WARNING: Alberta Agriculture advises that Late Blight continues to be a risk for Tomato and Potato plants

Alberta Agriculture is alerting everyone to the continued risk of Late Blight.  This is a fungal infection that attacks tomatoes and potatoes primarily although it apparently can infect peppers, eggplants, and (surprise!) petunias.  

The disease is carried on live plant materials; we are advised to watch plants raised from potatoes seed and transplants purchased at garden centres, both of which could be carrying the fungus into Alberta from another location.  

A couple of years ago, Leona wrote a posting on the CampusRoots blog about Late Blight that included advice on what to look for as well as tips to practice good plant hygiene if you find it.   If you are further interested, you might want to check out the anxiety level about Late Blight on the Alberta Agriculture website (sorted by most recent postings first).   

On a personal note, a gardening buddy gave me some tomato seedlings last year that were healthy to the end of the season.  However, when she forwarded this alert to me a few days ago, she noted that she lost all her tomatoes last year to Late Blight; it must have come into her garden through some other vector.  

So the advice is to watch your plants and deal with the situation accordingly.

Gardener Orientation: Tuesday, 2014 April 22 @ 7pm in UofL AH116

The new Membership Cards for 2014 are ready for pickup!  Membership cards entitle members to 10% discounts on edible plants and seeds at selected local gardening centres. Come and get yours by attending the Gardeners Orientation for new and returning Campus Roots gardeners!

Orientation will be held on Tuesday, April 22 at 7pm in Anderson Hall, Room AH116.

All gardeners are required to attend this Orientation or make prior arrangements for an alternate orientation with the Membership Coordinator by contacting campusroots@uleth.ca.

Plot deposits and rental fees are due by April 22 (at the Orientation!).  Rentals not paid for by April 22 will be released to the waiting list of gardeners (and there is a waiting list!). Why?  Simply put, we need to have your commitment in order to be able to release available plots to our waiting list before the gardening season actually begins.  In the past, delays meant new gardeners could not take advantage of the full growing season and we think that is kind of unfair.

Requests for Roto-tilling will only be accepted at the Orientation.

SEED EXCHANGE!  We always purchase more seed than we need so bring along the extras and swap them with others.  Check out our Seed Exchange Guidelines for information about preparing your seeds for exchange.

Please note:  We are growing in numbers so to facilitate an orderly process in assigning available plots, no documentation will be accepted until the completion of the orientation.  You can amuse yourselves by exchanging seeds, signing up for work groups, and simply getting to know each other.