Tomato/potato lovers pay heed...

Hey folks.  Bad news for all those who love juicy, delicious tomatoes and hearty potatoes; LATE BLIGHT is in town!  Late blight is an extremely vigorous and destructive spore that basically melts beautiful plants and fruit into a gross, mushy mess.  If you grow either of these in your gardens, two weeks ago was the time to spray copper products to protect your plants.  See this link for a USDA report.  I don't know any conventional sprays other than Captan that might be effective.  I sprayed copper hydroxide (organic certified; Champ WP) on all of our potatoes and field tomatoes and started on the high tunnel tomatoes.  There are a lot of products out there that claim to be effective against late blight but eventually, the spore will kill everything if we have the right conditions (damp, cool).  So pray for hot and dry weather, spray your plants with a copper or other ecological products every 7-10 days and scout your plants as often as possible for any signs of infection.  Everyone in the Northeast, including us, lost tomatoes due to LB in 2009 so be vigilant!  Now, sleep well....

ms

lpf