The Accidental Smallholder Forum

Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: loopy on July 28, 2009, 04:18:24 pm

Title: something odd with potatoes?
Post by: loopy on July 28, 2009, 04:18:24 pm

hi

i've got various potatoes growing, mainly in compost bags.  I noticed today that the stems of one of the plants wasn't looking at all healthy so decided to harvest some out of that bag.  The potatoes themselves seem ok, but some of them have black bits several mm across on the surface of the potato skins.  It's not soil, and it doesn't appear to be a living bug of any kind, and it seems to rub off and the potato skin under these black blobs looks normal - can anyone tell me what it might be?  and whether this affects what we can do with the potatoes?  should i fully harvest the rest of that bag?


ps not grown main crop before - when are they best to harvest?  some of the ones i pulled today are a bit on the small side, and whilst there are some nice sized ones, none are at the sort of size i'd want for jacket potatoes etc...

thanks L

Title: Re: something odd with potatoes?
Post by: doganjo on July 28, 2009, 04:19:29 pm

Sounds like blight.  From my limited knowledge I'd say they won't store well but OK to use soon as possible

Title: Re: something odd with potatoes?
Post by: loopy on July 28, 2009, 05:25:26 pm

i thought blight made the inside of potatoes go black?  these are knobbly black bits on the outside of the skins, with what looks like a perfect potato skin beneath?  i looked at a few photos of blight via google but not found any pics that resemble whats on these potatoes.. really don't know what to do

Title: Re: something odd with potatoes?
Post by: rustyme on July 28, 2009, 05:30:21 pm

http://www.dgsgardening.btinternet.co.uk/potatoscab.htm

anything like that ?
  My spuds have had scab sometimes , and the colour of the scab can be from brown to almost black !!!

cheers


Russ

Title: Re: something odd with potatoes?
Post by: Fluffywelshsheep on July 28, 2009, 05:30:32 pm

I would say it is scab (but could be wrong) don't compost the skin and it is a soil born prob, I had this this year and have no idea where is came from possible possibly shop bought tatties (I might have composted the skins)or already in the compost i had

Linz

Title: Re: something odd with potatoes?
Post by: loopy on July 28, 2009, 05:36:39 pm

on looking at that photo i think it could be scab - in the early stages though...as the blobs on my potatoes aren't as large as that pic - but v similar in appearance, and as i said we can pick off/rub off from the otherwise perfect potato skins.

So - would i be right in thinking there is no need to harvest the other plants yet ?  will they store ok?

and when is everyone else harvesting their main crops.....paranoid about blight and got so many growing that i don't want to lose them to some nasty disease!

Title: Re: something odd with potatoes?
Post by: northfifeduckling on July 29, 2009, 10:13:32 pm

from when they are flowering they should be a decent size. I leave mine until I need them.
Blight has been not as bad as I feared, only a couple. What it does is, it turns them into smelly mush once it reaches the tubers.  :&>