My Potato crop I think has failed?
Question:My veg plot is a real joy but this year after a promising sunny start and early hope of a bumper crop, record levels of rainfall this summer in North England and little sun has led to the potato shoots looking weak spindly and generally "not right" I am going to dig underneath in a few days, should I expect nothing there worth cooking?
Answers:
With all the rain we have had I doubt very much whether anything will be worth eating. Mt dad has a huge allotment and he has lost most of his spuds. He's cleared a lot away and found some late croppers to plant so is hoping he may manage to have a crop later in the year, but is not hoping for much.
sorry to hear that
it has been a strange season all the seasons have shifted so you can expext anything i saw a mosquito yesterday
I would dig up and dispose of whatever's there; during the Irish potatoes famine, reports of a sickly sweet aroma filled the air as sodden potatoes rotted underground after the heavy rains. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
Dang...
Well, if the vines aren't yet all dried up and dead, trim them very close to the soil, but leave some leaves to grow. Add some sulfur or epsom salt to fight possible fungal inspections, and some potash to build up the spuds. You may have a chance...
Definitely dig them up a.s.a.p. as they're rotting underground and will contaminate the soil with fungus - you won't be able to grow spuds in that patch for a few years or they'll also go rotten. You'll need to grow legumes next year and rotate crops until it's safe to grow spuds again in that patch.
As you are not expecting a bumper crop, anything will be a bonus. Enjoy the fruits of your labour with a knob of butter and a bit of mint. P.S. THAT is growing wonderfully this year, especially where I don't want it to grow.
The slugs (those big brown Spanish critters) have been attacking my potatoes, there are just stalks left. And the blight has also taken its toll. I am going to dig mine up for better or worse. Sitting in the ground with no growth will just let the potatoes deteriorate. The are certainly not getting better down under.
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