And it isn’t Bug-ger. Although this is the sentiment of the situation. You just can’t win with the weather. This year can easily be described with soggy soggy soggy soggy dry. And not just any dry, but the one tinged with humidity but no useful moisture. Perfect conditions for a bit of Blight in my spuds!
Really. I have been dreaming of a long hot summer for ages and then when one comes along is brings this with it. This isn’t how it was supposed to happen. It was supposed to be that magical season where all grows well and we have a bumper crop and a fabulous time in the garden. It went straight from wet to dry without so much as taking a breath. I promised myself – foolishly it would seem, that if we had a drought I wouldn’t complain. So as water restrictions are reaching out across the country I will hold my tongue and honour my word. I won’t complain about the lack of rain and the heat and still muggy nights making sleep impossible.
But I didn’t say I wouldn’t complain about the effects of this kind of weather and to be honest I am really not happy with this new situation in the form of blight. It is my Heather and my Illam Hardy. It is just early days so I’ll give them a haircut and a spray – gosh it sounds like they are getting all made up for some fancy Christmas doo, but to be honest I’ll do what it takes to save the crop!
It is still quite early days for these poor plants so there is the chance new unblemished leaves could form after the haircut. At this point I’m up for anything thing that will redeem the situation. If its not one thing, it is another.
On closer inspection it appeared all of the potatoes had a touch of the blight. So taking no chances I chopped them all back. It was the last thing I did in the garden and washed my tools in bleach and changed my clothes so I wouldn’t share the blight with the tomatoes. I would cry if that happened. Because of the dry there is a fire ban which means I am robbed of the satisfaction of seeing this dreadful disaster go up in flames. So I’m left with taking the blemished leaves far far far away.
We are a few weeks short of putting the rusty garlic behind us. I just want to pull it up and move on and pretend this orangeness was never there. I worked so hard to try and stay on top of it this season but it seems to have just mocked me. I dug up one row as it was looking terrible and to be honest the harvest was a bit MEH. I took a sneak one out of another row and I’m pleased to see there is still hope. A few weeks can make all the difference to what is going on underground.
It isn’t all doom and gloom – somethings in the garden are enjoying the conditions and if I turn a blind eye I can still be proud.
Come again soon – I may be about to start a disease collection if these conditions keep up – not that I want to.
Sarah the Gardener : o)
NOTE: always get an expert opinion BEFORE doing anything drastic in your garden. As I was reviewing the photos I thought – Hang on that doesn’t actually look like blight. So I spoke to my expert horticulturist and he agreed – it didn’t look like blight. He said “It doesn’t look fungal, the plants look(ed) healthy with no blackening or necrosis of the stems and the damage was not concentric or rounded. Bit of a mystery really.” And wished me a good weekend.
So it isn’t blight, but it didn’t look good, so in a way I’m pleased a removed a potential risk to my tomatoes from my garden. Tomatoes are way more exciting than potatoes. But Bug-ger. If any one knows what it is I’d be grateful to know I’d done the right thing!
I would have just figured that is what potato foliage looks like after such weather. It sometimes get mildew, although I do not see that either. Isn’t serious botrytis blight rare there?
We do get blight here, but it just didn’t have the characteristic fungal features. But it was probably better to have it out than let it spread. : o)
Thank you for sharing Sarah have a blessed day
Thanks Linda. : o)
Your most welcome
From my experience this looks like the result of inconsistency in the moisture the plant is getting. Not much you can do about it.
Yeah – I’m really not sure – I wasn’t watering on the leaves or the other usual reasons. I am glad I chopped them back though. Some of the plants are recovering – so there maybe some kind of harvest… Hopefully : o)
What a miserable change of weather, Sarah. I feel for you. We had an unbearable summer ourselves. It’s no fun. I’m glad to hear this isn’t blight. I hope it’s nothing at all, and that the plants recover.
It has been hot hot hot. The rain loiters overhead and pretends to do its thing but there is nothing at all. There will most likely be a country wide drought if the rain doesn’t come soon. As it was such a wet autumn, winter and spring, then you can get an idea of just how hot and dry it has become so quickly. : o)
No idea what could have been wrong with the potato leaves but hopefully you will get both a good crop and have saved your tomatoes from whatever is going round.
It was all a bit weird – some of the plants have bounced back and others have shrivelled up. Just one of those things though. I am glad I cut them back though, because what ever it was – I’d hate for it to spread. : o)