Hi gardeners
It is a colorful time of the year. Asiatic lilies,
coreopsis, echinacea, beebalm, daylilies, hosta, shasta daisy, lavender, rocket
ligularia, astilbe, and lots of annuals are in bloom. The sprawling clematis ‘Heather
Herschell’ I planted last year is blooming as are several other clematis. I
already have ‘Only the Lonely’ (woodland nicotiana) in bloom.
I saw a couple of Japanese beetles this week- just a few. I’m
hoping it stays that way. Our grape vines are loaded with grapes this year and
it would be nice to actually harvest some for a change. The last couple of
years the lousy Japanese beetles have ruined them.
Usually, the Japanese beetles start showing up when the
Golden Glow, Rudbeckia laciniata, starts blooming. Its yellow flowers seem to attract them,
which might be a good reason to get rid of them. The other reason I’m thinking
of getting rid of them is that they grow 8 feet tall and then flop over on the
ground.
About 2 weeks ago I chopped the stalks in half in the front
of the clump. I see it didn’t harm them
too much since they now have buds but are only back up to about 4 feet. Maybe
they won’t flop over, and I will appreciate them better. I’m hoping the shorter
stalks in front will hold up the few taller ones I left in back.
Speaking of Japanese beetles don’t try spraying them with
anything, it doesn’t work. They seem immune to all types of pesticides. They
have years when the population in an area is large and then years when they
aren’t a problem. When they are numerous, they can make plants look bad and
destroy soft fruits. But they go away by
the end of August and plants recover.
If you try a Japanese beetle trap- which are being promoted
everywhere, put it far away from plants you want to protect. Otherwise, you
just attract more to the area and not all of them are caught.
I was outside this weekend and decided to spray paint the seed heads left by alliums. I have seen many people doing this now and I had some left-over spray paint. I went a little nuts, and not only did I spray paint the allium heads were they stood but I pulled some and made an impromptu arrangement with some curly dock and valerian seedheads and spray painted it all. I stuck those in a pot in a spot where I thought color was needed. I’ll see how long they last outside.
Bees may die or stop working in very hot weather and this
will affect plant pollination. Some plants like tomatoes and peppers like warm
weather for growth, but warm weather at night can cause pollination
failure. No fruit will set until
conditions improve. Partial pollination and imperfect pollination caused by
heat can lead to deformed fruits and early fruit drop in tomatoes, peppers,
melons, squash and other fruiting plants.
In fact, warmer than normal temperature at night is usually
more harmful than hot weather in the daytime for plants. Just like people,
being able to cool down at night reduces plant stress and allows normal life
processes to continue. Temperatures above 75 degrees F at night can trigger
problems in many plants.
Bird disease
There is a new disease of wild birds that has shown up in
some states. If you are in Pennsylvania, Kentucky, DC., Maryland, Indiana, Ohio,
West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, or Florida you may have heard messages from
the DNR in your state asking you to take down bird feeders.
Researchers aren’t sure what is causing the disease. They
have ruled out avian flu and West Nile virus and most other known bird diseases. Birds appear with crusted infected eyes,
which causes them to go blind and act erratically. They may have seizures, tilt their heads back
in an odd way or act in other ways which suggest there is a neurological aspect
to the disease. They eventually die and in some areas large numbers of dead
birds are being found. Young birds are affected more than older adults.
The birds that seem to be most affected are our common
songbirds, blue jays, robins, cardinals, bluebirds, wrens, house finch, English
sparrows, starlings, grackles, and chickadees. These birds are commonly seen
around homes and feeders. It may be that
other species are affected, but not as likely to be found in distress or dead.
The reason that bird feeders should be taken down where the
diseased birds have been found is that researchers believe close contact with
other birds spreads the disease. It may also spread from contact with dirty
feeders. Bird baths should either be taken down or dumped and emptied, then
cleaned with bleach, daily. Birds will
be fine without feeders or birdbaths this time of year.
