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| Black Krim tomatoes in the field with signs of Late Blight |
Ah, my tomatoes are loaded on the vine. I happily walk down the rows
counting the bounty, dreaming of canning, and eating fresh tomato
sauce. I actually long for the sign of eating too many tomatoes - canker sores
in my mouth. I love eating and cooking with fresh tomatoes. Alas, just
as some are starting ripen and what do I see but brown crispy leaves
near the bottom of the plant. (I have been trellising the tomatoes and
often I break a branch or two and the leafhopper with it's hopperburn
has affected so many crops.) However, our farm manager, Matt, points it
out and says that he thinks it is Late Blight. As he says it, I know.
I have seen it before. Brown on the stems and leaves, that moves up the plant and onto the fruit. Not all the
plants have it just a section of the 450 plants. Although if I do not
get the affected plants out of the field, it will spread throughout and beyond.
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| Fruit removed and plants to be put out with the trash |
This cloudy, moist, humid weather is conducive to the fungus spreading.
My spraying of copper helped in that the whole field is not affected.
So,
instead of harvesting ripe, luscious tomatoes, I am pulling the green
fruit off and stuffing the plant into contractor- garbage bags to put in
the trash at home. Also, I remove the stakes and twine and set the
pile aside to bring to the house for burning. This is the last thing, I
had hoped to be doing. Thus far, I have removed 52 plants.
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| What the rows look like on August 1 |
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What does this mean for my CSA shareholders? ...Sadly, less tomatoes and
less variety. I was growing Pink Beauty, San Marzano and the heirlooms
of a Rose Brandywine, Black Krim, Red Pear Piriform, orange-colored
Nepal and Cherokee Purple. As a backup, I grew one variety of 36 plants
that is Late-Blight-resistant and the cherry tomatoes may have some
resistance. We shall see.
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