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August 3, 2009

It's time for damage control

By ANNE LENOX BARLOW,Cornell Co-op Extension

With all the wind and rain we have had recently, it seems like almost every home gardener has lost tomato and/or potato plants to late blight.

It's pretty frustrating to lose a crop, especially one like tomatoes that we look forward to with such anticipation. There are a few tips, though, that I can offer to help lessen the blow.

If your potatoes were infected with late blight, dig the them out as soon as possible. If left in the ground, the fungus will make its way down the plant and into the tuber, turning the potato to mush. If you dig out your potatoes and they look good, eat and enjoy them. Don't try to store them too long, and don't save them for seed potatoes next year or you may be infecting next year's crop. If you want potatoes next year, you should buy certified disease-free tubers in the spring.

Any ripe or even green tomatoes on your plants that don't have brown spots can also be eaten. If the tomato looks like it might be close to ripening, you can encourage that in a sunny window.

Or you can make green tomato pie, fried green tomatoes or green tomato relish. This month's issue of North Country Gardening has a great recipe for baked green tomatoes. The newsletter can be found at http://ecgardening.cce.cornell.edu.

COMPLEX FACTORS
The third option is to replant a fall crop in the same place your tomatoes and potatoes were growing. Even up here in the North Country, there are plenty of crops that can be planted in early August and harvested before the end of the growing season. Cool-season crops like lettuce, Asian greens (bok choy, for example), spinach, kale, beets, radish and even some herbs such as cilantro can be planted now.

A final thought on late blight and really gardening in general is to remember our gardens are a complex interaction of many living and non-living factors. Since many different factors influence our gardens, crop loss, poor flower bloom, etc., are a part of gardening we need to realize will happen. We can control many of the factors, but not all. Whenever a crop failure happens, I try to take it in stride and figure out what I can learn from the experience. For example, if you have never grown fall peas or spinach, consider this an opportunity to learn about extending your garden season.

NEW PEST
Recently, I have had a few reports of a garden pest that is new to our area — the leek moth. This is a small brown moth whose larva, or caterpillar, is specially adapted to feed on the leaves of various plants belonging to the genus Allium. Plants in the Allium family include garlic, leeks, onions, shallot and chives. The insect is originally from Europe but can now be found in several countries in Africa and Asia, in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec, and in the state of Hawaii.

Signs that you have leek moths are small holes in your Allium leaves and mining damage to the leaves. In onions and chives, the caterpillars eat the inside part of the leaves. Because of toxins in the flowers that inhibit the growth of the larvae, the caterpillars do not feed on the flowers. But their feeding damage causes poor foliage growth, sick looking plants and, as a result, decreased bulb size.

Since this is a new pest to the area, we will be conducting some monitoring. If you are having problems with your onions, garlic, leeks, shallots or chives, please bring a sample to your local Cornell Cooperative Extension Office. In addition, sticky traps baited with lures will be hung in the Plattsburgh area to determine where the insects can be found. Anyone interested in helping with the monitoring process can contact me to volunteer.

Anne Lenox Barlow is the horticulture educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension in Clinton County. Office phone numbers: Clinton County 561-7450, Essex County 962-4810, Franklin County 483-7403. E-mail questions to: askMG@cornell.edu.

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