Potato Disease? Need Help :(

[Stacey516]

Hi there

It's our first time growing potatoes and there were doing great and about a week ago.

The leaves started spotting, turning brown and curling. Also, there seem to be little flying bugs around them.

Is there anything, natural, we can do to save them? How does this impact the potatoes?

Thanks
Stacey

 

[zigs]

Welcome to the forum

It's either aphid damage or magnesium deficiency. For the aphids you can spray with soapy water (not in direct sunlight)

For the magnesium, give them some tomato feed.

 

[headfullofbees]

Spray with aspirin at 200mg/litre, and Epsom salts at 50g/litre both sides of the leaves as much as practicable. This will help against both fungal disease and magnesium deficiency.
Often, in the past, when I have had little black spots on the foliage of potatoes or tomatoes, it has been due to too much water, as we get a LOT of rain in NW England.
How's the weather been?

 

[DirtMechanic]

Its probably a minor thing about aspirin. Where aspirin is acidic and that ph impacts fungi I would modify that suggestion to something like a vinegar spray. While I was reading on phytohormones, I came across the description of aspirin acting as two separate hormones, one which was auxin-like, but the other was more like absicic acid, a hormonal trigger for dormancy, such as leaf loss and seed dormancy. I never got to deep into that area because the point is there are other similiar options for fungi. I know a little will not affect my garden via experience, as I was using as much as 4 asprin per gallon chasing powdery mildew. It worked as long as the powder remained on the plant. Silicones used in hydroponics are mixed with ion neutral seed oils and used as spreader stickers to help it hang around longer.

 

[headfullofbees]

No. Aspirin works in solanaceae as a primer of the plants defences, because it is similar in structure to the salicylic acid response of the plants.

Gardens: drug therapy for plants | James Wong

How aspirin and cinnamon can help stave off infections and boost root growth

www.theguardian.com

Problems growing tomatoes? Feed them ASPIRIN say scientists to fight disease and boost yield

Growing tomatoes has given gardeners a headache for generations. But now it seems there is an effective cure for blight, wilt and all manner of pests and diseases - and it was lurking in the medicine cabinet all along.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[DirtMechanic]

Yes I was enthused about that aspect of aspirin and started using it.