Is this potato blight?

[madonnaswimmer]

I am growing russet potatoes for the first time. I am growing them in a large container as per some instructions I read online.

I started them around 3 months ago from a store-bought potato (which may be the source of my problems) and everything had been going fine until about a week ago.

The leaves started turning yellow with brown specks. This progressed to those leaves falling off, and more appearing.

It cannot be sun scorching, as the plant is in part shade and I only water at the base of the container.

Is this potato blight? If so, is there anything I can do?

[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/Jun182012040.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/Jun182012039.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/Jun182012041.jpg[/img]

[img]https://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a360/madonnaswimmer/Jun182012038.jpg[/img]

[DoubleDogFarm]

Could they be at the end of their life cycle? Most potatoes fall in between 90 and 110 day maturity.

What variety are they?

Eric

[madonnaswimmer]

Hmm-- I suppose they could be, given that time range. I guess I wasn't expecting them so early! Maybe I should have started later...

If they are mature, then what?

I remember being told to wait until the plant dies, then dig the potato up and let it sit in the open air for 2-3 days before storing. Is this correct? Once the plant dies, do I need to wait before harvesting?

[DoubleDogFarm]

I would do a little snooping first. Start at the edge of the container and dig down. Work your way toward the stem. Are there any tubers? If there are and you like the size, you could just cut the plants off at ground level. Wait a week or more and then dig up or dump out the potatoes. Leaving them in the ground for a week or more toughens the skin. Better for storage. Not needed if eaten fresh. You could also just wait until the plant dies all the way down, then pull.

Eric

[madonnaswimmer]

Ok, thanks for the advice.

On the flip side, if I do a little snooping and the potatoes aren't there or aren't big enough yet, is there anything I can do?

[Northernfox]

Not sure if this will help but I had potato bugs last year. To fight it I got a bag of lady bugs from my local greenhouse and wow did they ever do the job. This year right before I got them last year I let the lady bugs go as a pre-emotive strike and have had no issues

[nancygene]

I am grateful for the posted pics of the potato plants. Mine are looking the same way and I was worried they may be infested with a disease or something. It was really making me feel like my hard garden work was going to be all for nothing. It breaks your heart when you put that much into a garden, only to have it go to waste. Thanks to the many that post their pictures and share their knowledge. We that know less about gardening are very appreciative of those that do.