Thursday, August 13, 2009

The Good and the Bad


Almost all tomato plants in our area have been severely damaged by blight. They all apparently were started by a large wholesaler who distributed them to many outlets in the Northeast. The blight spreads by spores, over-winters in the soil, and as you can see, is devastating.

Despite spraying with a germacide at the first sign of disease, we were not able to save our crop. We planted some 48 plants and will have virtually no harvest. We have learned that in a good year it makes sense to put up extra sauce and whole tomatoes. (....sounds like an Aesop fable!) We have done this in the past and have enough in the canning cupboard to get through the winter.




Our corn crop looks good. In this picture you can see the actual fertilization process, as tassle pieces from the top of the plant have fallen to land on the corn silk of the developing ear.







We have built our usual electrified fence around the corn planting to keep the raccoons at bay. We like this example of corn silk because it looks very much like an auburn hair wig!!

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