Tomato Blight Update

Tomato blight, as mentioned previously here, is troublesome to say the least, and devastating for farmers and home gardeners, to say the most. Royer Held, a.k.a. Project Grow's Heirloom Enthusiast, sent along the following helpful links about tomato blight and how to contend with it.

NPR's Science Friday recently aired an interview with Chad Nusbaum, a scientist who mapped the genome. Along with some genetic science, Nusbaum offers insight into how the disease spreads and what gardeners should do if they discover it. (The transcript of the interview is also quite helpful.)

Additionally, Science Friday's Flora Lichtbaum visited a farm afflicted with late blight, and created a video vividly portraying the plight caused by the disease as well as illustrating its effect on the plant.

What to do with infected plants?

If a plant is suspect, remove it immediately including any fallen leaves. DO NOT COMPOST IT. Bag it up and put it our with the trash. Other options are detailed in this document, along with more links to properly identify late blight and how to monitor for it.

Tomato Blight Watch

Tomato growers in the Northeast are deeply concerned, and rightly so, about late blight. An airborne disease that can quickly ravage tomatoes and potatoes, gardeners also need to be on the lookout for signs of this deadly disease. (No cases have been reported so far in Michigan.)

MSU Extension Diagnostic Services offers some great information on plant troubles, and is the place to contact if a plant looks a bit dodgy.

Early Blight Attacks!

I don't know about you all, but I'm seeing a lot of early blight around the garden this year. It's turning all my leaves yellow and making them die off! I plan to deal with the problem using a home remedy floating around on many of the organic gardening websites. The recipe is as follows:

1 T Baking soda
2.5 T lightweight horticultural oil
Mix with 1 gallon of water and spray foliage every 2 weeks.


You should also be careful to water your plants from the bottom to avoid getting moisture on the leaves.

I will let you know how this works in my garden. Let us know what remedies you have for this pesky and common disease.