Keep an eye open for blight

[Lumpy]

Just had a look for my postcode and today (LN5) I have Smith criteria and tomorrow I go into full Smith period............it's all this piggin rain!

[Python15]

Some smashing sites posted on this thread, thanks guys. You know who you are

[vixylix]

blight warnings here the last 3 days... doesnt help that it hasnt stopped raining long enough for me to be able to check everything! Fingers crossed we'll all be ok - at least until a lot later in the year!

[ryland.j]

Iv'e had a couple of warnings in Swansea.

[Martin H]

Luckily the humidity has been low enough over here to keep the blight warnings away.

I did find a bit of blackleg on the plot today though.

[Bren In Pots]

Full Smiths period 4 days in a row here

[Penellype]

Full Smiths period 4 days in a row here

Same here.

[vixylix]

4 days in a row here now too. Unfortunately I have no real idea what I'm looking for and have a panic everytime I'm out in the garden. Roll on saturday when I can get outside and start taking leaves off anything and everything that looks suspicious

[Penellype]

If you get blight you will know about it, particularly on tomatoes. The whole plant can be completely destroyed in a couple of days.

[Spunky]

I had a full smiths period 2 days ago and I'm afraid my potatoes at home and the allotment have got blight

[Penellype]

I had a full smiths period 2 days ago and I'm afraid my potatoes at home and the allotment have got blight

That's bad luck this early in the season. Cut off all the foliage and leave the potatoes in the soil for a week or 2 to let the spores get washed away. Alternatively harvest them now and cook, mash and freeze any you can't eat, as they will not keep.

Possibly still time to plant some sarpo potatoes if you can find any seed potatoes. They stand up to blight much better than other varieties.

[Spunky]

Thanks Penelope I'm growing sarpo axona and they've got blight too
Have you got any idea how long it takes to affect the tubers?

[Penellype]

Strange that sarpo axona have got the blight. They are supposed to be resistant, although I suppose not immune.

I don't know how long it takes for the tubers to rot as I have never had blight on potatoes, but I have had it on tomatoes. I noticed the black marks on the stems and picked all of the apparently undamaged green fruit and put it indoors on a tray. Within 48 hours every single tomato was brown and rotting.