Ron Rossini is a master gardener and realtor. In addition to presenting seminars at the Lee Valley store in London, Ontario, he has written for various gardening publications and appeared as a gardening expert on his local television station. In the latest Gardening Newsletter (v.6, no.3, June 2011) circulated by Lee Valley, he provides a list and description of both good bugs that you really do want to have visit your garden and the bad bugs that you need to control.
Of course, the best deterrent for the bad bugs is to not create the conditions that attract them in the first place. However, sometimes you get bad bugs (e.g., slugs) as a consequence of trying to garden more efficiently and responsibly (e.g., square foot gardening). While Rossini references the possibility of a chemical solution, he makes the point that chemical solutions come with their own consequences. The best response, in Rossini's opinion, is using natural remedies including among other things keeping the garden clean and tidy, planting to attract beneficial insects, creating the conditions to attract insect eating birds to your garden, companion planting to deter bad bugs, using non-toxic home-remedies, and plucking the pests as you find them.
Source: Rossini, R. (2011 June) Lee Valley Gardening Newsletter, 6 (3). Retrieved from http://www.leevalley.com/en/newsletters/Gardening/6/3/article2-6.htm on 2011 June 22.
2011-06-22
Green Thumb (Food Series) @ UofL Art Gallery, 2011 June 16 to September 8
Green Thumb is the first in a series of exhibitions presented by the University of Lethbridge Art Gallery running from June to December 2011 that will explore social and cultural issues related to food production, supply and consumption. The Food series will also include a public-site project, a publication and cross-disciplinary research and performance projects across the UofL campus. Green Thumb continues in the Helen Christou Gallery from July 29 – September 8, 2011.
As background, the University of Lethbridge has chosen "Food" as the theme of its public series (i.e., art, lectures, etc.) this year. Stay tuned for more interesting, informative events on this most important of topics.
As background, the University of Lethbridge has chosen "Food" as the theme of its public series (i.e., art, lectures, etc.) this year. Stay tuned for more interesting, informative events on this most important of topics.
2011-06-17
WORKSHOP on Garden Design, Wednesday, 2011 July 13 @ 7pm, UofL TH241
An attractive yard provides many benefits including increasing the value of a property, providing privacy, offering protection from the elements and more! Many factors need to be taken into account when designing a yard: budget, time spent in the yard and special needs.
Date: Wednesday, July 13
Time: 7:00pm
Location: TH241
Cost: Free to members of the CRCGA; $3 for non-members
2011-06-16
50Plus : Lifestyle : Top 10 gardening mistakes
Here is a nice quick list of things to watch out for when planning and planting and caring for your garden!
50Plus : Lifestyle : Top 10 gardening mistakes
50Plus : Lifestyle : Top 10 gardening mistakes
2011-06-09
Late Blight and your tomato and/or potato plants
2014-05-13: As an update to this article, readers are referred to current advice from the Potato Growers of Alberta regarding destruction and disposal of infected plants.
***************************************************************
The June 2011 issue of Gardens West, Prairie Edition had an interesting article written by Darlene Polachic about "Late Blight" -- an article I am moved to bring to your attention and to expand upon.
Late Blight or Phytophthora infestans is apparently a common fungal pathogen that was the root cause (no pun intended!) of the Potato Famine that took place in Ireland in the 1840s.
Late Blight attacks members of the Solanaceae family which includes some of our favourite warm weather crops. In fact, the primary hosts of Late Blight are tomatoes and potatoes but it can also affect eggplants, peppers, petunias and various weeds such as nightshade species and wild tomato.
Late Blight is experienced worldwide and is often seen on both the West and East coasts of Canada where cool, damp conditions prevail. Polachic notes that, because of our typically hot, dry climate, it is less common to experience Late Blight on the Prairies. HOWEVER, the rainy, cool summer of 2010 provided the exact conditions for Late Blight to manifest: temperatures = 15-20 degrees Celsius and frequent showers and/or heavy dews that contributed to a relative humidity of 90% or more. (Polachic, 2011) While that was then and this is now, Polachic references experts that advise that the large quantities of snow this past winter suggest a strong probability of Late Blight occurring. Indeed, Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development (Spencer, 2011) has issued an advisory to this effect noting that in 2010, Alberta suffered its first outbreak of Late Blight since 1993 and that it affected urban and market gardeners the worst.
Late Blight produces two spore types, sporangia and zoospores. Sporangia are formed on infected foliage and spread by wind and water. Zoospores form within a single sporangium and swim in films of water on the plant and in the soil to infect plant parts. The conditions described above can also be artificially created with the use of overhead and sprinkler irrigation. Under ideal conditions, spore formation can occur within 10 hours. Foliar materials (i.e., leaf material) is not required to foster spore production -- spore production can take place on whole tubers or cut seed potatoes and by dispersed by handling. Spores can spread in storage as well as in cull piles, undecomposed compost heaps, and in seed potato pieces. (Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development, 2011)
What do you look for? The first sign of trouble will be a dark, water-soaked area usually occurring at the margin of the leaves and moving in towards the centre. Lesions are not contained by leaf veins (unlike Early Blight) and young lesions may have a yellow edge or margin. Lesions usually turn brown or black in colour and may become brittle when they dry out. (Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development, 2011).
