Deadly Late Blight Emerges

Late tomato blight appears to be re-emerging again this growing season as mentioned in the last past. Some of the latest cases have been discovered in Connecticut. However, other previous cases have also been confirmed in other east coast states: Pennsylvania and Delaware.For the latest updates, check , here ;this is an excellent update with good information. It could be another bad year.

The blight, not harmful to humans is deadly to tomatoes and potatoes. Diseased plants need to be destroyed as soon as possible. Late blight can spread very quickly from neighborhood to neighborhood, state to state.

There are some commercial organic sprays which can be used but they must be applied by the fungal diseases arrives. Some claim that home made remedies can also be helpful such as manure tea and a baking soda spray. Mulch can be helpful for other tomato diseases but is not a cure for late blight. Staking tomatoes is also a good garden practice to help eliminate other tomato diseases, but will not thwart the late blight.

Currently, all tomato varieties can be infected; however, there have been claims that some varieties show more resistance than others. This could vary from region to region and one control measure is to keep posted with county agricultural and garden organizations.

All potatoes eventually succumb to the disease and seed potatoes from last year can harbor the fungus. It is hard but best to destroy saved seed potatoes; however, if the blight was present last year, chances are the seed potatoes are infected. Likewise, it is important to dig and destroy any volunteer potato seedlings sprouting in the garden from last year.

For more information: What to do when Tomato Blight Strikes.

                                     How to control tomato blight.

The Topsy Turvy Fad

Pictured is my topsy turvy tomato plant which seems to be growing quite well, at least as good as the same plants in the ground. It is a Roman Speckled Tomato variety which is an attractive tomato shaped similar to a large Roma.These hanging baskets are easy make at home for next to no cost. These plants were started on Earth Day, April 20th; most went in the ground around May 20th.

The late blight had better stay away!

I also started a topsy turvy jalapeno which is slower than the tomato but growing perhaps better than the plants in the ground. Read more on how to do this at home with little or no expense.
On the top of the tomato hanging basket, I planted basil which just germinated about a week ago. They can be seen growing already.

The Jalapeno Experiment 

On the top of the jalapeno basket I planted some dwarf dahlias, Unwins Mix. They were old seeds from several years ago. They were really nice plants but I didn’t use the entire seed pack and saved them. They were just planted a couple days ago so we’ll give them another week or so and see what happens.

Garlic Scape

The garlic scapes appeared this week. Scapes are odd, twisty seedheads which appear on hardneck varieties. Most growers clipped the scape in order to send energy to the growing bulb. It is believed the bulb grows larger. Scapes are delicious eating and can be used in just about anything. Theyare great chopped and added to hamburg just before grilling.

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The Big Garden

Yike. It is a lot of work but others are involved but somehow it seems I am the working it most. But that’s not a problem. It is an isolated spot away from a lot of noise and confusion.

This year we are trying watermelon. It might be a tad late; the seed package claims eighty days.That would be sometime in mid-September and usually a frost will hold off for another four weeks, maybe mid-October.
Now to stay ahead of the weeds with hoes....

Just a cool photo - at least I thought so

Working the big garden sometimes means not taking care of the other smaller garden and missing some of the magic.

Good Blogs to Read

On Your Way to the Top

Urban Veggie Garden

New York’s Southern Tier

Simply Snickers