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Thursday, August 02, 2007

Garden July 2007 or, is this blight?

How many posts have I seen with the "is this blight?" title on them over the last month or so? Quite a few, so you'd think by now I'd know what it looks like but honestly every picture I've seen and description I've read seems to be just a bit different from the last. So, is this blight?

I've taken off the few leaves that looked like that but I'm wondering whether to cut the whole plant back, wait a couple of weeks then dig up whatever's there. Or to take a chance and wait to see if any more brown spots develop. I did try to dig down into the soil a few weeks ago to see if there were any small potatoes there but only found one eensy one so to be honest I'm really not sure there's anything happening down below at all.

There were a couple of flowers on the other plant in the tyres with this one a few weeks ago but they didn't stay for very long. This opened just the same day as I noticed the brown spots though, isn't it pretty?

These other potatoes are out in the front garden, just a few old ones from the cupboard which I didn't think would do anything but they seem to like it there (even though it's in shade for a good part of the day and until this week it has been raining a lot). I'm kind of hoping these will be a crop for Christmas.

In other garden news (apart from the brown spots I found) Tuesday was a very exciting day. So, with my apologies for the quality of the photos, here's exhibit number 1:

Cue me jumping up and down exclaiming (in a weirdly high-pitched voice), "Ooh, it's a pea. I have a pea!".

And exhibit number 2:

Me: "it's gone red, it's gone red!!!". Aaah, it really is the simple things in life that can bring the most pleasure.
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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousTuesday, August 07, 2007 9:58:00 am

    Congrats on the red tomatoe, I do a similar dance when we get them too!

    The blight ... I've a recent post about what to do.

    With only small patches of brown, pick off the leaf and burn it, don't compost it (spores). If blight has taken hold badly, as in ours, follow the instructions ref cutting foliage to the ground, leave tubers in ground for 3 weeks, then dig them, clean gently, dry, store in paper sacks, check often.

    If you'd like to spend a weekend here get in touch, I'm sorry life was so hectic I didn't get around to arranging it in the summer. But you are more than welcome. x

    www.sallygardens.typepad.com

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  2. MoonwavesTuesday, August 07, 2007 5:44:00 pm

    Thanks for that, no further brown has shown up so for the moment I'm just leaving them be.

    I'm very impressed with your pea harvest by the way. I now have three pods but they're all tiny skinny little things yet. Is there anything to do to help them bulk up or do I just need to leave them grow a bit more. Hmmm, must run home and consult some books.

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