Polachic (2011) advises that you look for "white cottony growth on the underside of infected leaves." This is the spore formation. The disease will then advance down the stem turning the stem and petioles dark brown or black causing the plant to droop and the leaf canopy to have a "flagging" look.
Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development (2011) also notes that reddish-brown, irregular, sunken lesions may develop on the tomato fruit (usually on the shoulder of the fruit) or potato tuber (usually around the eyes) which Polachic (2011) describes as "slimy." She goes on to say that a potato may appear normal but once cut into, the flesh displays the characteristic reddish-brown rot. With tomatoes, however, the Blight displays on the shoulders of the fruit as reddish-brown lesions surrounded by yellowish halos. As the weather drys, the lesions will stop growing and turn brown and brittle.
(NOTE: here are some images of Late Blight infested potatoes and tomatoes. Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development also have some helpful images on their website.)
What do you do if you have Late Blight? Both Polachic and Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development advise that suspect plants should be pulled out immediately, bagged, removed from the garden and destroyed. While I might suggest you should NOT COMPOST diseased materials, Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development (2011) suggests composting is an option IF you can quarantine the infected material (either bagging it or covering it with a tarp) until it is frozen and the plant material has broken down fully.
Nearby plants, which may also be infected should be removed or, perhaps less drastically, monitored for signs of the disease. (Polachic, 2011)
Are there preventative measures to take? Polachic (2011) notes that the spores of Late Blight die in three hours of low humidity. Therefore, if the weather turns dry, the disease may be checked. However, she also provides the following advice for gardeners:
For potatos:
What else can you do? There is a apparently a gardening product called Serenade Garden that helps. The active ingredient is a bacteria called Bacillus subtilis which feeds on fungi. The advice around its use is to spray early and about every 10 days and ONLY AFTER the plant has reached the two-leaf stage (as anything younger will not survive). Another option is treating with copper spray which must be repeated every time it rains or the plants are watered.
As a side bar, in her article, Polachic points out some subtle differences between Late Blight and another gardener's nemisis, Early Blight:
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (2011 April) Late Blight of Potatoes and Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011 June 9 from http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/faq13559.
Polachic, D. (2011 June). "Will Late Blight strike again?" Gardens West (Prairie Edition), 25 (5), 64-66.
Spencer, R.C.J. (2011, April 8). AB Late Blight Awareness Initiative. Retrieved from http://organicalberta.org/organic-alberta-news/ab-late-blight-awareness-initiative.
***************************************************************
The June 2011 issue of Gardens West, Prairie Edition had an interesting article written by Darlene Polachic about "Late Blight" -- an article I am moved to bring to your attention and to expand upon.
Late Blight or Phytophthora infestans is apparently a common fungal pathogen that was the root cause (no pun intended!) of the Potato Famine that took place in Ireland in the 1840s.
Late Blight attacks members of the Solanaceae family which includes some of our favourite warm weather crops. In fact, the primary hosts of Late Blight are tomatoes and potatoes but it can also affect eggplants, peppers, petunias and various weeds such as nightshade species and wild tomato.
Late Blight is experienced worldwide and is often seen on both the West and East coasts of Canada where cool, damp conditions prevail. Polachic notes that, because of our typically hot, dry climate, it is less common to experience Late Blight on the Prairies. HOWEVER, the rainy, cool summer of 2010 provided the exact conditions for Late Blight to manifest: temperatures = 15-20 degrees Celsius and frequent showers and/or heavy dews that contributed to a relative humidity of 90% or more. (Polachic, 2011) While that was then and this is now, Polachic references experts that advise that the large quantities of snow this past winter suggest a strong probability of Late Blight occurring. Indeed, Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development (Spencer, 2011) has issued an advisory to this effect noting that in 2010, Alberta suffered its first outbreak of Late Blight since 1993 and that it affected urban and market gardeners the worst.
Late Blight produces two spore types, sporangia and zoospores. Sporangia are formed on infected foliage and spread by wind and water. Zoospores form within a single sporangium and swim in films of water on the plant and in the soil to infect plant parts. The conditions described above can also be artificially created with the use of overhead and sprinkler irrigation. Under ideal conditions, spore formation can occur within 10 hours. Foliar materials (i.e., leaf material) is not required to foster spore production -- spore production can take place on whole tubers or cut seed potatoes and by dispersed by handling. Spores can spread in storage as well as in cull piles, undecomposed compost heaps, and in seed potato pieces. (Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development, 2011)
What do you look for? The first sign of trouble will be a dark, water-soaked area usually occurring at the margin of the leaves and moving in towards the centre. Lesions are not contained by leaf veins (unlike Early Blight) and young lesions may have a yellow edge or margin. Lesions usually turn brown or black in colour and may become brittle when they dry out. (Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development, 2011).
