Archive for the ‘Vegetables’ Category
Keep an Eye out for Two Tomato Trouble Makers
Monday, July 26th, 2010
Blossom End Rot
Blossom end rot looks like the bottom of the tomato is rotting away. The bottom is shrunken and black.
Blossom-end rot is a physiologic disorder associated with calcium. Calcium is required for normal cell growth. When a rapidly growing fruit is deprived of necessary calcium, the tissues break down, leaving sunken lesion at the blossom end. Blossom-end rot is induced when demand for calcium exceeds supply. This may result from low calcium levels, drought stress, excessive soil moisture fluctuations as well as rapid, vegetative growth due to excessive nitrogen. This reduces uptake and movement of calcium into the plant.
Simply, it is a lack of calcium & a watering problem. The plant needed calcium at some point in its development of the fruit and there wasn’t enough water to transport the calcium up to the fruit. So this condition develops.
The solution is to fertilize with Calcium (FOLI-CAL) and be consistent with your watering.
Monterey FOLI-CAL
Tomato Cracking
Cracking of the skins is mostly a problem of inconsistent watering or water availability. The plants take it up and grow too quickly for the skins to expand. It mostly seems to happen when you water after a dry spell.
The solution is to water more thoroughly and more consistently. You will get more consistency and far fewer cracks.
-By Maggie Oldfield Thayer Nursery
Six Tips for Dealing with Tomato Blight
Monday, July 19th, 2010
At this time of year, there are three kinds of “tomato blight” that you’re likely to see in your garden.
Blight One: Septoria Leaf Spot
Septoria Leaf Spot is the most common blight, and it appears roughly around the end of July and starts out as small round black or brown rotting marks on the lowest leaves. It works its way up the plant to hit all the leaves but it starts from the bottom first. You will still get fruit if you have this problem.
Blight Two: Early Blight
Early Blight is the second most regularly seen tomato blight. It usually appears about the same time as the Septoria but it has concentric target-shaped marks, the spots on the leaves look like targets with circles within circles. This tomato blight spreads all over the plant and you will still get fruit but the crop will be reduced.
Blight Three: Late Blight
Late Blight is the least common of these tomato blights. It appears later than the previous two and the first symptoms you will see are watery type lesions on the lower leaves. If you get this one, you won’t have to ask what you have because the elapsed time from the time you first see it to the time the plant wilts and dies is about a week. If your tomato plants simply shrivel up and die with big brown spots on the leaves and it seems to happen overnight, your plants are suffering from Late Blight.
What Can Be Done
Generally if you’ve already seen the problem, there’s not a lot you can do. A preventative organic spray of Lime-Sulphur or Serenade mix will slow down the spread of Septoria and Early Blight but the real key is in the prevention of the problem. The cure rests in good gardening techniques rather than any kind of magic spray.
Mulch
Mulching will reduce the stress on the plant and it will prevent “splash-back” from the ground to lower leaves during rainstorms. The lower leaves on tomato plants tend to be dirt splashed because rain or irrigation tends to splash dirt up. This dirt can contain the spores for blight.
Rotate Crop
Do not plant any crop in the same place more than one year. Planting in the same spot from year to year is simply an invitation to problems. Spores build up in the soil and there’s little you can do to prevent them from using your tomatoes as a food source.
Don’t Water At Night
Do not water in the evening. You want your leaves to be dry going into the evening. Damp leaves & dark conditions are ideal for spore starting and keeping those leaves dry is the way to keep them healthy.
Do Not Crowd
You really do need to space tomato plants apart. Staking the plants and giving them at least two square feet each is the best way to keep the leaves dry. Also prune off the lower leaves. This lets the air and sunlight into the fruit and it also reduces watersplash.
Don’t Compost
The average composter does not get hot enough to kill the overwintering spores so the best thing you can do is bag up the waste.
If you see a branch with a problem, prune it out immediately. Do not let it sit on the plant to infect all other parts of the plant. Also, pull out any weeds from around your plants – they reduce air circulation, suck up nutrients and can act as a host for tomato blight.
Select Disease Resistant Plants
If you have a problem with tomato blight, plant cultivars with disease resistance. Look for letters after the name of the plant that might say “V” for verticillium resistant, or “F” for fusarium resistant. While not specifically blight resistant, they do have better overall resistance to tomato blight problems than those without those initials.
-By Maggie Oldfield Thayer Nursery
5 Tips for an Outrageous Vegetable Garden
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010
LOCATION
Choose the sunniest location in your yard. Most edible plants prefer 6 or more hours of sun. Placing a SUN STICK in your yard will help determine the best location.
SOIL PREPARATION
The key ingredient to a great veggie garden is soil. Put some extra effort into preparing your beds before planting and you will save time and effort in the future. Dig the bed up to break up compacted soil and add ORGANIGRO compost with VERMICULITE to improve drainage. Adding MAG-I-CAL with humates encourages microbial soil life and attracts and increases the population of earthworms. ACTINO-IRON is a biological soil additive that helps prevent early blight as well as contain iron to enhance root development and plant vitality.
CROP SELECTION
Base your selection on what your family likes to eat. For example, plant several varieties of tomatoes, one for munching (CHERRY), one for cooking (ROMA), one for slicing (BIG BOY) and one for conversation (ZEBRA). Don’t forget the some herbs (basil, oregano, cilantro & rosemary.)
WATER
Vegetables need a bit of extra care when it comes to watering. Consistent watering will produce successful results. If you have a large garden, you may want to consider a soaker hose. This will ensure that your plants get an even watering without getting the leaves wet. All you have to do is remember to turn on the hose!
SUMMER CARE
Fertilizing consistently with NEPTUNE’S HARVEST every 2-3 weeks will give your garden the additional boost it needs to ensure a bountiful crop.
Notes:
Low soil moisture combined with high humidity levels at the plant surface favors disease growth. BI-CARB OLDFASHIONED FUNGICIDE is an organic contact fungicide that disrupts the potassium ion balance in the fungus cell, causing the cell walls to collapse.
Spraying with FOLI-CAL Calcium will help prevent and treat plant disorders associated with calcium deficiency & complement good soil fertility by supplying nutrients directly to the foliage and fruit of crops during critical growth stages (blossom end rot on tomatoes, peppers & melons.)
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