Comments for Little Homestead in the City

Comment on BLIGHT! by Mary Hysong

Mary Hysong — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 01:53:53 +0000

It’s hard for me to tell sometimes if the plant has an actual disease or a nutrient deficiency. Either way I think the best thing is of course lots of variety, that way you are covered because _something_ always does well, no matter what kind of year you are having.

Comment on BLIGHT! by ce

ce — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 23:43:43 +0000

Here in the Pacific Northwest late blight comes every year. It is carried on the wind. Even if you start your own plants it will eventually find you. Some years it comes early and we lose the crop. In our area it is a challenge to ripen tomatoes. We get most of them in august or some years not till almost september. But we have an abundance of brassica, greens, berries and pom fruit. They seem to grow themselves not matter what type of year we have.

Comment on BLIGHT! by girlgroupgirl

girlgroupgirl — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 20:33:54 +0000

I have lost all my tomatoes purchased from a single source (not a big box store but a charitable organization) - that source used a variety of seeds, however the soil was mixed with compost. I suspect that last year some diseased material ended up in a compost pile that did not burn hot enough. Every single tomato from that purchased lot has had to be removed from the garden, now I am seeing problems with some of the peppers and eggplants!
Seeing problems on a tomato very early on, I started more of my own seeds so I can plant elsewhere for late crops…but there are no more eggplant
I’ve spent a few days pruning tomatoes so that we can get a good harvest in our communities gardens without spreading more disease.

Comment on BLIGHT! by mavis

mavis — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 17:47:31 +0000

This is why I think it is so important to learn how to grow your own food (starting from seed)……you never know what can happen.

Comment on BLIGHT! by Deb

Deb — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:57:12 +0000

Makes me glad we started our plants from seed in January!

Comment on BLIGHT! by Meadowwood Garden

Meadowwood Garden — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:06:55 +0000

So far we have been spared any signs of blight in Central Ohio. It has been a challenging season due to other factors — mainly consistent rain as mentioned in the article you linked. We ended up with Tomato Leaf Curl early in the season due to overwatering. We stopped supplemental watering totally a couple weeks ago and the tomatoes have taken off again like they are in a race!

Our eggplants got eaten up as soon as they went into the ground. Just now they are recovering and sporting new growth but they are about 1/4th the size of everyone else’s.

Striped Cucumber Beetles showed up very early and have been hanging around. We don’t want to spray so we are dealing the best we can — so far the zucchini and yellow squash is unaffected and the cucumbers are growing nicely too. Soon the dreaded Squash Bugs should make an appearance and that will pretty much end the squash/cucumber season.

Last, Japanese Beetles were a little early and are just now beginning to ramp up big. So far we have kept them to reasonable levels in the garden by handpicking them daily. The birch trees and wild grapevines are another story though — complete devastation in pockets on the property.

But back to the main question — the only really abnormal thing so far this season is the steady rain and cooler than normal temperatures. Overall I’d say the garden is about 2-3 weeks behind last year due to the weather. We will definitely be keeping an eye out for any signs of blight or other diseases.

Comment on BLIGHT! by Laura @ Laura Williams' Musings

Laura @ Laura Williams' Musings — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:52:56 +0000

Your “Read full article” link isn’t coded right. It doesn’t work.

Thanks though for the information. Off to find out more.

Comment on FREEDOM HARVEST CHALLENGE by Matushka

Matushka — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:48:26 +0000

I would like to be included in the freedom Harvest I Dig My Dinner

Comment on 100 FOOT DIET CHALLENGE LAUNCH by Matushka

Matushka — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:37:49 +0000

I would like to be included in the 100 Foot Challenge.

Comment on BACK TO BASICS: HARVEST KEEPERS by Matushka

Matushka — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:33:34 +0000

I wish to br included in the Back to Basics Harvest Keepers Challenge.