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Angels in My Garden Week 26 June 29, 2010
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Hello Fellow Gardeners, How are your tomato plants doing? Mine have lots of flowers and are starting to get tomatoes but, unfortunately, one of them has developed the dreaded "early blight." Early blight is a fungus that first shows up as yellow leaves at the bottom of the plant. The leaves eventually wither and fall off as the disease progresses up the plant. Preventive measures include mulching around the tomato plants, staking them so they don't lay on the ground and cutting off the lowest branches (1/4 to 1/3 of the plant). All of these measures are to prevent the leaves and stems from coming in contact with the soil which is where the fungus comes from. To treat a tomato plant with blight, remove all the affected leaves and dispose of them away from the garden. Spray the plant(s) with an organic fungicide, preferably biodynamic preparation #508. Make sure you don't plant tomatoes in the same space for the next few years as the fungus remains in the soil. I recently learned that tomato cages or stakes should also be disinfected before re-using them. I hope you never have to deal with this problem but I've heard it said that if you grow tomatoes, you will eventually have to deal with tomato blight. A
few more tomato tips: Although we've had quit a bit of rain lately in western PA we will most likely have some hot dry weather ahead. Make sure you give your tomatoes the water they need. Some gardeners believe it's okay to let them wilt between irrigations but the organic strategy discourages this as it stresses the plants and violates the organic principle of steady growth. There's a lot of discussion about whether or not you should prune, i.e, remove “suckers” from, your tomato plants. Suckers are side shoots that appear in the crotch between the main stem and a branch. Some gardeners never prune their tomato plants. If left to grow, suckers will become another main stem and grow flowers, fruits and their own suckers. Un-pruned tomato plants with a lot of suckers will grow more tomatoes but they will not be as large as the fruit of a pruned plant. One option is to leave two or three suckers. This is one of those gardening things where your intuition will be your guide. When you have ripe tomatoes try to remove as many as you can before a rain storm as they may get too much water during the storm and crack. Reflection: "To lift your eyes to heaven When all mens' eyes are on the ground, Is not easy. To worship at the feet of the angels When all men worship only fame and riches, Is not easy. But the most difficult of all Is to think the thoughts of the angels, To speak the words of the angels,
So take a big bite out of your homegrown tomato, lift your eyes to heaven and you will not only think pleasant thoughts, you will think the thoughts of the angels. Until next week, Peace be with you, Rose Mirabai Lord
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