Join our New Crowdfund Project

Why not participate in getting a new, blight resistant potato developed?  You can become a Cheerleader and tell your contacts about the project or you can contribute as little as £10 to help us get the project started.  Those contributing more money can get their hands dirty growing this new Crow (short for Crowdfunded) spud or test some of them in the kitchen and send us your results.  We will have a Potato Day for the Crowd sometime in March when you can visit us at Henfaes Research Centre and hear all about our progress and plans.  We aim to raise £5000 over 100 days.  Please help us.

Potato Blight on Gardeners Question Time this week

If plot had bad blight this year, can the soil be cleaned of blight and how soon can I plant potatoes again?

Answer was: Spores wash into soil.  Wait 3 years before replanting.  Always bin or burn diseased foliage.
Hmm....
Actually, spores quickly die off in soil unless they infect a new potato tuber.  You could plant potatoes in the same plot the following year and you would not get blight.  However, if any tubers left in soil at harvest get infected then the blight can (low probability) survive and grow into the volunteer plant the following year. Replanting will  encourage any potato cyst nematodes in the soil and certain other diseases will be promoted so it is always better to rotate.

No need to bin/burn blighted foliage for same reason.  The pathogen needs a living host to survive and will not survive in the compost heap or even in foliage left to rot on the soil surface.

There are very very rare exceptions to the above that need not worry the grower.