Many blind birds have been taken to wildlife rehab but the
prognosis is grim, almost all birds die. It’s recommended that you simply leave
the birds alone and not handle them. Bury dead birds deeply or wrap in a
garbage bag and dispose of in the trash.
If you handle dead birds use disposable plastic gloves. Do
not let pets eat or touch the dead or dying birds. It’s unknown if the disease
could infect humans or pets. Do not try to treat the birds, you can contact a
bird rehab but it is actually illegal to hold songbirds whether your intentions
are good or not. Some rehabs no longer take birds infected with this since
treatment is of little use.
If you have chickens in areas where the dead birds are being
found it’s recommended you feed the birds inside the coop and make every effort
to exclude wild birds from getting inside.
Since chickens that are free ranging may eat dead birds they find, it
would be best to not let poultry free range for now. It’s unknown if the disease could infect
poultry.
In places where the disease has not been found yet keep an eye on bird feeders and remove them immediately if sick birds are spotted. Keep feeders and bird baths clean.
If you spot sick or dead birds, especially if they have
crusted over eyes, you should contact your states DNR or USDA animal health
office. (If you know how the bird died, such as in a window collision, you don’t
need to report it.) Areas close to places known to be infected, like Michigan counties
just over the Indiana/Ohio border should be especially vigilant.
Tomato fungal
diseases
If your tomato plants have yellow curling leaves at the
bottom of the plant, brown dead leaves hanging in the plant, spotted leaves,
and fruit with spots and sunken areas, you probably have one of many tomato
fungal diseases. Welcome to tomato reality.
From all the pictures people are posting online of their
tomato plants it seems that tomatoes are being hit early and hard this year
with fungal diseases. It’s very common for tomatoes to get fungal diseases.
Fungal and other diseases of plants often are related to
weather conditions. Some diseases prefer one set of conditions, others prefer
another. Hot, wet conditions, cool wet conditions, hot dry conditions and cool
dry conditions, we’ve had them all this year, so it stands to reason that we
may experience a tremendous surge in plant fungal diseases.
(Another common disease is blossom end rot, which causes a
rotted dark area on the bottom of fruit. That’s caused by water problems and is
not a fungal disease. I talked about it last week in my blog.)
I used to try and identify what exact disease tomatoes had,
but over many years I’ve learned that identifying the precise disease isn’t
that helpful, except in one case- that of late blight.
And there’s another problem with diagnoses. Tomato plants
can have several diseases at the same time. Most of the diseases are handled
the same way, so identification of the exact disease isn’t always helpful.
Let’s talk about the worse case scenario first, late
blight. Late blight affects both potatoes and tomatoes. Since large
commercial fields are destroyed by the disease, most states monitor conditions
favorable for late blight and look for late blight spores in the air. When any
spores or cases of the disease are found, there’s rapid notification of big
growers in the area, but home gardeners may not be aware of the problem.
Symptoms of late blight include a blackened, water soaked or greasy look to leaves, stems and tomato fruit or potato tubers, with rapid wilting and death of the plant within a few days. The blackened areas may look brown at first, and often have white fuzzy looking growth (fungus) on them. Check the backs of darkened leaves to look for white fungal growth.
Late blight
Photo USABlight.org
Tomato fruits that are green or ripe can be affected with
hardened brownish black spots. Most other tomato diseases take a long time to
kill a plant and the plants keep putting out new growth. Late blight kills
plants quickly, within a few days after symptoms start. Late blight also spreads from plant to plant
very quickly so in warm, wet weather home gardeners should check their plants
daily for symptoms.
There is little home gardeners can do to prevent late blight
other than to begin spraying your potatoes and tomatoes with fungicides before
the plants are affected. This is why commercial growers are notified by the
state, so they can begin fungal prevention sprays. If you do hear late blight
is in your county you should protect your plants immediately.
