To my gardening friends

[tamidon]

There's been alot in the news about tomato late blight fungus. If you are growing tomatoes this year you need to look out for it. If you get it on your tomatoes you can't toss the plants into your compost bin as that will just give the fungus somewhere to grow over the winter. Bag and toss all affected plants and any tomatoes that show any signs.

I'm gonna have to buy shipped tomatoes this year if I want to have any salsa for the year:-(

Comments

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

The tomato version is airborne - a fungus. It can spread from handling of infected material or proximity. Home gardeners are likely safer if they've hand-raised their crops, as you said, but Tamar's farmer didn't get his tomato plants from a big box store, or even a factory GH, I'm betting.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

Yes, sorry about that. It's true. Also if you have multiple gardens (like me!) you can risk spreading it from one garden to another on tools, gloves, shoes, etc.

I was thinking more about small, self-contained gardens, which have a far lower risk.

[fidgetmonster.livejournal.com]

I am often very bad about remembering to clean my tools between clients. A bottle of rubbing alcohol or baby wipes in the car helps. In a greenhouse environment we're taught sanitation is extremely important, just like in a hospital. It can be easy to be lazy because it's sort of counterintuitive: clean+soil !=sanitary.

[desiringsubject.livejournal.com]

True! But on the upside, you can usually sneeze all you want on your plants and they'll be fine!