Polachic (2011) advises that you look for "white cottony growth on the underside of infected leaves." This is the spore formation. The disease will then advance down the stem turning the stem and petioles dark brown or black causing the plant to droop and the leaf canopy to have a "flagging" look.
Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development (2011) also notes that reddish-brown, irregular, sunken lesions may develop on the tomato fruit (usually on the shoulder of the fruit) or potato tuber (usually around the eyes) which Polachic (2011) describes as "slimy." She goes on to say that a potato may appear normal but once cut into, the flesh displays the characteristic reddish-brown rot. With tomatoes, however, the Blight displays on the shoulders of the fruit as reddish-brown lesions surrounded by yellowish halos. As the weather drys, the lesions will stop growing and turn brown and brittle.
(NOTE: here are some images of Late Blight infested potatoes and tomatoes. Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development also have some helpful images on their website.)
What do you do if you have Late Blight? Both Polachic and Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development advise that suspect plants should be pulled out immediately, bagged, removed from the garden and destroyed. While I might suggest you should NOT COMPOST diseased materials, Alberta Agriculture & Rural Development (2011) suggests composting is an option IF you can quarantine the infected material (either bagging it or covering it with a tarp) until it is frozen and the plant material has broken down fully.
Nearby plants, which may also be infected should be removed or, perhaps less drastically, monitored for signs of the disease. (Polachic, 2011)
Are there preventative measures to take? Polachic (2011) notes that the spores of Late Blight die in three hours of low humidity. Therefore, if the weather turns dry, the disease may be checked. However, she also provides the following advice for gardeners:
For potatos:
- water your potato plants at the soil level as overhead watering will wash the spores into the soil where they will infect the tubers.
- water early in the day to allow the foliage to dry before evening.
- hill your potatoes to protect the tubers from infection -- tubers situated close to the soil surface are likely to be infected.
- discard any tubers that show greening.
- if you are not sure if your potatoes have been infected, then leave your potatoes in the ground for a week. If the infection is present, they will have rotted -- and then you will know for sure!
- Do NOT use potato tubers from infected plants as seed potatoes the following year -- use new seed potatoes. Late Blight can winter over on infected tubers and spread during storage.
- keep your tomatoes pruned and staked to allow airflow through the leaf canopy -- excessive vine growth and over-fertilizing invites Late Blight.
- if the fruit is red without blemishes, then the fruit is good to eat. Polachic notes that you can dip your fruit in a 10% bleach solution to kill surface spores but this solution will not work if the spores have already germinated.
- if the fruit is green and without blemishes, do not attempt to ripen them as they will simply rot. Polachic advises using them up immediately in your favourite green tomato recipe. (NOTE: I have eaten cooked green tomatoes and they are quite delicious.)
- Destroy (DO NOT COMPOST) the plant.
- Late Blight is not carried on tomato seeds (for the seed savers in the crowd) but it can be introduced on transplants.
What else can you do? There is a apparently a gardening product called Serenade Garden that helps. The active ingredient is a bacteria called Bacillus subtilis which feeds on fungi. The advice around its use is to spray early and about every 10 days and ONLY AFTER the plant has reached the two-leaf stage (as anything younger will not survive). Another option is treating with copper spray which must be repeated every time it rains or the plants are watered.
As a side bar, in her article, Polachic points out some subtle differences between Late Blight and another gardener's nemisis, Early Blight:
- Early Blight presents as lesions with concentric rings within the border of the lesion.
- the progression of Early Blight is blocked by the veins on the leaf.
- Early Blight can be on the plant for several weeks without causing damage.
Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development (2011 April) Late Blight of Potatoes and Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011 June 9 from http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/faq13559.
Polachic, D. (2011 June). "Will Late Blight strike again?" Gardens West (Prairie Edition), 25 (5), 64-66.
Spencer, R.C.J. (2011, April 8). AB Late Blight Awareness Initiative. Retrieved from http://organicalberta.org/organic-alberta-news/ab-late-blight-awareness-initiative.
WORKSHOP on Vermicomposting, Thursday, 2011 June 16 @ 7pm, UofL TH241
Here is the information on the first in our 2011 workshop series! We hope to see you there!
Vermicomposting is the practice of using worms to process our organic waste (fruit and vegetable scraps, newspaper, etc.) and turn it into a rich, natural soil enhancer.
This workshop will cover the basics of vermiculture and vermiposting. Dan Rollingson of Earthly Matters (www.earthlymatters.ca) will demonstrate how to build your own vermicomposter, discuss the benefits of vermicomposting, and go over some troubleshooting tips. You can expect to leave knowing more about worms than you ever thought possible and with an appreciation for how truly amazing and beneficial worms really are.
Date: Thursday, June 16
Time: 7:00pm
Location: TH241
Cost: Free to members of the CRCGA; $3 for non-members
Cheers,
Ashley
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