After symptoms begin spraying won’t help that plant. It
should be pulled and put in a plastic trash bag including all fruit and leaves
that fall off. Tie the bag tightly and
send it to the landfill or let it sit in the sun for several weeks and then
burn the residue.
If you have plants that still seem healthy you can spray
with preventative fungicides. The only preventative sprays effective that
homeowners can easily get are those with chorothalonil and some copper-based
fungicides. Look for a garden fungicide, check the ingredients and make sure it
lists late blight as being controlled. Follow the label directions exactly. Also,
water early in the day so foliage dries before nightfall. Don’t eat tomatoes or
potatoes with late blight lesions or can them.
There are no home remedies or even organic remedies for
late blight prevention. Researchers have tested a number of these things and
found they do not work. Do not try things
like baking soda, neem oil, milk and so on. They won’t work and in the meantime
the disease is spreading. If the plant has late blight, it must be destroyed.
Prevention can only be achieved with certain commercial fungicides.
Many other tomato diseases have similar symptoms and home
gardeners may have a hard time deciding if their plants have late blight or a less
serious fungal disease. But if a plant dies completely in a few days with
blackened leaves, chances are good it’s late blight.
Since late blight is a serious threat to agriculture you may
also try calling your state agricultural department. If they know late blight
is in the area, they will tell you and someone may even come out to look at
your plants or you may be told where to take a sample.
The other diseases
It is hard for home gardeners to find somewhere to get a
good diagnostic report done on a sample of your plants. If your county still has an Extension office
with a horticulture department you can try there. For accurate diagnoses the
sample must be picked fresh, with symptoms showing on foliage and or fruit and
brought to the lab within a few hours.
There are several other fungal diseases of tomatoes that cause problems but aren’t as deadly as late blight. Early blight and septoria leaf spot are two very common fungal diseases. Both start at the bottom of plants, producing yellow spotted, then brown leaves. The leaves may look curled.
These two diseases seldom kill plants outright, leaves die
at the bottom of the plant, but the plant continues to put out new leaves and
flowers at the top. However, this makes the plants weak and keeps them from producing
the best fruit. Often the fruit sunburns because so much foliage is missing.
In early blight the round spots are brown or black with
concentric rings on the leaves. There
can be spots on stems and fruit too. Early blight usually begins in hot, wet
weather when leaves stay wet for long periods of times.
Septoria leaf blight also begins in warm wet weather, usually after the first fruit begins to form. The spots in this disease are smaller dark spots than early blight with a lighter tan center, that can turn white. The center can contain tiny black raised dots, which is where fungal spores are produced. The spots can appear on stems and flowers but appear on fruit only rarely. Eventually the spots will run together, producing large, blackened areas.
 |
| Septoria |
Other fairly common fungal diseases of tomatoes are verticillium wilt and fusarium wilt. With fusarium wilt the leaves yellow and wilt on one side of the plant from bottom to top. If the plant isn’t infected by another disease, there won’t be spots on the leaves. If you split a stem there may be brown streaks running up and down inside. Fusarium wilt occurs in warm, wet weather.
With verticillium wilt there is first a yellow V shaped area on lower leaves with a bit of brown around it, between a vein and leaf edge. Then the leaves turn yellow with brown veins, there can be brown spots too. Verticillium affects all of the plant. At first the plant may wilt during the day and recover at night. Fruit is stunted. This disease is more common in cooler weather. It is also worse in poorly drained soil- or after soil has been flooded.
Verticillium wilt
Photo- WSU
The above tomato fungal diseases are so similar that even
with pictures, gardeners often misidentify them. And that’s ok. All of these diseases are basically treated
the same way.
What to do
Remove all spotted, yellowed or brown leaves as soon as you
spot them. If a stem has spots remove it too. Remove any leaves that touch the
ground. Remove all weeds around the plants. These leaves and weeds should be
put in a trash bag, not thrown down near the plants.
