Those of us who live in the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic need to enjoy our tomatoes while we can. A fungus called late blight—a strain of which caused the Irish potato famine—is rapidly destroying loads of crops. You may want to check the tomatoes you're growing in your yard...
According to an article we just read in The New York Times, small outbreaks of late blight aren't uncommon this time of year, but the heavy June rains have made the fungus exceptionally aggressive. Organic farmers who can't use heavy pesticides to help stop it have had to destroy large sections of their crops.
Chef Dan Barber said that half the year's tomato plants at Stone Barns in upstate New York have been lost. We've been overjoyed to get good New Jersey tomatoes earlier than normal this year, but now we're realizing that there might not be another wave coming in August and September. Or, at least, we'll be paying much more for them.
• Read the article: Outbreak of Fungus Threatens Tomato Crop, from The New York Times
Apparently, the outbreak spread from plants sold at big box retailers across the country. Many of those plants ended up in backyards and container gardens, so you should be on the lookout if you're growing your own.
The article reads: "Authorities recommend that home gardeners inspect their tomato plants for late blight signs, which include white, powdery spores; large olive green or brown spots on leaves; and brown or open lesions on the stems. Gardeners who find an affected plant should pull it, seal it in a plastic bag and throw it away, not compost it."
Any gardeners had experience with late blight? Have you seen prices of tomatoes going up in your area?
Related: 10 Inspiring Gardens for Growing Food in Small Spaces
(Image: Flickr member photofarmer, licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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My gorgeous heirloom tomato plants began dying of blight two weeks ago--maybe three--and my beautiful growing brandywines were the first casualties. We got 1 whole cherry tomato off of our nine plants. Though we bought ours at a local organic farm, they were in the community garden--I noticed well before ours died that others were turning black and the tomatoes were turning brown. It was only a matter of time before it spread to my corner.
If only we had tomatoes to look at! Our plants aren't producing nearly as much as they were this time last year, and tomatoes are yet to be found in our farmer's market. It's got me in a tomato depression I am missing my summer tomato fix big time.
mine also are sick ... with what i thought was powdery mildew. the lack of strong sun/heat coupled with rampant humidity in chicago has doomed them, i'm pretty sure. :(
is there any safe way to destroy the plants that does not involve throwing them away in a plastic bag (not green!)? can i burn them or something?
I AM NOT HAPPY WITH THIS!!
Emily
Don't burn them, that will carry the disease in the air.
I planted mine in two different batches and the leaves on the first batch have almost all gone crisp and fallen off. The fruits are still OK, although I have had to remove some of the more recently set fruit that had leathery brown patched on it. They are taking forever to ripen, I don't know if that is the blight of lack of heat. I started spraying all my plants with Serenade fungicide (blight is a fungus so pesticides won't help) and I hope that saves them until I can get all the fruit off the vine. Serenade is considered organic, so if you can find it, spray away. It can't hurt.
Because of our cool evenings and damp weather, we historically have had problems with late blight affecting tomatoes late in the season (usually borne by rain). I've always grown my own tomato plants from seed, so have never had a problem early in the season. One of the solutions to minimize the airborne/waterborne transfer of blight sports is to plant your tomatoes under cover and only water from the bottom. I have all mine in the greenhouse, or under the eaves in the patio, all on a drip irrigation system. No problems since I've been doing this.