I was thinking I'd read up on it, maybe use one of these:
Posted on 06/30/2009 7:45:48 AM PDT by Straight Vermonter
The plant fungus that caused the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s has shown up in Plattsburgh, and experts say residents need to act quickly.
It's called "late blight" and it affects eggplants, potatoes and tomatoes. The fungus hasn't made it this far north in about a decade, but it moves quickly and can kill an infected plant in as short as a week and a half. The signs that your plants have late blight are brownish lesions on the leaves which make them look wet. Late blight was discovered in the region at unnamed major box stores on Friday. It came to the area because a vegetable wholesaler apparently sold the stores infected tomato plants.
Officials say if you've bought any tomato, eggplant or potato plants that were not grown locally you should throw them out. However, do not compost or burn the infected plant because the spores will travel up to four miles.
Right, same here on Mom’s side (Cobb). Damn Irish, can’t go anywhere without takeing a Potato blight with them.
oh wow...
Blights are a nightmare!
Here’s hoping the folks from Plattsburgh aren’t too drunk to fish.
Thanks for the info. It’s over 100 degrees here now and my beefsteaks are just getting started. Hopefully they don’t have any problems.
We raised all of our own plants from seed this year in the little plastic greenhouses you can buy at Walmart. Hopefully we won’t be infected with any of this. All of my tomatoe plats this year are heirloom varities as well as the bell peppers too. Hopefully my 88 tomoato platns will give us enough canned for two years. :)
Isn’t globalism great?
My tater patch is bearing little purple blooms now. No sign of the blight, but I do have plants so heavy they sometimes tip over and then bend back upward through phototropism, forming an odd l-shaped plant.
I hope that means I’ll be getting taters.
Actually, they start out l-shaped, but end up L-shaped.
I am planning to dig into my potato bed sometime this or next week.... I had the most awesome top showing, waist high, and am hoping that not all went atop but under ground as welll..
My vines are already laying down and I have covered their base with straw I have been preparing just for them the past three years.
bump
Where in Ireland did they come from? My wife and I just recently returned from a trip there. One of our obsessions was observing all the famine houses omnipresent and we drove around the country. How many sad stories there were. On one of our last nights in Ireland we stayed at a B&B in Doolin. As we got into our room I looked out the window to view the scenery. Right across the road was a famine house. We hadn't even noticed it when we checked in.
Good question. I thought burning was the best thing to do with infected items.
Throwing them out?!?!
Famine house? Vacant, I presume?
They're all stone houses with no roofs. When evicting the tenants, one of the first things the landlords did was to remove the roof. So there are thousands of these stone houses around the country with walls but no roofs. And nobody inside except for maybe ghosts.
I did not know that - thanks.
This is the 1st year I have tried potatoes. Mine are blooming and tall. I did mound the dirt twice.
Do you know a good way to dig them out after the leaves turn brown?
That is, if there are any under there.
Obama’s fault.
I was thinking I'd read up on it, maybe use one of these:
Well, thanks. I had considered a shovel. I was just afraid I would harpoon the taters while digging.
I figured someone more knowledgable at growing taters had a secret!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.