Potato blight?

Manda_Rae

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Is this potato blight?
 

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digitS'

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Perhaps so.


Alternaria. The "potato famine" blight is something different. Late vs Early. My tomatoes (especially heirlooms) sometimes have problems. I recall a particularly bad case on a couple of plants that volunteered on a previous year's compost pile and I allowed to grow - Not A Good Place for Them. Another time was when I had several plants from seed that was supposed to be Early Girl but were not that hybrid.

Probably, the hybrid has resistance but those few seeds in the packet were from a parent that did not and a tomato flower where pollen had not been transferred produced fruit from which seed was saved. You could look at my row of Early Girls and see the disease hitting those plants hard.

I had already identified them as something different and thought I might have something special. Yeah, right. I had something very susceptible to alternaria.

Steve
This is a more common but not usually very serious problem for my garden. Tomatoes not Potatoes.

 

Manda_Rae

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It's only one of my plants so far. Since they are in bags I moved them away from each other. I always get nervous trimming too many leaves off my plants but I may do it to attempt to save the plant.
Also They are 2 seperate varieties.
I need to check which these are.
 

ducks4you

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Don't confuse blight with death. I planted potatoes where the garage dumps rainwater and 2021 was very wet, SO I lost most of them. This year the same spot would probably work well bc we are having a drought.
Keep your potato bags out of any shade during the day. Humidity will hug the leaves after it drops below dewpoint. The leaves are getting wet and staying wet.
I planted 8 potatoes and had 5 volunteers this year. NONE of them have had any blight. I also have not Watered any of them.
Also, make sure that you do not water them from above, just root level.
You should still have a good harvest.
"Wait until the tops of the vines have completely died before you begin harvesting. When the vines are dead, it is a sure sign the potatoes have finished growing and are ready to be harvested."
 

Manda_Rae

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Don't confuse blight with death. I planted potatoes where the garage dumps rainwater and 2021 was very wet, SO I lost most of them. This year the same spot would probably work well bc we are having a drought.
Keep your potato bags out of any shade during the day. Humidity will hug the leaves after it drops below dewpoint. The leaves are getting wet and staying wet.
I planted 8 potatoes and had 5 volunteers this year. NONE of them have had any blight. I also have not Watered any of them.
Also, make sure that you do not water them from above, just root level.
You should still have a good harvest.
"Wait until the tops of the vines have completely died before you begin harvesting. When the vines are dead, it is a sure sign the potatoes have finished growing and are ready to be harvested."
They are in full sun all day. I do occasionally water from the top if I'm in a hurry but usually make a point to soak the base. They are in bags. I might pull the door open and see if the potatoes are getting ready. My other bag looks totally normal.
 

ducks4you

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Try letting them dry out.
It is not the climate of PA, which is more humid. It is rainy AND dry.
Potatoes, like other plants, don't like their feet wet.
 

Manda_Rae

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Try letting them dry out.
It is not the climate of PA, which is more humid. It is rainy AND dry.
Potatoes, like other plants, don't like their feet wet.
Thanks for the help. This is my first year growing them.
 

Manda_Rae

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I decided err on the side of caution and cut back all the affected leaves. So we shall see what happens.
Hopefully next year I will have better luck. I also have more ideas for trying other methods.
 

Jane23

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I had the same thing. The potatoes turned out alright. I thought it was because I was watering them from the top too much ( I was in a hurry to get to work, and watering is "fun" where I am). I noticed if I broke the leaves off, they regrew fresh, healthy leaves without the spots.
 

ducks4you

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@Manda_Rae , a lot of harvesting is an experienced eye. This is what the foliage looks like when it is dying back and it's time to harvest the potatoes.
1664909762084.png

 
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