potato blight mel's mix

jazzymaddy 6/30/2012, 11:14 pm

Hi friends. I have lost the battle to the potato blight, and the plants are dying away. Just didn't do a good job of staying on top of it. I've vowed to take better care of my precious maters, as they have gotten a little sick as well.

Anyway, I have gone ahead and harvested my potatoes, and taken the top layer off that I assume is harboring the spores. It was just peat moss as I ran out of mel's mix. My question is whether or not I can safely use the mix underneath for other plants. Is it infected with the blight as well since the roots were in it? Can I plant other things other than potatoes and tomatoes in it?

Thanks all. Happy summer eating to you!
Tracy

**Turan** 6/30/2012, 11:25 pm

You can plant in the blight infected soil things like beans, peas, greens etc. But NOT eggplant, peppers, tomatoes. Do not use that soil for them or any other solanacea relative for at least 3 years.

I hope you can keep ahead of it in the tomatoes!

It is a really good idea to use a 3 year rotation in your plantings just for some sort of insurance. I am guessing this means not to put even healthy looking tomato/potato/pepper/eggplant plants in the compost. It would seem too easy to possibly transmit the disease that way.

jazzymaddy 6/30/2012, 11:38 pm

Thank you so much for your quick and helpful reply.

MoneyMan94 7/6/2012, 7:40 pm

I had what I thought was blight (thankfully not) and contacted my the cornell extension on Long Island and asked them the same question, thry told me (just as Turan said) the soil is fine but the seed potato could carry the blight so they told me no tto save the seed, just eat them and you will be fine
Good Luck

plantoid 7/6/2012, 8:19 pm

Turan wrote:You can plant in the blight infected soil things like beans, peas, greens etc. But NOT eggplant, peppers, tomatoes. Do not use that soil for them or any other solanacea relative for at least 3 years.

I hope you can keep ahead of it in the tomatoes!

It is a really good idea to use a 3 year rotation in your plantings just for some sort of insurance. I am guessing this means not to put even healthy looking tomato/potato/pepper/eggplant plants in the compost. It would seem too easy to possibly transmit the disease that way.

Take two class point and become ink monitir for the week you are correct don't even add dead leaves, bits you have cut off or the greenery from any other solanacea to the compost heap for the same reasons . Burn them if possible when they are dried out or put them in a big barrel fo water and cover to over for a few weeks . It will smell like a passel of skunks on bad beer but will turn the plants into a liquid that you can pour away into an out of the way hole you dig for that explicit purpose .

Over here farmers use fine sprayed on diluted sulphuric acid to kill off and dessicate the potato tops to stop blight on the greenery affecting the tubers when they are lifted three weeks later .

revanneosl 7/11/2012, 11:40 pm

Just so's you don't feel too bad, we got it too.

I bought certified disease-free seed potatoes though, so I'm wondering if the fault was perhaps in one of the 5 varieties of compost that went into making the Mel Mix. I've heard of compost contaminated with herbicides, but I've never heard of any contaminated with either verticulum wilt or fusarium wilt (which I believe is what my potatoes are suffering from).

Does anybody have any ideas about how this disease could have gotten into the plot?

**camprn** 7/12/2012, 12:03 am

revanneosl wrote:
Does anybody have any ideas about how this disease could have gotten into the plot?

Wind. There are numerous previous threads about blight that can give you a broader picture of this plant disease. Use the search box at the bottom of the 'Latest Topics' list on the left.

I strongly encourage any one who thinks they have plants with blight to contact your county extension service Ag agent and have it positively IDd and reported. Many people watch the weekly reports for blight.

kbb964 7/12/2012, 10:37 am

I think I might also have late blight on one potato tower, the other might be early blight. I have gone ahead and removed all leaves and will harvest today....... bummer
I have been away for a few days and didnt catch it .

JOHN DOWNEY 7/21/2012, 10:05 am

and now some of my tomato plans adjacent and down hill from the potato area are wilting. I don't see other signs of blight on the leaves and am not sure what to do with those plants and do not want it to spread to all my other adjacent tomato plants (which are different varieties from those wilting)?
I harvested all of the potato's and will destroy the plants (but we have a no burn rule in effect???).
How far from that infected soil would I need to plant without concern in the next three years?
Any info or advice would be appreciated.