Many people thin and prune tomatoes. If your plants develop
a fungal disease, you should stop doing this, except to remove leaves touching
the ground. The plants need all the foliage they can produce to replace that
lost by disease. Early thinning of the center of the plant, to make a better
airflow is fine if done before disease symptoms begin. Also pinching out the
stem tips late in the season will help existing fruit grow larger and ripen
faster.
While you won’t cure the plant, you can slow the spread of early
blight and septoria up the plant by spraying plants with a good fungicide. The
new leaves will be protected for a while and a plant needs leaves to produce food
to make fruit and more foliage. Use a good garden fungicide that’s safe for
food plants to spray infected plants. Check the label to make sure it says it
will prevent these two diseases. Follow label directions.
Don’t bother with homemade mixes and remedies. Baking soda, milk,
dish soap and so on don’t work. If you don’t want to use a commercial product that’s
been tested and found effective don’t use anything. It can make the diseases
worse. There are some organic fungicides
on the market, including Serenade, if that interests you.
Verticillium wilt is helped somewhat by removing infected
plant parts. Spraying won’t help because the fungus is inside the plant. Fusarium
wilt isn’t helped by much of anything, and plants will usually die before the
season ends.
Spraying plants with fungicides to prevent diseases before symptoms
begin is the best way to deal with these diseases. You must spray regularly and
after it rains. Fungal diseases of tomatoes can also infect potatoes, peppers
and eggplant.
Also, space plants so there is a lot of airflow around them.
Water early in the day so the leaves dry before nightfall. Keep plants off the
ground and use mulch around them. Buy
disease resistant varieties if you can.
Fungal spores can overwinter and become viable when
conditions are right. But fungal spores can also blow in on the wind or be
transported on animals, insects or equipment. There is evidence that some
weeds, like nightshade, carry the disease. Septoria can be transmitted on
infected seed.
Verticillium and Fusarium wilt are diseases plants get from
the soil and the fungus remains in the soil a long time. You should not plant
tomatoes or potatoes, eggplant and peppers in the same area for at least 4
years if you suspect you had one of these diseases. It’s best to rotate where
crops are grown every year, just to make sure diseases aren’t in the soil.
The above fungal diseases are not all the fungal diseases
tomatoes can get, just the most common. Tomatoes also get bacterial and viral
diseases.
Can you eat the tomatoes?
Tomatoes that have a disease may not taste as well as
tomatoes from a healthy plant. But they are safe to eat. However most experts
say tomatoes from diseased plants should not be canned. They have a lower
acidity than healthy tomatoes and bacterial growth could happen, especially in
water bath type canning.
I suspect that plenty of tomatoes from plants with early blight
and so on have been canned with no ill results. Pressure canning would make it
safer, as would adding acid like vinegar or citric acid. If the fruit itself has fungal spots or
rotted areas I definitely would not can it, even if you cut off the spot. If
you have questions consult with a food safety expert at your county Extension
office.
Tomatoes are the most popular garden vegetable grown, but
unfortunately there are a lot of diseases that can infect them. Plant breeders
are working to breed disease resistant plants and gardeners who have a lot of
problems with tomatoes should seek out those with the best disease resistance.
July almanac
The full moon in July this year is on the 23rd. It’s called buck moon because the buck
deer’s antlers begin to show this month. Its sometimes called the Hay moon too.
The moon perigee is the 21st. Moon apogee is the 8th.
This month’s flower is the sunflower- very appropriate and
the birthstone is the ruby. It’s National Blueberry, Eggplant, Lettuce, Mango,
Melon, Nectarine and Garlic month as well as National Hotdog and Vanilla Ice
Cream month. Why isn’t it National
Cherry month? The second week of July (5-11)
is nude recreation week. That’s this week. National Nude Day however is July 14th
. Have fun.
The Delta Aquariids meteor showers begin mid-month and peak
on July 27-30th. These
meteors continue into mid- August and overlap with the Perseids meteor shower.
Best viewing will be around 2 am for most of the US. Look to the south.
– Sara Coleridge
Kim Willis
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