Grow Your Own Magazine

I have grown my potatoes and tomatoes in containers this year. The potatoes were in the early stages of blight and I harvested them as new potatoes and it seems that my tomatoes are heading the dreaded B word direction too!

But my question is, would it be okay to tip that compost into my garden? Just on the flowers not on any crops or anything. My garden is divided into 2 distinct sections so there would be no fear of the dirt getting onto my veg patch.

Or do I need to dispose of the dirt totally??? Surely it would be okay on the flowers?

Have I actually managed to fox the knowledgeable grapes

Or am I just driving everyone mad with stupid questions now... *slinks away head down in shame*

Hi Curvey Vixen,

I started to reply yesterday, then thought do I really know the answer? probably not!!

I would think (as a novice) not to use the compost elsewhere as the spores are airborne and could easily move around.

If this is not the case I would be glad to know as I have been getting rid of my compost, just in case.

I will wait to hear what the others say...........

Mandy

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Blight survives in infected plant material. This is how it over-winters. It is generally considered that potato tubers are the main source of re-infection.

Make sure that all the tubers (however small) and foliage, are disposed of properly.

Use the compost on the garden, there should be no problem.

place my blighted potato or tomatoes go and thats onto a bonfire. The same gopes for anything with rust, it will just lurk there waiting to come back and haunt you if you compost it as your bin will never get hot enough to destroy it.

Play safe, burn it or put it in your dustbin or green waste bin.

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Kindest regards, David.

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updated - Sunday 19th at 2100hrs

I haven't got a compost bin yet as I have the whole of my mother's garden 'lodging' in mine until she moves house so have no space!

So I was going to tip it straight into the garden onto existing flower beds...far away from the veg plot!

I am sure that is fine.

Oh well, I've put all mine on the compost heap, we've no collections of material from the allotments and are asked not to have bonfires, what else are we supposed to do with it all. I'm hoping the chicken poo will help, it does get the bins hot enough to have steam rising off them and often too hot to comfortably rest the hand on the dalek.
Sue

Sue - the only option is to take it to the local dump/ green waste centre. But you need a car, of course. I have a garden, and no car, so I have to put it in the main bin, or get someone to take it to the tip for me. It's a pain, that's for sure. Sounds like your compost heap is really doing it's thing, though, which is great - mine only gets warm.

Blight spores (sporangia) have a typical life span of between 2 and 11 weeks in soil, where they remain "alive" and potentially infective. Therefore, provided you leave your compost aside for 2-3 months before using it again, it should be fine.

Tubers left behind in the ground (obviously not a problem in container grown spuds) is much more dangerous for initiating blight in the following year.

You should feel assured of using your used compost in your vegetable patch without any significant risk.

hope this helps,

I asked Geoff Stebbings about this a few weeks ago at a flower show & he said that it would be O.K. to spread the used compost around the garden or put it in the compost bin/heap after you have removed the blighted plants as the blight spores would be on the plant material in the case of tomatoes. I didn't ask specifically about potatoes but if the blight hasn't washed down into your tubers I would think the compost would be fine & even if it has if you remove all trace of the tubers/roots etc. it should be O.K.Geoff just said don't use the used compost for or near toms/potatoes for now.

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