**camprn** 7/21/2012, 10:40 am

JOHN DOWNEY wrote:and now some of my tomato plans adjacent and down hill from the potato area are wilting. I don't see other signs of blight on the leaves and am not sure what to do with those plants and do not want it to spread to all my other adjacent tomato plants (which are different varieties from those wilting)?
I harvested all of the potato's and will destroy the plants (but we have a no burn rule in effect???).
How far from that infected soil would I need to plant without concern in the next three years?
Any info or advice would be appreciated.

If you have removed ALL the effected potatoes it should not be a problem. The winter will destroy the fungus. Can you burn in a barrel? You could bag up the affected leaves. As to your tomatoes prune all signs of blight out of your tomato patch.there are several
previous threads about blight that have more info.
previous

kbb964 7/21/2012, 10:50 am

My tomatoes are right next to the potatoes but in a separate bed/box. I have no signs of blight on tomatoes. I removed all leaves, foliage from the affected potatoes . Bagged in black trash and left in the sun to heat up ( this is recommended if you cannot burn. After a few days it should be safe to put out for regular trash pick up.

I left the potatoes in the soil medium for now.

My other potato tower looked like it had maybe a slight early blight which i seemed to have controlled by using a spray.... dam there goes the organic growth.

Looking good for now.

Apparently here in Michigan , the high temps and large downpours a few weeks back were prime conditions for allowing the blight to spread spores by air. blegh.

kbb964 7/21/2012, 10:52 am

Oh I also read one more thing IMPORTANT,
DO NOT put any potato peelings in the compost and DO NOT use store bought potatoes for seed or use these peelings in your compost. This can spread blight like wildflowers.

JOHN DOWNEY 7/21/2012, 11:00 am

Actually I went back out and ALL of my tomato plants have the mosaic yellow leaves at the bottom of the plants which I assume is the start of the blight working up the plant. When you say prune out, do you mean remove the entire plant or just the lower leaves that are turning? The plants that are wilted are wilted from top to bottom and the leaves are curling upwards?
I took some pics but am not clear how to upload them here?

boffer 7/21/2012, 12:27 pm

JOHN DOWNEY wrote:...I took some pics but am not clear how to upload them here?

Try these directions

https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t129-how-to-post-a-picture-located-on-your-computer

**camprn** 7/21/2012, 12:27 pm

It sounds like you have something else going on other than blight.

Look at this link. http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/DiagnosticKeys/TomLeaf/TomLeafKey.html

Another thing could be the chlorosis is caused by a nutrition deficiency of magnesium.

Curly top virus:
potato blight mel's mix Curlytop4

http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/TRA/PLANTS/curlytopvirus.shtml

Tomato mosaic virus:
potato blight mel's mix Tomato+mosaic+virus

http://gardenofeaden.blogspot.com/2009/08/how-to-control-mosaic-virus-on-tomatoes.html

Early blight:
potato blight mel's mix Early_blight_leaf_large

potato blight mel's mix Early_blight_leaf_large

http://www.extension.umn.edu/yardandgarden/ygbriefs/images/plantpath/colorslide/early_blight_leaf_large.jpg

Late blight:
potato blight mel's mix Late_blight_tomato_leaf3x1200

potato blight mel's mix Late_blight_tomato_leaf3x1200

http://www.longislandhort.cornell.edu/vegpath/photos/lateblight_tomato.htm

gregrenee88 7/21/2012, 12:29 pm

JOHN DOWNEY wrote:Actually I went back out and ALL of my tomato plants have the mosaic yellow leaves at the bottom of the plants which I assume is the start of the blight working up the plant. When you say prune out, do you mean remove the entire plant or just the lower leaves that are turning? The plants that are wilted are wilted from top to bottom and the leaves are curling upwards?
I took some pics but am not clear how to upload them here?

Hi John,
Check out https://squarefoot.forumotion.com/t129-how-to-post-a-picture-located-on-your-computer

I used this link when I first started on here too. I discovered using control C to copy & control V to paste worked on getting them to post.
Renee Cool

**camprn** 7/21/2012, 12:33 pm

John check out the links and photos I posted on the previous page. There may be something helpful there for you.

JOHN DOWNEY 7/21/2012, 2:51 pm

I'll check out the links you referenced and Renee thanks for the tip on the pic's!

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potato blight mel's mix

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Where did this wilt come from?

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The blight has decimated my potatos

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Thanks for the reply

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OK thanks

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