gonners! Never knew that about first earlies not always flowering though....

HOORAH it seems I'm fungal spore free

Thanks everyone in helping out on this one....glad I didn't turn out to be the ONLY person in the entire United Kingdom to get blight in the driest weather in 80 years

[RobintheBobin]

It could be early blight, late blight is more grey and mouldy

Michigan Potato Diseases - Early Blight of potato

Gulp

[Incy]

I've been eating my pentland javelin for a while now and I got a lot of shrivelled and browning leaves which I believe was down to lack of water plus them getting ready to crop. To be fair your plants don't look half as bad as mine.

[teakdesk]

It could be early blight, late blight is more grey and mouldy

Michigan Potato Diseases - Early Blight of potato

Gulp

I'm no expert and photos can be hard to examine but I always imagine the leaf spots of blight showing as a series of rings as it grows and then you get a straight line when it hits a leaf vein.

I couldn't see anything like that in those pics.

The pics look just like the potatoes I'm growing/harvesting and none of those have blight.

As I think I said earlier, the tubers will clearly show if the plants have blight when you harvest them.


I have always believed my problem to be bacterial speck and it affects me every year but doesn't affect the tubers so I just ignore it.

[Tomatoking]

I'm no expert and photos can be hard to examine but I always imagine the leaf spots of blight showing as a series of rings as it grows and then you get a straight line when it hits a leaf vein.

I couldn't see anything like that in those pics.

The pics look just like the potatoes I'm growing/harvesting and none of those have blight.

As I think I said earlier, the tubers will clearly show if the plants have blight when you harvest them.


I have always believed my problem to be bacterial speck and it affects me every year but doesn't affect the tubers so I just ignore it.

I would agree with teakdesk, it looks llike bacterial spec, especially the last few pictures.
But i did want to point out when there could be blight about is that early blight looks a lot different to late blight, and similar to the first picture.

Hope I didnt give you too many palpatations Robin.

This is a good sight for diagnosing problems.
Bacterial Speck-Ontario CropIPM

[StephenH]

Isn't it a bit early for blight anyway?
Alys Fowler, in her column in the Guardian Weekend magazine, said recently that there is "some anecdotal evidence" that weekly spraying with a 50/50 mix of mink and water helps keep blight at bay. has anyone heard of that, or tried it? was it any good, if so? I'm doing it, on the grounds that at least it can't do any harm.

[RobintheBobin]

Hope I didnt give you too many palpatations Robin.

Already planning what to go next in that patch...no palpitations here

This morning I had another neighbour do the usual "Eek...blight" but washed over me. SO over the blight panic

[teakdesk]

Isn't it a bit early for blight anyway?

Not for early blight!! And late blight is starting to do the rounds.

Alys Fowler, in her column in the Guardian Weekend magazine, said recently that there is "some anecdotal evidence" that weekly spraying with a 50/50 mix of mink and water helps keep blight at bay. has anyone heard of that, or tried it? was it any good, if so?

Milk is a natural fungicide and I use it as an effective cure for botrytis in the greenhouse at a 50% ratio to water

Last year I still got blight in the greenhouse even though I'd been using milk.

[StephenH]

Not for early blight!! And late blight is starting to do the rounds.






Milk is a natural fungicide and I use it as an effective cure for botrytis in the greenhouse at a 50% ratio to water

Last year I still got blight in the greenhouse even though I'd been using milk.

Oh - thanks. Well, it looks as though there's something in it, even if it's not 100% effective (and yes, I meant "milk", not "mink"!).