Stawberry Pots Forever

Important Update Tomato Late Blight Appears, See Post Below

Strawberries

June is strawberry month. Many small growers are reporting early, bumper crops. Mine are doing fantastic for the first year.
I received the plants, actually runners, from a friend who lives in a really tiny town about fifty miles away, Torpedo, Pennsylvania. It was late July last summer, a period hot and sultry weather, when he picked the runners, showed up at my door, and gave them to me. I didn't have much time to prepare.
But I did have an old aluminum pot of sorts, which use to be the housing for a large exhaust fan in some factory.
The "pot" was filled with a mixture of dirt and compost, watered, and the strawberries planted. They were  pretty much forgotten until this spring. I am uncertain which variety they are but I am going to find out. I never pinched blossoms and they grew and grew and every morning I am able to get a handful of great tasting berries. Everyone who passes by the "strawberry pot" grabs a few as well. They are abundant, large and sweet.
The runners I see now will be rooted and I am going to fill in some dead spaces in the pot; I only had a dozen plants, not quite enough to fill the pot. I might even build or find something similar to the old exhaust fan housing and begin a second strawberry pot.
As mentioned, the strawberries this year in many regions are plentiful. Buy from a local grower. And be sure to ask if they were sprayed with a pesticide. Buy local, buy organic. Strawberries are one crop which retains harmful pesticide residue even after washing and rank high on the Dirty Dozen List.
The list was complied by the Environmental Working Group and lists non-organic fruits and vegetables which likely contain high amounts of chemical pesticides.

The Damn Oil Leak and SolarDay

Oil continues to leak into the Gulf and is spreading. It is time to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, even if it means initially staring off with solar lights for the yard. June 19th is national SolarDay. Learn more about clean, renewable energy. Many states are offering rebates or similar programs for consumers who act to reduce fossil fuel usage.

Late Tomato Blight Re-appears!

There have been reports of the often always fatal late tomato blight appearing in several states. Last year, the blight destroyed hundreds of acres of commercial tomatoes and potatoes. Home vegetable growers really took a hit and many lost their entire crop.
Here is some information from last year: How to control late tomato blight
                                                             What is late tomato blight?

This is a really great resource from the U of Amerherst Mass. Be Prepared

Get the information out so gardeners are aware. Click the sharebutton, in this post,  for the opportunity to email this info. The more people know, the better for all. 

Special Note: Fellow blogger and Helium writer, Kathleen Richardson alerted me to the problems with feed burners and following with this blog. Hopefully, the problem (computers can be evil) is corrected. But if not, and your having some problems, let me know.
Kathleen writes On Your Way to the Top, New Yorks's Southern Tier, both listed below. Be sure to visit. She has recently updated her On Your Way to the Top and has added new material to New York"s Souther Tier, a travel destination. Kathleen is also a writer at Helium.

Good Blogs to Read

On Your Way to the Top

New York's Southern Tier

Urban Veggie Garden

Simply Snickers

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