Minimising Blight Risk

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How do I avoid potato blight?

There are a number of things you can do to reduce the instance of potato blight from the type and variety of potato you grow to good garden hygiene and finally damage limitation when it does hit.

Non-chemical control

Growing early varieties

Blight is most common in July and August so growing early varieties which are harvested before blight arrives allow you to avoid the disease. You will need to grow early potatoes for immediate use rather than maincrop potatoes for storage.

Allotment Hygiene

Make sure all potatoes are removed from the soil at the end of the season, this can be difficult as some very small tubers can be difficult to find.
Avoid dumping infected potatoes near your plot.
Potatoes from the previous season growing on a compost heap are a common source of infection in many allotments so try to keep a potato free heap.
Blight is spread by the wind, so removal of infected plants and debris is essential, burn it or remove from site.

Chemical Sprays:

All of the sprays available to the amateur grower are really only preventative measures.
Bordeaux Mixture
Baking Soda mixed with vegetable oil with water
Bayer Garden Fruit and Vegetable Disease Control
Recent studies have indicated that spraying tomato plants with a diluted asprin solution tricks the tomatoes defence mechanism into toughning the leaves and stems making them 47% less likely to be effected by blight. This also managed to make fruit sweeter and higher in vitamins too.

Category: Recipes

Baked Salmon & Asparagus with Jersey Royal's

Tasty and so easy to make, great dinner party dish or a cracking family treat, and a healthy dish too especially if like me you have an Asparagus Bed or two!.

Oca or Potato Homity Pie Recipe

Homity Pie

Homity pie is a traditional British open vegetable pie. The pastry case traditionally contains a filling of potatoes and an onion and leek mixture, which is then covered with cheese. It has a history that dates back to the efforts of the Land girls of the Second World War and the restrictions imposed by wartime rationing.

Filo Pie with Swiss Chard, Ricotta Cheese and Tomatoes

Filo Pie with Swiss Chard, Ricotta Cheese, and Tomatoes

Stuck for an idea for how to use Chard, well why not try this dish?

Category: The Growing Season

The Growing Season

The Growing Season varies in different parts of the United Kingdom, but in Hatfield Peverel we are blessed with a milder climate and enjoy a longer season than many parts of the country.

In this section of the web site I have tried to separate the season out into monthly sections to help and guide you through the most popular tasks and crops regularly grown on the allotment site, but if you would like a feature made of a particular vegetable or task, please get in touch and I will do my best to add it to the web site for you.

Jobs to do in August

Harvest should be bountiful and the allotment is in full swing

August is the month of plenty, virtually everything you planted and sown will be giving you a crop, daily trips to the plot are recommended this month, harvesting, watering, and weeding all needing doing this month!

Jobs to do in June

Summer should be here!

Usually the risk of frost has passed by now, and with longer days there comes more sunshine and time to be in your allotment. If the weather is dry, then water your seed drills well before sowing any seeds – this way the young plants will develop a good root system.

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